INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. – Incline Village General Improvement District trustee candidate Frank Wright has been a watchdog for the area since he bought a home in Crystal Bay in 1978. 

“I have been totally involved in every aspect of the inner workings of IVGID,” said Wright who is a retired educator, businessman, author, and coach. “I have for over 14 years tried to alert the community that things were amiss. I have exposed many of the questionable practices and poor operations of IVGID. It would be easier working from the inside as a trustee. My only concern is to make my community healthy again.” 

Wright has a bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Western State University, in addition to a post graduate degree from California State University, Northridge. 

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Wright served on the Ordinance 7 committee, which is a citizens group appointed by the general manager to rewrite rules and regulations for IVGID’s recreational venues. 

“I raised the issue of the irresponsibleness of the employees accessing the beach,” Wright said. “Employees who lived outside the district were accessing the beach (and their families), which was a violation of the beach deed.” 

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IVGID’s attorney reviewed the beach deed in regards to the employees’ usage. 

“They ruled the beach deed was, in fact, being violated,” Wright said. “The employees had to be removed from the beaches and that saved the beach deed (keeping it private). Otherwise, the world’s tourists would be on those beaches.” 

Wright said he uncovered the illegal sales of non-buildable lots that included beach access and use of IVGID’s amenities. Then he stopped further sales. 

“I also identified … that the golf courses were assigning tee times to the golf clubs in February before residents who weren’t members of a golf club could be assigned or request tee times,” Wright said. “All those tee times were taken by the golf clubs in February. And that practice stopped.” 

Wright said it’s sad that 52% of the golf club members weren’t residents. 

“I have knowledge and understanding of what and how our district works,” Wright said. “The fact is that these are amenities that are paid for by the residents who own parcels here. Those residents are being cheated out of access to their own facilities. And they’re paying too much to use the facilities.” 

Wright identified a series of issues and action items. 

Wright wants to regulate wholesale uncontrolled distribution to outsiders of the punch card system and rewrite the punch card policies. 

“I would suggest changes to make sure that the people who are living here are taken care of and their money that they’re spending is going to be for them, not for the people who don’t live here and tourists,” Wright said. 

He said owners of short-term rentals and similar arrangements want punch cards because it makes their properties more attractive to customers. 

“But they’re not residents,” Wright said. “They’re not friends. They’re just people coming in here that are renting for the weekend.” 

These people want access to the beaches. 

“The punch cards are offering people who don’t live here access to the beaches, which is overcrowding them,” Wright said. 

Wright said he has an accurate track record on “the financial operations, the abuses of giving out public property to outsiders, overspending, wasteful practices, the list is endless.” 

Wright wants to reduce marketing costs, “which achieve little or no measurable financial impact on district revenues.” 

“We spend a half million dollars, a million dollars, depending on the year for marketing, which provides nothing to the district,” Wright said. “People are going to come here anyway … I want to make sure that the things that we spend money on bring a direct benefit to the people that live here.” 

IVGID utilities have no oversight from the state of Nevada, Wright said. 

“They have to have justification for raising rates,” Wright said. “I think we should ask for PUC (Public Utility Commission) oversight to help regulate our utility rates so they’re fair.” 

Wright also advocates for reviewing waste management contracts. 

“The waste management contract is bizarre at best because we pay a franchise fee that’s twice … or three times greater than the average franchise fee,” Wright said. “Our costs would be lower if we took that away.” 

Before signing the contract, IVGID should have looked into more cost-effective alternatives, Wright said. 

“We (IVGID) didn’t do that,” Wright said. 

Wright advocates for making the venues primarily available to the residents and property owners who pay the recreation fee. Currently, the venues are “doled out to nonprofits to use,” he said. 

Recently, a for-profit blood drive company tried to set up at the recreation center and shut it down for a day. 

“None of the blood went to us (IVGID residents), and none of the money went to us,” Wright said. “And this is a multi-million dollar company. And they tried to shut down one of our venues. That’s just insane.” 

Wright stopped it. 

“So we just want to make sure the people who are living here have total access to the venues, and that they have it at a reasonable price,” Wright said. 

Wright said to cover FY 2022 overspending in the district’s Internal Services Fund, staff made nearly $600,000 of impermissible loans from the district’s General Fund. There was no public hearing. It was never approved by the board, according to Wright.

Based upon preliminary FY 2023 numbers, staff made more than $650,000 of similar impermissible loans from the district’s General Fund to its Internal Services Fund, Wright said.

To cover the overspending, the board increased the recreation fee to cover increased central services cost transfers to the General Fund, Wright said.

Wright also advocates for: 

• Ensuring transparency and access to public records. 
• Including the community in the decision-making process. 
• Prioritizing maintenance of amenities. 
• Implementing clear and precise financial reporting compliant with Nevada Revised Statutes. 
• Completing the effluent pipeline project. 
• Reducing beach and recreational facility fees by only charging residents for costs related to furnishing recreational venues for residents’ use. 
• Eliminating wasteful spending. 

“It’s the community’s money,” Wright said. “It’s the community’s tax dollars. I am one of two candidates that can fix this mess.” 

Wright identified additional community issues.

Incline Village and Crystal Bay have a “group of absolute rabid citizens who launched a recall of sitting trustees, which failed miserably,” Wright said. 

“This same group wants the community to fund venues that lose millions each year for their personal recreational pleasures,” Wright said. “We have many employees receiving outrageous salaries, while others are under compensated. This has to change!” 

IVGID’s governmental operations are in a financial state of absolute turmoil, Wright said. A forensic audit identified more than 40 areas of possible fraud.

The board commissioned a forensic due diligence audit. And the auditor found 45 severe concerns requiring immediate remediation. The Committee on Local Government Finance asked the district to share its plan to address these concerns by Aug. 29, Wright said on Sept. 19.

“However even as of today (Sept. 19), it has filed nothing,” Wright said.

Wright said according to Nevada Revised Statute 354.685, the district is suffering from a severe financial emergency. Another statute states the Department of Taxation is considering whether to notify Washoe County to conduct public hearings that can result in the district’s merger or dissolution, he said.

“All because my opponents insist on continuing the district’s irresponsibility and hiding these facts by drastically increasing our recreation fees,” Wright said.

Most of the key employees have resigned or have been relieved of their duties. 

IVGID is operating with an interim general manager. IVGID currently does not have a financial officer. The current trustees have asked Washoe County to provide accountants to solve IVGID’s financial irregularities. 

“IVGID is the most mismanaged governmental agency in the state of Nevada,” Wright said. “It’s going to take a candidate with strong leadership abilities to solve the many problems. I have that ability.” 

For more information on Wright, go to https://electfrank.us/