Pat Cashell: Reno’s Highest-Paid Tour Guide
We understand since this $100 an hour deal has been exposed that Cashell’s tours of the Nevada Cares Campus may be ending … hey Pat, there is always Disneyland.
Apparently the hottest tourism gig in Washoe County is no longer Lake Tahoe, Burning Man, or the casinos.
It is giving VIP tours of the Nevada Cares Campus.
Former Reno “thinking about it” mayoral and realtor Pat Cashell has reportedly been retained by Kate Thomas to escort specially selected VIP visitors around the campus for a cool $100 an hour paid by taxpayers.
Cashell’s Agreement For Services … just wanted you to know he had one.
One hundred dollars an hour.
Cashell’s Scope of Work.
And suddenly we had a thought: maybe Washoe County accidentally hired a Disneyland VIP guide.
Because according to endless Reddit threads and online discussions, VIP guides at Disneyland can reportedly pull in another $200 to $300 a day in tips from wealthy guests trying to skip lines and maximize the magic.
Which naturally leaves taxpayers wondering:
Did anyone tip Pat Cashell after the tour?
Was there a suggested gratuity envelope next to the county brochures? Did the VIPs get front-of-the-line access to the dormitories? Perhaps a magical FastPass through the intake center?
All sarcasm aside, residents are increasingly frustrated by what feels like an entirely different economic reality for politically connected insiders.
Regular Reno residents are out here juggling mortgages, groceries, fuel prices, utility hikes, and endless government fees while Washoe County somehow finds money to pay a politically connected former mayor triple-digit hourly rates to walk important people around a taxpayer-funded facility.
And perhaps the most magical part of all? Trying to actually locate these payments in the county’s public spending system.
Citizens attempting to navigate the county “checkbook” under the watch of Clara Andriola often describe it like a scavenger hunt designed by bureaucrats who really hope nobody finds anything. And we don’t.
Transparency should not feel like an escape room challenge.
The county may insist there is perfectly legitimate reasoning behind the arrangement. Fine. Then explain it publicly:
Why Cashell? Did you approach him or did he approach you?
Why $100 an hour?
How many tours?
How exactly what qualifications justify this rate?
If Cashell is truly passionate about homelessness then why did he not give the tours for free. Why gouge county taxpayers
Average hourly wage in Reno is about $35.00 so why pay Cashell so much more?
Because from the outside, it increasingly looks like Washoe County has created a very exclusive VIP experience — and taxpayers are the ones stuck buying the tickets.