Prior to Saturday’s town hall meeting regarding Nevada’s budget, Sen. Bill Raggio said, “There is no question of whether or not there will be cuts, the question is where those cuts will come from.”

Members of the community representing the mining industry, teachers associations, small business and other local interests testified at the meeting to offer suggestions on how to balance a state budget that Raggio said currently stands at an $881 million deficit.  

“I think our budget problems are a direct result of ignoring the arts and education,” Jeff Chamberlin with the Reno Little Theater said. “We need to recognize that the arts are a way of stimulating the economy since on average people who go to a play will spend anywhere from $99 to $125 at other places in the community.”

Chamberlin said the arts and education are often the first to get cut, but that this is problematic since both are “economic drivers.”

“Excellence in education is an essential building block for a recovering economy,” state Senate candidate Gary Schmidt said.

Members of the Nevada State Education Association, including Reno resident Katherine Clark, said that comments in defense of maintaining the current education budget were a response to Gov. Jim Gibbon’s State of the State address, during which he said the education system will be greatly affected by proposed cuts. 

“During the special (legislative) session, Gibbons made it clear that education will be one of the first things on the chopping block,” Clark said.  “It seems absolutely crazy to me since without a solid educational system, the state will need to spend more public funds supporting the youth who did not get a proper education.  It’s a matter of looking at long-term consequences rather than short-term fixes.”

Many community members testifying urged city officials to consider alternate sources of revenue before proposing drastic cuts.

“Our state is one of the lowest taxed states in the country,” Sparks resident Leslie Neilsen said. “If we were to increase our sales tax or even create an income tax, we would be able to generate millions in revenue and be able to maintain a lot of the important state programs we have now.”

Small-business owner Dave Whittaker of Reno said that raising taxes “won’t solve anything.”

“It seems like certain industries are being targeted for taxation, and there just has to be a better way to bring in money for the state than hiking up taxes,” Whittaker said. “I know if any taxes are raised for me, I won’t be able to keep all of my employees.”  

Whittaker currently employs seven people at his windshield replacement business.

“You’ll see that when these kinds of budget issues come up, certain industries in Nevada are targeted,” Elliott Felden with the Nevada Mining Association added.  “I’m here today to make sure that my industry is represented since the state will no doubt look to us to find more money for the state, which isn’t fair to miners working in the industry.”

Locals spoke not only on upcoming budget cuts, but also cuts that have already taken effect.

“My adult autistic daughter just had her Social Security cut,” said NSEA member and special education teacher at Melton Elementary School Cindy Meek.  “I know we need to make cuts, but we need to make them responsibly.  Since my daughter’s Social Security was cut, she no longer qualifies for Medicaid, which means that she can’t ride on Citilift, which is a problem since she can’t take the regular bus since it’s a safety concern.”

Meek also submitted a written statement advocating for more early intervention for autistic children, since her daughter benefited from receiving those services. 

Gov. Jim Gibbons announced in his State of the State address that a special legislative will be held Feb. 23 to further discuss budget concerns and Sen. Raggio said that legislators will “take into account public concerns that have been presented.”