Carson City Supervisor Ward 1 candidate questions

Stacey Giomi

Occupation: Director of Facilities and Emergency Preparedness for Nevada Health Centers

Age: 56

Contact: info@ electstacey giomi.com; www.elect staceygiomi.com

Record of service: My current list of community service activities includes: Board of Directors for Advocates to End Domestic Violence (past President); Board of Directors with Retired Senior Volunteer Program (Currently serve as Secretary). Governor’s appointee to the State of Nevada Emergency Response Commission and Chairman of the Finance Committee for the State of Nevada Homeland Security Commission. I’m a member of the Emergency Management Coordinating Council, which advises the Chief of the Nevada Division of Emergency Management on emergency management issues within the state. I’m an appointee of the Carson City Board of Supervisors on the Carson City 9-1-1 Surcharge Advisory Committee, the Debit Management Commission and the Charter Review Committee.

My past activities have included: Carson City Fire Department (31 years) retired as Fire Chief & Director of Emergency Management. I served for 6 years as president of Nevada Fire Chiefs Association. I’ve also been a board member of the Athletic Development Committee for Western Nevada College, Health Smart, AYSO youth soccer program, and was Past President of Seeliger Elementary School PTA.

Education: Carson High School – High School Diploma; Western Nevada Community College – Associates Degree in Fire Science; Cogswell College (Sunnyvale, CA) – Bachelor’s degree in Fire/Public Administration; Cogswell College (Sunnyvale, CA) – Bachelor’s degree in Fire Prevention Technology

A brief statement about your platform: The safety and security of our community is important to all of us. Feeling safe and secure in our homes and at play is fundamental need that must be filled in order for us to be comfortable in tackling other challenges and enjoying our enviable quality of life. I will make public safety a priority.

The other key for the Board of Supervisors is the task of managing the financial resources received by our citizens through taxes paid. I take this responsibility very seriously and will work to ensure that our government is managed in a way that delivers quality services in a fiscally responsible manner. The city has invested millions of dollars in infrastructure; from roads and sewer lines to vehicles and buildings. We need to have a complete understanding of the quality and quantity of these resources and then work within our means to prioritize their care — through replacement or repair.

We should all be proud of the city we call home, and I will work to enhance our excellent quality of life by focusing on excellence in government management and in working to make Nevada’s Capital an example for how local government should be.

What can the city do to incentivize development of affordable housing?

I don’t necessarily think the city should be incentivizing development of housing as much as we should be working on collaborative solutions in the areas that city government is already involved. For example, the city is in the business of providing water and sewer services. In order to keep housing prices down, connection fees and rates must be reasonably priced within the regional market. Likewise, sufficient water and sewer capacity must be available to allow development at all. Many years ago, Carson City had the foresight to acquire water rights that give us the capacity to grow in a controlled fashion. The Growth Management Ordinance provides the framework to control growth within the available resources.

The other area the city can have a direct impact on housing affordability is in the development and enforcement of regulations. Carson City development standards define the specific details on how land is developed and how homes are built. The definitions in those standards spell out things like density and how many families can occupy a single family home. I’m in support of a comprehensive review of these standards. This review should be carried out with the input of subject matter experts and citizens. It should also be done with a critical eye toward ensuring we aren’t creating unintended consequences, like causing a devaluation of the existing housing market.

The Nevada Rural Housing Authority (a state governmental entity) is in the early stages of a partnership with a non-profit called CPLC-Nevada to develop work force housing in the Dayton area. These non-profits can often take advantage of funding opportunities that aren’t available to commercials developers. They also bring assistance in the form of counseling and borrower help to get first-time home buyers into a market that is often confusing and intimidating. I’m in support of exploring public/private partnership opportunities as they may become available, especially as it pertains to excess city-owned land that could potentially be used to develop work force housing.

Late last year, Congress has created a new tool for increasing development in low-income areas. Opportunity Zones are a new community development program established by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. The Opportunity Zones program provides a tax incentive for investors to re-invest unrealized capital gains into Opportunity Funds that are dedicated to investing into Opportunity Zones. These Opportunity Zones were designated to the federal government by Governor Sandoval earlier this year. There is a large portion of land in east central Carson City within this designated zone. This program is in the early stages, but it has the potential to provide a tremendous incentive for providing work force housing.

Finding a solution to the issue of affordable housing is a complicated issue that can’t be solved overnight. The solution is going to come from a series of small steps involving the collaborative effort of public and private organizations that will eventually move the needle toward affordability

John Wood

Occupation: Facilities manager

Age: 65

Contact: johnwood@oddpost.com; www.johnwoodforward1.cc; https://www.facebook.com/VoteJohnWood

Record of service: John is an entrepreneur. He has built several business orbiting around environmental and comfort control supporting several employees and their families.

He has worked as a Technical Sales Engineer and traveled many parts of the globe and has developed the sensitivity and patience to work with a wide range of cultures from that travel.

He has chaired an HVAC&R department at a for-profit technical school and managed a teaching staff as well as developed programs and curricula for better learning outcomes.

He is presently a Facilities Manager responsible for a staff of approximately 25 who maintain the operation and appearance of the facility. While at this position, he effectively reduced energy usage by 37% and at the same time improved the quality of the customer experience.

A brief statement about your platform: John is a free market, pro business and property rights proponent. He plans to view all proposals to the board and actions taken by the board in light of his convictions and will promote personal responsibility, freedom and best use of personnel and assets to ensure that Carson City is a wonderful place to live and work for you, your children and your grandchildren.

John will work to keep taxes and regulations at or preferably below the current levels while allocating precious funds and personnel where they are needed the most and can do the best job in the least amount of time.

John promises to take every voice who cares in the city into consideration and keep a line of communication back into the community open so you know what, where and importantly, why we are doing what we are doing.

What can the city do to incentivize development of affordable housing?

Affordable housing is a problem. And affordable is a very hard target to pin down. For a homeless person, there is no affordable housing! (This is why they are on the street) For the moderate income household, a “living wage” of $15 per hour will not cover most entry level leases. These folks are likely the customers of the weekly rental motels in town.

Some would propose that government subsidize housing. I would heartily disagree with that as it makes more properties unaffordable when other’s taxes go up to cover the cost. Others posit that any subdivisions must have a certain percent of homes that meet the “affordability” standards. Again; the builder has to recoup his costs and make a profit, so the other homes in the same project will be increased in price to compensate him. This increases the price of the remaining homes and compounds the affordability problem!

If government is to be a part of the solution, it will be in reducing the property tax burden for the homeowner. If a buyer’s property taxes are lowered, they can buy more home for the same money, or buy the same home for a lesser payment. For the builder, cutting fees, inspection costs, regulations etc. will allow the builder to place a home on the market at a lower cost and still make a profit. A win-win. For the lowest end of the rental chain, make certain areas of the City higher density for minimalist homes or condos that can be bought reasonably. Ownership is one of the great builders of pride and equity. And I am a proponent of ownership, whether in a home or condo, or in a community. Buy-in is generally positive. I will encourage such.