Forecast: up to 8 feet of new snow in Sierra-Cascade

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch for Sunday through Wednesday with this grabber: up to 8 feet of snow possible above 7000 feet in the Sierra-Cascade. The heaviest snow will fall to the north of Tahoe but Tahoe will be getting plenty, especially starting Monday when snow levels drop….We will have a more detailed analysis of these storms in the morning, but for now here is the NWS statement:

Rain will begin over the Sierra Cascade Range Sunday morning with
snow at the highest elevations above 7000 feet. By late Sunday
night… snow levels are expected to drop to 5500 to 6500 feet and
therefore start impacting the major passes of Interstate 80 and
Highway 50. Periods of heavy snowfall are expected Monday morning
through Tuesday and possibly into Wednesday. Between Monday and
Wednesday mornings snowfall accumulations of 3 to 5 feet will be
possible above the 5000 foot level with as much as 8 feet of new
snowfall accumulation at the highest elevations above 7000 feet.
Strong winds will also occur during this time period. Wind gusts
of 40 to 50 mph are forecast for Monday with gusts up to 30 to 40
mph continuing through Tuesday. The combination of heavy snow and
strong winds will cause extremely dangerous conditions over the
Sierra Cascade Range during the first half of this week.

Incline board ends domestic partner bennies

A North Tahoe board that provides public services in Incline Village has voted to strip its employees of domestic partner health benefits.

Should Incline subsidize Reno?

From Don Kanare at InsideIncline.com….

In a shockingly positive development for property owners in Incline Village and Crystal Bay, Washoe County rolled back taxable values by 25%. This is a major success for our local tax revolt group! There have been several recent court decisions in favor of Incline Village property owners and we should get some relief, maybe or maybe not 25%, but it’s a long awaited victory.

Unfortunately, I don’t think Washoe County has the tens of millions to refund to everyone for all the years it has overcharged local property owners. So, this presents a unique opportunity for us to finally have some leverage over the powers down in Reno and become our own county. I’m willing to leave part or most of my refund on the table if Washoe County will support our efforts to break away and become a separate county. We need their permission and their assistance lobbying the vast majority of state legislators who come from southern Nevada, since only a vote of the state government can create a new county.

Washoe County is a financial mess and they are hoping future development north of Reno will somehow add to the tax base and bail them out. It won’t, just like the expansion of the past 25 years down in the desert has been an abysmal failure. I think that the property owners in Incline Village and Crystal Bay should negotiate immediately with the county. If the county is not willing to negotiate in good faith, then we can have a good old-fashioned tax revolt.

If you pay your quarterly property taxes late there is only a 3% penalty, plus a low interest rate for the period of delinquency. I don’t think the county can operate if our community were to have a massive property tax withholding for just one quarter. Maybe just the threat of a massive tax revolt would be enough for us to finally become our own county and permanently reduce our taxes even further since we won’t be subsidizing services down in Reno. We would finally have true local control of our services and by my estimate, property taxes would be around 30% to 40% lower than they are today.

Don Kanare is an Incline Village real estate agent and commentator who writes at www.insideincline.com

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