Fire district wants judge to block county from taking money for Incline residents
By Susan Voyles, Reno Gazette-Journal
The North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District is asking a judge to stop the county from taking district property tax revenues each month to pay for court-ordered tax refunds to Incline Village homeowners, saying the money is needed to run emergency services.
District lawyer Geno Menchetti of Incline Village filed a legal document on Friday seeking to block the county from taking $6.5 million in district funds — its share of $43 million in property tax refunds owed to Incline Village homeowners. District commissioners voted on Thursday to take the issue to court.
In the filing, Menchetti is asking Washoe District Judge Patrick Flanagan to order county Treasurer Tammi Davis to stop diverting property taxes from the district as those taxes are needed for fire and ambulance services.
In November, $689,055 or almost half the money collected by the treasurer was diverted to pay for the tax refunds.
If this continues, Menchetti wrote, the district would be unable to budget for the upcoming year or “at worst, be placed in a position of a severe financial crisis.”
“It’s likely our fire district, our only emergency service here, might have to close a substation, cut service and personnel,” Menchetti said Friday after the filing.