Reno City Manager Says The City's Doing Better - But Isn't There Yet

The State of the City of Reno is better than it's been in years, but the Reno City Manager says there are still dark spots and deep needs.

In his annual State of the City address today, Reno City Manager Andrew Clinger said the city has reduced it debt "dramatically", from $608 million in 2009 to $512 million five years later.

But he says the city still has unfunded pension liabilities of $210 million to cover what are called OPEB -- or "other post-employment benefits".

The problem, Clinger says, is that the annual contribution should be more than $17 million.

"Currently we use a pay-as-you-go model, which only pays for actual yearly expenses, and puts nothing aside to satisfy this long-term cost. However, this year we've established an OPEB trust fund and budgeted $4.3 million toward this significant expenditure."

On the "plus" side, Clinger says Reno issued 700 building permits for single family homes. That's the most since 2008, and a 55 percent increase from last year.