The Fallon City Council met on July 16 to discuss a resolution related to transferring the city’s 2024 Private Activity Bond Volume Cap to the Nevada Rural Housing Authority along with a resolution authorizing the City of Fallon staff to arrange the sale of general obligation (additionally pledged revenues) sewer refunding bonds. Also discussed were Community Development Block Grant applications for the 2025-2026 fiscal year.
The Fallon County Council votes to transfer its Private Activity Bond (PAB) volume cap to Nevada Rural Housing (NRH) each year. A bond volume cap is a limit the federal government sets to control how many tax-exempt bonds can be issued in a state each year. Fallon receives an allocation of the state's PAB volume cap each year. This allocation is essentially the city's share of the total amount of tax-exempt bonds that can be issued within the state.
Since 2006, the city has transferred $6.5 million in bond volume cap funds to help Fallon residents buy and finance homes through NRH. Council members Karla Kent and Kelly Frost voted to transfer the available $588,190.26 bond volume cap funds by passing Resolution 24-7-11. City Councilman Paul Harmon was not in attendance.
Since its inception in 1973, NRH reports a $2.4 billion contribution toward Nevada homeownership. Since 2006, NRH has provided $32.3 million in mortgages to 131 City of Fallon homebuyers, delivered $449,000 in tax savings, and provided $975,915 in downpayment assistance.
“One of my favorite programs is the downpayment assistance program,” said Mayor Ken Tedford. Launchpad is available to first-time homebuyers in jurisdictions under 150,000, with exemptions for veterans and non-first-time homebuyers buying in targeted areas. NRH Launchpad offers 4% downpayment assistance (with 30-year fixed-rate government loans) and $25 million in mortgage funds.
While thrilled with the benefit it can offer local homebuyers, Tedford expressed dismay at Fallon’s recent low participation rates. “We were so supportive and were cut off when our board member retired,” he told NRH Directory of Community Development Beth Denning,
One problem in the Fallon area is the need for more local realtor and lender program participation. “I don’t think realtors or banks are sold on the downpayment assistance program.” According to Tedford, the process takes more work and requires lender participation. To his knowledge, only one local realtor, Faught Group, currently assists homebuyers in utilizing NRH funds.
“You have a responsibility to an entire generation of Nevadans,” Tedford told Denning with NRH, “They are being cut out of homeownership – and a lot of them aren’t even trying anymore.”
Denning could not provide Fallon’s 2023 statistics but promised to make that information available soon. Additionally, Denning said she would convey the city’s disappointment regarding the decline in local participation.
Next, the council discussed Resolution 24-7-12. City Attorney Trent deBraga explained in 2015, the city issued General Obligation (Limited Tax) Sewer Improvement and Refunding Bonds (Additionally Secured by Pledged Revenues). The city is looking to refinance its old bonds with new ones to get a better deal and save money, which will help reduce costs for maintaining and improving the sewer system. According to Johnson, by taking advantage of current terms offered by the State Bonding Bank, the city will save approximately $150,000.
Council members Frost and Kent approved the resolution authorizing city staff to arrange to sell the general obligation bonds. This will later be followed by an ordinance presented for adoption.
Fallon City Engineer Derek Zimmey presented information on the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. According to Zimmey, the Community Development Block Grant has existed since 1982. Fallon has received 26 CDB grants that equate to a combined received amount of $4,451,588. The current project is a $500,000 grant awarded for reconstructing a portion of Kaiser Street, which was changed to a planning grant, with $172,000 awarded to the city for the design of that street. Zimmer reported that the city requested qualifications (RFQ) for designers, with the remaining funds to be de-obligated back to CDBG.
Several street upgrades, including Court and Front Streets, North Broadway, and North Sherman, have primarily resulted from CDBG funds. No new CDBG projects or applications are currently being considered.
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