County leaders stress mandated services, infrastructure scorecard as budget priorities

Washoe County leaders used the Feb. 3 budget workshop to separate legally mandated services from discretionary programs and to show a data-driven infrastructure scorecard that tracks roads, stormwater, parks, facilities and sewer assets.

Assistant County Manager Dave Solero said Nevada law contains hundreds of chapters and that roughly 116 impose specific service obligations on county government. "Of those 823, 116 of them actually mandate that Washoe County provide a service," Solero said, explaining that statutes often set timeframes (for example, the assessor must reappraise property at least every five years) but not fine-grained service levels; the board sets many service expectations through financial policy and budget decisions.

Solero presented Washoe County's infrastructure scorecard, a multi-year tracking tool that rates capacity, condition, funding, future need, operations and resilience across asset classes. The data show the county has improved some areas but funding pressures have pushed the roads and stormwater measures downward. Solero said the scorecard helps the county prioritize capital investments and align them with the strategic plan.

Commissioners probed how the county should balance maintaining higher service levels in areas where Washoe County performs well (snowplowing, for example) versus matching neighboring jurisdictions. Commissioner Clark cautioned against lowering service standards to match others, while others noted regional comparisons and the costs to maintain a higher standard.

The discussion linked infrastructure funding to personnel and user-funded enterprise activities. Solero noted that many internal services and utilities have dedicated revenue streams, but that general-fund-supported infrastructure (roads fund, some capital transfers) has an estimated $18 million to $20 million shortfall to meet near-term needs without additional funding.

Commissioners asked staff to present mandated-service dollar mappings and estimates of revenue versus expense for those services, a request Budget staff said they would pursue prior to the manager's proposed budget.

The county plans to use the scorecard alongside the capital-improvement program and the budget-congress process to prioritize limited funds and present options to the board before tentative budget adoption.