Lance Gilman’s Proclamation(s) of Emptyness

When a politician’s lips move, take notes. When they act, compare the actions to the lip movements.

Readers of The Teller may remember at the April 2nd Storey County Commissioners meeting, Commissioner Lance Gilman made yet another Proclamation of abundance.

In his proclamation, Gilman announced that he would be holding meetings in the three Storey County communities that don’t rhyme with Virginia City to discuss their capital improvement needs.

According to Gilman, the purpose of these meetings was to assess the needs of these communities to make sure that the budget for FY19-20 would contain the funding necessary to address these needs.

Meeting Finally Scheduled

Commissioner Gilman proclaimed these meetings would take place “within 30 days”. As we take note of the calendar 31 days later, we see that a single meeting has been scheduled. The meeting, announced yesterday, is great because it represents progress. However, all the meetings he announced had to be held by now so the budget could reflect the money needed for each community.

The meeting announcement reads: Storey County officials to engage with Highlands residents and the public regarding the status of land development and proposals in and around the Virginia City Highlands area including, but not limited to, residential, non-residential, connector roads, and general transportation and transit in the immediate area and in Storey County.

On its surface, there is nothing that tells the careful observer that this lone meeting in the most affluent community in Storey County is actually one of the meetings that Gilman promised. Meanwhile, in Mark Twain and Lockwood, the status quo is same as it ever was. Virginia City first, VCH next, Mark Twain and Lockwood last, if ever.

Yesterday we released documents that seem to implicate Community Development in improperly overcharging Storey County residents and businesses. The drama surrounding Community Development could potentially force the County to refund hundreds of thousands of dollars. Combined with Tesla and Panasonic halting expansion at the Gigafactory could force the county to modify anticipated revenue in FY19-20.

Commissioner Gilman made Proclamation 1.0 at Christmas 2014. He continued the Tax Rebate, Alaska-style refund check narrative through Jack McGuffey’s campaign. Today he continues this false narrative with his most recent proclamation of abundance 2.0. So why is he not telling us the truth, but telling the truth to everyone else?

Recipe For Another Budget Shortfall In FY19-20

Those two factors could erase the $1 million budget surplus projected by Controller Gallagher at a recent Commission Meeting. Combine this with plummeting Taxable Sales revenue and Lance Gilman’s admission that “Storey County Will Have To Wait”. Mix in the need to spend millions on a Justice Center. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes and check to see if there is any money left. Then announce whatever capital improvements we may hope for in the Highlands, Mark Twain, and Lockwood will have to “just wait ’till next year”.

Again.