The Truckee Meadows is a beautiful area, and we want to ensure that it continues to be a wonderful place to live and raise our families.  We face many unique challenges and opportunities due to our large size, diverse population and land-use decisions.  Government officials face critical decisions as they struggle to provide services with limited, and greatly reduced resources. 

Planning for the Future of Our Community

As Albert Einstein said, "Problems cannot be solved by the same thinking used to create them."

Now is the time to start thinking about using a comprehensive planning process to look at the region as an entire geographic entity instead of individual jurisdictions.   

Intelligent planning can fuel the sustained growth necessary for the future viability and quality of life of our local economy.  Truckee Meadows regional planning began in the mid-1980s. However, turf wars quickly erupted over power and resources. Instead of operating as a community with a spirit of cooperation and mutual respect among entities, distrust and an on-going debate over jurisdictional issues developed. The taxpayer continues to be caught in the middle.  

Sustained Growth for Our Economy

In order to increase the economic diversity necessary for the long-term sustainability of our region, it is important to work in accordance with the City of Reno Master Plan.  The plan is described on the City of Reno website as follows:

The City of Reno Master Plan, The Great City Plan, is a legislative planning document with respect to the city's vision, goals, and policies relative to such matters as population, housing, streets, and resource use which is governed by NRS 278.150 to and including NRS 278.250 and reflects the City’s Making It Great initiative, as well as the 2007 update of the Truckee Meadows Regional Plan as required by State Law.
Master Plan and Minor Master Plan Amendments should be processed in the manner specified below. The Great City Plan includes citywide plans for the City and its sphere of influence, plans for regional centers and transit oriented development (TOD) corridors, and neighborhood plans.  

The plan can be viewed in its entirety through the below link:   
http://www.reno.gov/Index.aspx?page=755 


Providing Basic Services with Limited Resources Through Consolidation

The consolidation of entities and services must be designed to improve responsiveness while providing the vital services necessary to our community. Consolidation is vital to the future of our Community. 

A Public-Private Partnership Approach to Building Healthy Neighborhoods

A strong, entrepreneurial spirit should be nurtured and encouraged within local government.  City employees should be encouraged, and rewarded, for seeking and obtaining grants and other funding sources in collaboration with non-profits, businesses, individuals and others.
This recommendation from the Sage Commission Report states it very well:   

The lackadaisical attitude of public employees and officials throughout Nevada toward identifying and then relentlessly pursuing grant opportunities was puzzling to commissioners. Nevada rests last in receiving federal grant funds for which we are eligible. We have unnecessarily disadvantaged ourselves, leaving tens of millions of dollars on the table, by not having a strategic, managed focus on this opportunity as does almost every other state. This should be a full-out, statewide effort involving all jurisdictions eligible for such grants. (Yes, we heard the argument over and over that the state “does not have the required matching funds” which does not explain how 49 other states do it, or why we apply for only a fraction of available grants not requiring matching funds.) As a corollary, most foundations will not grant funds directly to a government entity for social services, but they will make grants to private sector, non-profit charities for services similar to or sometimes identical to what our government provides. Why not focus on partnerships with charities with such funding opportunities for the purpose of providing better and more cost effective services for our needy citizens?

http://nsla.nevadaculture.org/statepubs/epubs/921751-2010.pdf

We must encourage a partnership approach to building healthy neighborhoods.  The building blocks of a healthy neighborhood include their parks, open spaces, health, education and safety.  Cutting services and personnel only to balance the budget will result in terrible long-term consequences. 

United efforts against eliminating gang activity

Ongoing efforts to monitor and reduce the disruptive and dangerous level of gang activity must be enforced through all levels of local government.