Washoe County manager outlines 2025 priorities: CARES campus housing, behavioral health center and Sun Valley investments

Washoe County Manager Eric Brown told the Sun Valley Citizen Advisory Board on Feb. 1 that 2025 will focus on multi-year initiatives including supportive housing, behavioral health facilities and infrastructure investments.

Brown said the county completed construction of the CARES campus shelter and resource facilities and has secured approximately $20 million in state funding to develop roughly 50 supportive housing units on the west side of the CARES campus. "A lot of these people have jobs. They're earning money, but they can't afford the rents," Brown said, explaining the intent to move people from shelter to permanent housing.

On behavioral health, Brown said the county secured $14.5 million from the state interim finance committee to renovate the former West Hills Hospital (the Washoe Behavioral Health Center) at Ninth and Sutro, which the county purchased previously with ARPA funds. He described work underway to make the building code-compliant — roof, HVAC and utilities — and said the county will use the facility to expand mental health services for adults, juveniles and specialty populations, including services linked to the CARES campus.

Brown also summarized other county initiatives: restructured contracts with shelter providers, a sequential intercept model at the jail for people with behavioral-health needs, a new behavioral health administrator (hired to coordinate county-wide services), and investments in election systems and a new computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system that will allow cross-agency view of emergency assets.

Budget and staffing: Brown said Washoe County maintains a structurally balanced budget but faces a flattening revenue outlook on a five‑year projection, prompting a directive in the ongoing budget process to hold new hires. "The message to [department heads] is we're not adding any people," Brown said.

On emergency services and regionalization, Brown noted continued discussions among Reno, Sparks and Washoe County about how fire services might coordinate more closely, driven in part by CAD improvements and fiscal pressures. He described the Sun Valley Boulevard initiative as a multiagency effort that could cost "about $40,000,000" for drainage and infrastructure work and said RTC and NDOT have been helpful partners.

Brown highlighted other items: an opioid action plan and analyst funded by settlements; upgrades to the CARES campus and contracts with providers; plans to update evacuation plans in several communities; FEMA flood-plain map updates for multiple areas; and a long-running effort to improve senior services and meal quality.

Brown said the county received a higher bond rating from Moody's and completed clean audits; he also noted collective bargaining agreements were concluded with employee associations on a multi-year basis to provide fiscal stability.

The presentation drew questions about staffing for behavioral health, the timeline and funding for Sun Valley Boulevard work and concerns about safety at the CARES campus. Brown and staff said the county will pursue grants, partner with providers for operations and continue outreach in future CAB meetings.