Community service lightens load for city workers

In an era when government is bigger than ever, Carson City residents might be surprised to know that criminal justice is helping tighten budgets and lighten the workload.

Increasingly, misdemeanor offenders in the justice court system are given the option of community service rather than jail time. Those 40 or 80 hours are being poured into community projects that use the offenders' skills.

"There's a lot of projects that we do," said Community Service Director Claudia Saavedra. "It's not just about trash, it's about everything."

For example, most nights of the week Carson City schools will have a crew of 10 to 12 people who clean up. Cooks in cafeteria kitchens might also be working off hours. Friends In Service Helping and other nonprofit groups are allotted workers.

Saavedra, along with a half-time receptionist, directs labor where it is needed and where the offender is well-equipped to do the job. A roofer might repair a school building or an office worker might do filing in a government office.

With Carson City passing the 50,000 population mark, the years have increased Saavedra's workload exponentially. When she started eight years ago she knew everyone's name. Now she gets more than 100 referrals a month. At any given time, she manages 1,200 to 1,400 offenders working off hours.

"This has become a great program," she said. "We get so much from these people."

Community service completes about 3,000 hours of work in the community each month. Approximately 60 percent of the offenders complete their service without a hitch, Saavedra said.

Painting has become a big part of what the community service department does, she said.

When paint is sent as a donation to the hazardous waste program, it is filtered and mixed into varieties that can be used for public and nonprofit buildings. This week, the Hispanic Services building on Fifth Street is getting a fresh coat. Several of the buildings at Fifth and Stewart streets have been painted in the last few weeks by community service workers.

Though the program allows for donations of everything from pesticides to household chemicals, paint is especially reusable.

"We collect the paint all year and then in the winter we take it to Kelly-Moore Paint and they mix it into light, medium and dark varieties," said Environmental Control Officer Deborah Wiggins. "Last year we were able to collect 95 five-gallon buckets of paint."

The paint mixing by Kelly-Moore is a volunteer effort, she said.

Wiggins said in the four years that paint donation has been in operation, environmental control has seen more than 2,500 gallons cycle through the program.

"It's just a win-win situation for nonprofits," she said. "It makes everything a little nicer."

The paint is also used for the graffiti-abatement program. Private businesses that suffer graffiti can also benefit. "If they provide the paint, we provide the labor," Saavedra said.

Paint and other hazardous chemicals can be donated to the hazardous waste program every Friday by appointment. Call 887-2190 ext. 1306 to make an appointment.