No miracle, but budget works

For a board that appeared to be caught in a budget blender, the Carson City supervisors managed Monday night to come up with solutions that most everybody will be able to swallow.

Of course, not all will be pleased. And as Mayor Ray Masayko warned, there will be tough issues to face next year because some of problems were postponed.

Landowners get a property-tax increase, which is never a pleasant proposition. At $14.80 on a $100,000 home, the increase is a compromise from a larger tax proposed as one of the solutions the city's shortfall.

City employees will bear some of the burden of balancing the budget, as $450,000 is being subtracted from their medical benefits package. That likely will mean higher payments or lesser benefits for the employees.

Sheriff Rod Banister and Fire Chief Lou Buckley got some of their wishes - another deputy, another firefighter, a patrol car, more training - but some of that comes from "one-shot" funding. They are examples of the problems put off until next year.

Community organizations in most cases got part, but not all, of the money they sought from the supervisors. The supervisors recognized the value those groups provide in services to Carson City - for youth, for seniors, for health - as well as the untold hours and thousands of dollars contributed by volunteers.

We would have preferred all this be done without a tax increase, but supervisors would have needed a miracle akin to the loaves and fishes parable alluded to in their budget meetings.

We believe city leaders approached the budget in a fiscally responsible manner, looking to meet the demands of a growing city with some added revenue here, some cuts there and some reorganization of departments if needed to save money.

While individual programs, departments and, yes, taxpayers can all find things not to like in the budget, from the perspective of Carson City as a whole we doubt there was a better solution.