The Reno City Council is discussing an updated report on their consolidated taxes, otherwise known as C-Tax.
C-Tax is a major source of funding for local governments that the council feels our entire community needs a better understanding of.
It helps pay for public services like law enforcement, fire departments, and our parks.
This isn't anything new. We've actually had this system since 1997.
It is made up of six different revenue sources:
Supplemental City-County Relief Tax (SCCRT), Basic City-County Relief Tax (BCCRT), Governmental Services Tax (GST), Real Property Transfer Tax (RPTT), Cigarette Tax, and Liquor Tax.
Reno City Manager Jackie Bryant says this tax system plays a big role in the city's budget, hence why everyone needs to understand it,
"The combinations of the questions I received from the members of the public, as well as some challenges with the budget, it kind of brought us to decide we really need to do a deeper dive on C-Tax and figure out where the revenue is coming in, how much is coming in," said Bryant.
This tax system is the largest contributor to the city's general fund, making up more than 30% of it.
Principal Analyst Jeremy Aguero says in fiscal year 2024 the city received over $96 million in C-Tax distributions, accounting for 33% of total general fund revenue. For this fiscal year, the adopted budget estimates the city to receive over $102 million in C-Tax revenue.
But there are questions on whether the city is getting a fair amount of money distributed back compared to the county and other cities.
Aguero says, "The idea we want to get to with all taxes is that there is a nexus between the payments that come in and the services that are provided. I think that residents of this state also want to make sure our tax dollars are used effectively."
Next month city council will be bringing back Aguero to further discuss other taxes such as the property tax, fuel tax, and how much revenue the city gets from them.
With this information City Manager Bryant says they'll be able to look closer into their budget, what they're paying for, and what expenses need to be reduced.
