By Rachel Dahl
During the Debt Management Commission meeting last week, President of the Churchill County School Board of Trustees, Tricia Strasdin, said she is committed to having the board discuss and seriously consider releasing monies tied to the bond initially approved by voters in 2008.
“I understand the concern and the request regarding the district releasing monies back to the debt commission, and I am committed to agendizing the topic with the school board in the coming months, making sure that trustees have all pertinent in what is sure to be a complex conversation, so the district has put forth the earnest attention this topic requires,” she said.
In 2015, the Nevada Legislature passed SB 207, called “controversial,” extending the bonding authority of school districts without a vote of the people. Because there was such a need for schools to meet the growth in Clark County, it was nearly impossible to pass a bond measure to continue building the necessary infrastructure. In 2021, the Legislature extended that term by another ten years.
The bill allows school districts to roll over bonding authority for ten years without a vote. The funding can only be used for capital improvements. Property owners do not see a tax increase under the measure, but their property tax does not drop as it would if the bond were retired.
There has been discussion amongst debt management commissioners for the past several years regarding the school district returning .06 cents to the bond cap, which would free that up for another local government to use possibly or the community tax burden to be relieved in that amount.
During her presentation, Comptroller Kristi Fielding reported that the district has outstanding $22,295,00 in general obligation bonds and that debt is paid using property taxes. The district levies a tax rate of .55 cents to repay the outstanding bonds. For the term of the rollover authorization, which expires in 2035, the district is allowed to transfer money from the Debt Service Fund to the Capital Projects Fund as long as the remaining balance in the debt service fund meets the statutorily mandated level.
Each local government reported on the meeting of their indebtedness, the ability to repay their debt, and a review of their capital improvement projects.
Sherry Wideman, Comptroller from Churchill County, reported that the outstanding debt for Churchill County is $21,598,503 for revenue bonds for the jail and the 3C Civic Center. The enterprise funds for the redundant well and CC Communications have a total debt of $14,572,254. The total outstanding debt is nearly $32.2 million, and the total payments made on that debt during Fiscal Year 2024 are $2,363,779.
Future projects being planned by the county commission include the expansion of the District Court, wastewater improvements, economic development improvements to industrial properties, library and museum additions, and Parks & Recreation projects.
The City of Fallon report was given by Sean Richardson, Clerk/Treasurer, who said the city has $7,562,739 in general obligation debt and $4,693,000 in revenue bonds, which along with a $66,489 lease obligations accounts for a total indebtedness of $12,322,228. The city plans for capital improvements include road improvements, remodeling City Hall, the new splash pad, and a new FBO building at the airport.
Letters were also submitted regarding the indebtedness of the Carson-Truckee Water Conservancy District, Carson Water Subconservancy District, Truckee-Carson Irrigation District, and the Mosquito Abatement District.
The debt management reports for each entity can be found at https://churchillconv.portal.civicclerk.com/event/3399/files.
The statutory limit on overlapping tax rates in Churchill County is $3.64, meaning between each taxing authority in the community, the total tax cannot exceed that limit.
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