Reno Officials Behind Bars or Abruptly Fired, and a Lack of Overall Transparency

We are still waiting for more details on the City of Reno “Revitalization Manager” Jeff Limpert being behind bars today, charged with robbery and another charge using a code which points to obstructing the police by dissuading a witness. Limpert also has upcoming court dates related to divorce proceedings.

Shortly before 10 A.M. we got a message from Reno’s department of communications indicating they received our inquiry and that they were “working on finding answers… Someone from our team will be in touch as soon as possible.” As of this writing, we had not received an update. We also emailed one of Limpert’s lawyers this morning but did not hear back.

Shortly after releasing this Substack in its initial version, we received this statement: "Every employee of the City of Reno is expected to conduct themselves in a manner that will preserve the public's confidence in our organization. We are aware of the situation being reported and are investigating it further."

Limpert was paid over $120K as a management analyst in 2019. One reader on our Facebook asked what a “revitalization manager” is exactly. Primarily in recent months, Limpert has been seen at Downtown Reno Partnership events and he’s been heavily involved in discussions related to the Jacobs Entertainment buyout spree.

As part of his job description, it indicates that he is to … “assist new businesses, developers, and other public or private entities in the investment or expansion of operations and the removal of blighted structures or properties…” plus “coordinate the inventory of vacant sites and spaces with the local real estate community; design and execute marketing strategies for vacant sites.”

This comes on the heels of Reno finance director Deborah Lauchner (last listed total pay nearly 250K in 2019) being fired last week right after presenting at a city council meeting and during the city's annual budgeting season. It’s been a week in that instance and no details yet are filtering via official channels on reasons why she was abruptly let go, despite being repeatedly praised during previous city council meetings.

Speaking of transparency, the city has so far been resisting calls to have dedicated employees to manage and respond to mounting requests for public records. The Limpert and Lauchner cases are more examples of local residents being left in the dark and not considered seriously by those in the know.

A Progressive Candidate, #keeprenorad, Northline and Sheroes of Reno

Our feature reporting this week included an update about Wendy Wiglesworth leading a ceremony for the unhoused who recently passed away, and helping others in our community become more caring when doing outreach with our neighbors living along the river.

Another “shero of Reno” is the focus of our latest podcast episode: Valerie Lovett, helping a support group for parents of trans kids at Our Center.

As part of a series of profiles of interesting local candidates, we featured trying it again William Mantle, who finished fourth in his mayoral run in 2018 despite spending just $250.

Our #keeprenorad cultural feature is about a band which made its way from Fallon to Reno to now finishing up their first album.

Our Reno recommended read this week is Northline by Willy Vlautin.