When a $27 Million Deficit Meets a Gala Luncheon, and Nobody Sees the Irony

Washoe County’s honoree Abbe Yacoben at this years Nevada Women’s Fund Women of Achieve - at what cost to taxpayers?

Washoe County's Curious Financial Priorities

In a dazzling display of fiscal cognitive dissonance, Washoe County is preparing to honor its Chief Financial Officer Abbe Yacoben at the annual Nevada Women's Fund Women of Achievement Gala this May. The same Washoe County that is currently navigating a $27 million budget shortfall. The same CFO who presumably has access to a calculator.

Guess Washoe County will have the joy of a red carpet along with red ink. Nothing says "financial acumen" quite like being celebrated at a lavish event while your employer's balance sheet bleeds redder than the cranberry juice being served. The Nevada Women's Fund Gala, where corporate sponsors shell out between $1,500 and $25,000 to honor their chosen female employees, has apparently become Washoe County's newest essential service.

From Google regarding the costs of the Nevada Women’s Fund - Women of Achievement annual event. What sponsorship level has the county committed to.

One can only imagine the budget meeting that green-lit this expenditure:

"Item 37: Should we allocate taxpayer dollars to honor our CFO at a fancy luncheon while we're $27 million in the hole?"

"All in favor? Splendid! Now, about those library hours we need to cut..."

Why do we continue taxpayer-funded tributes. The question taxpayers might reasonably ask—perhaps while standing in longer lines for reduced county services—is how much of their money is being directed toward securing Yacoben's place at this celebration of achievement. Is it the full $25,000 platinum sponsorship? The more modest $10,000 gold level? Or did fiscal restraint finally prevail with the bargain-basement $1,500 table sponsor option? So the Washoe County Commissioners can get a free lunch along with County Manager Brown. The commissioners and Brown should be paying for their own lunch.

Whatever the figure, it represents a fascinating interpretation of "responsible stewardship of public funds" during a time when the county's financial outlook has all the buoyancy of a concrete life preserver.

At Washoe County it seems the optics department has taken a long holiday. In the realm of public perception, honoring your financial chief in the midst of a significant budget crisis ranks somewhere between purchasing gold-plated staplers and installing a rooftop hot tub at the county administrative building. Yet here we are, watching the spectacle unfold with all the cringe-inducing fascination of a slow-motion car crash at a luxury dealership.

Does Yacoben herself not see the uncomfortable juxtaposition? Did no one in the county's leadership pause to consider that perhaps—just perhaps—this particular year might not be the optimal moment to publicly celebrate financial leadership?

Hey, taxpayers you can buy a ticket for $175.00 or a table for $1,500.00 but you better hurry the event seems to be all but sold out. Maybe the commissioners and county staff could pay the taxpayers back for their lunch to the tune of $175.00 each.

Adding another layer to this fiscal fête, county commissioners, County Manager Eric Brown, and his direct reports will likely be in attendance, enjoying what is undoubtedly a well-deserved free lunch, we like to call it complimentary cuisine - like they enjoy at every commissioner meeting - right you buy them lunch, after all their hard work balancing... oh wait.

The commissioner, who oversee the county's budget and presumably approved this expenditure Chair Hill, will be breaking bread in a ballroom while the metaphorical county cupboard grows barer by the day. Nothing whets the appetite quite like a $27 million shortfall, apparently.

To be fair, perhaps we should be celebrating this achievement. It takes a special kind of financial gymnastics to justify gala expenses while simultaneously facing budget deficits that would make most accountants reach for the smelling salts.

The Nevada Women's Fund does valuable work supporting women's education and advancement. No one disputes the importance of recognizing female achievement in the workplace. But timing, as they say, is everything. And the timing of this particular honor has all the prudence of scheduling a champagne fountain unveiling during a drought.

As the gala preparations continue, Washoe County taxpayers might want to raise a toast of their own—perhaps with tap water in paper cups—to the curious priorities of their elected officials and financial leadership.

After all, in Washoe County, the budget may be broken, but by God, the gala tradition shall remain intact.

And if anyone asks how the county plans to address its $27 million shortfall, perhaps Yacoben can share her insights during her acceptance speech. That is, assuming anyone can hear her over the sound of taxpayers collectively facepalming.

Wait! It looks like not only is Washoe County Government using our taxpayer dollars for the Nevada Women’s Fund but so is the Washoe County District Attorney’s Office whose budget is overseen by Washoe County Commissioners and hey, seems like more taxpayer funds being used on a achievement luncheon.