The Chamber of Commerce for Reno and Sparks announced Monday that it is opposed to Question 3, the ballot measure that would create a competitive energy market in Nevada. The group also announced that it will support a Washoe County ballot measure that would slightly bump up property taxes to create more funding for flood control along the Truckee River.

Question 3, known as the Energy Choice Initiative, aims to end NV Energy’s monopoly as the state’s sole energy supplier and allow other companies to sell energy to Nevada residents and businesses. The chamber said it would not support the measure because it was concerned that the initiative, which would amend the state’s constitution, did not give enough flexibility to state lawmakers and created too much uncertainty around whether rates would increase.

“While the chamber believes that the creation of an open energy market is prudent and could produce benefits for Nevadans, it believes this process should be thoroughly studied by our elected representatives in the Nevada Legislature,” the group said in a press release.

The chamber also endorsed a measure specific to Washoe County that asks voters to approve a slight increase in property taxes to pay for new flood infrastructure along the Truckee River. An additional tax of 2.48 cents per $100 of assessed valuation would potentially pay for levees, floodwalls and widening the river. Proponents believe the additional funds would also help unlock $182 million in federal funding. The chamber said it supports the slight property tax increase because flooding is a direct threat to economic activity in the region.

“Flooding has a direct impact on our residents and their paychecks,” the chamber said in its press release. “The Reno-Tahoe International Airport is an economic engine of this community and flooding would halt plane arrivals with tourists and the commodities delivered daily to our stores, pharmacies, restaurants, and other retail businesses.”

But several local elected officials, including Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve and Washoe County Commission Chairwoman Marsha Berkbigler, have come out against the measure. They argue that any new funding should benefit the entire county and not be specifically earmarked for the Truckee River, which runs through downtown Reno and Sparks.

Their statements come after residents in the North Valleys, about eight miles outside of downtown Reno, continue to grapple with flood water nearly two years after heavy winter storms in 2017.

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