City of Sparks Adopts FY 2023 Budget

Contact:
Julie Duewel
Community Relations Manager
[email protected]
(775) 353-7894

Sparks, NV - The Sparks City Council recently adopted the City of Sparks Fiscal Year 2023 budget. The approved budget begins July 1, 2022, ends June 30, 2023, and incorporates city priorities and new needs. The budget is developed by the City Manager and Financial Services Department with input from all City departments.

"I challenged department heads to determine new needs through the lens of how the City is doing business today and what business will look like five years from now," City Manager Neil Krutz said.

The City's budget process is driven by a set of six fiscal policies. Revenue sources include property and sales taxes, business license fees, sewer and recreation fees, building permits, grants and donations.

The City's general fund is the primary operating funding used to account for services provided to the citizens of Sparks, including police, fire, street maintenance, and parks maintenance. It is also used to account for the central administrative services that support those public services such as finance, accounting, information technology, human resources and legal.

The FY 23 budget includes $5.6 million in new needs, including adding 34 new full-time positions to the City's complement, the largest staffing additions since the great recession. It also includes new equipment and software.

"During the great recession, we had to let go of nearly a quarter of our staff," Mayor Ed Lawson. "We are slowly but surely building our staffing back up to meet the needs of our growing community."

New Needs by Department:

The Community Services Department incorporates Public Works Maintenance, the Engineering, Building and Planning Departments, and the Truckee Meadows Water Reclamation Facility (TMWRF).

Eleven new positions were allocated to Public Works Maintenance to help the city keep up with growth demands in Sparks. Public Works Maintenance maintains all of the city's facilities, buildings, parks, sewer lines, storm drains, streets and the City's motor vehicle fleet, including specialized police and fire vehicles.

The Engineering division was allocated a Public Works Inspector and Construction Manager to oversee, coordinate and monitor projects that are being built in City streets.

TMWRF, jointly owned by the cities of Sparks and Reno, is the largest wastewater treatment facility in the region and serves all of the City of Sparks, portions of Reno, Sun Valley and unincorporated Spanish Springs. In the FY 23 budget, TMWRF was allocated an Assistant Treatment Plant Manager, two Wastewater Operators, and a Network and Infrastructure Administrator.

"As the plant has become more computerized and complex, we need additional specialized personnel to manage those systems," Mayor Lawson said.

The following allocations were also approved:

• Funding for a downtown smart meter feasibility study for the revitalized and busy Victorian Square to help manage on-street parking and address the needs of the public and businesses.
• Funding for consultant services to help develop policies, strategies and programs for inclusionary housing and an approach to address the need for more mixed housing at various price points, both for sale and for rent in the community.
• Funding for a consultant-led study concerning redevelopment in the Sparks industrial area, south of I-80.

"This study will help build on our vision for the land along the Truckee River in Sparks becoming a more diverse area that encourages a live-work-play philosophy," Mayor Lawson said. "We will be looking at what makes the most sense for this type of development to determine the infrastructure and economic needs of pursuing that vision."

The Parks and Recreation Department was allocated an Inclusion Coordinator that will bring expertise to help children with special needs for the City's summer camps; before-school, after-school, and Kidz Konnection programs; and will help better serve adult inclusion programs as well. Parks and Recreation was also allocated a Special Events Specialist to help with the more than 40 special events held each year in Sparks.

New needs for theSparks Police Departmentinclude:

• A Grants Manager
• An Evidence Technician
• Funding to hire retirees to work on a part time basis to assist with background investigations, parking calls and data input.
• An additional Homeless Outreach Proactive Engagement (HOPE) team officer.

"Our HOPE team is making great progress in our community," Police Chief Chris Crawforth said. "By adding an additional officer, the team will be available seven days a week to help connect the homeless with important, lifechanging services."

Sparks Fire Department was allocated funding for:

• A Training Captain position
• Three additional firefighter/paramedic positions
• A Logistics Coordinator
• An Equipment Mechanic to work on specialized fire vehicles
• Infrared cameras
• Automated CPR machines

The City's overall budget includes $15 million in funding for the Capital Improvements Plan (CIP). "The CIP is really where rubber meets the road," said Sparks Chief Financial Officer Jeff Cronk. "Prioritizing amongst competing needs and making important decisions about where to invest money is paramount, especially with construction costs increasing dramatically."

CIP funding is allocated to projects like neighborhood street rehabilitation, sewer and storm drain facilities maintenance and upgrades, streetscape along Victorian Avenue, new parks and maintenance at city facilities like City Hall, the police department, fire department, Larry D. Johnson Community Center, Alf Sorensen, and the maintenance yard.

Two new projects in FY 23 include a new training facility at the Sparks Police station and funding for the first phase of Fire Station 6 in north Sparks.

"Through the CIP, the city strives to address the needs of both the growing parts of our community and reinvesting in older, established areas of the city." Krutz said.

The City of Sparks Budget in Brief is available here and the FY 2023 final budget is available here.

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