Committments as a board member
- Rebuilding IVGIDs staff and ensuring we have leaders who are meeting the districts goals and are held accountable, yet feel valued and trusted for their expertise.
- Implementing policies and procedures to ensure are financials are accurate, reliable and transparent so our residents can feel confident in how their money is being spent
- Improving crucial amenities to guarantee the meet our community’ safety needs such as the boat ramp, tennis courts and effluent pipeline as well as their recreation needs such as snowflake lodge and incline beach house
- Increasing opportunities for residents to participate in local government and have their voices heard through town halls, surveys, and public comment.
As Incumbent, how did I work to address IVGID's financials and what could I do better?
Our district's financial challenges stem from a range of issues, some of which began before any current board members took office. When I joined the board in 2021, we were dealing with the loss of our long-standing financial director, who left without well-documented policies and procedures. We also hired consultants to review our internal controls, and I worked closely with the new finance director to update policies and improve our practices. Much of this work occurred in 2022 and early 2023.
However, there have been significant financial setbacks during my time on the board that I opposed, including:
However, there have been significant financial setbacks during my time on the board that I opposed, including:
- Letting go of our general manager, which resulted in a $300K hit to the general fund as well as thousands of dollars in recruitment and training costs needed to address the turnover in staff that left the district alongside the general manager.
- Reducing the recreation fee, which depleted reserves and created additional budget pressures.
- Delaying necessary utility rate increases, which compounded our financial strain. Lesson Learned: In 2021, I did not vote to increase the utility rate. This vote did lead to us running low in utility reserves and I learned the importance of incremental change versus the "roller coaster" effect in fees for our residents.
Expansion of Summer Activities
- I do not believe we need to turn Diamond Peak into "Disneyland" in the summer.
- I do believe that we need to create a summer plan for Diamond Peak because currently we have no permitting for the summer. This means IVGID is requesting permitting every summer for various activities.