Measure E committee recommends 2025-26 budget with trade-offs for parks to cover public safety costs

City Manager Tim Kieser told the Grass Valley Measure E committee that the proposed fiscal year 2025-26 Measure E budget balances continuing funding for police, fire, streets and parks while drawing down reserves and shifting some priorities to meet rising personnel and equipment costs.

Kieser told the committee, “We're here today to discuss our proposed budget for the fiscal year 2526,” and said revenue forecasts from HDL show Measure E receipts of about $7,090,000 for the coming year. He noted a new budget line for strike-team reimbursements—about $200,000—that will reimburse the Measure E fund when police or fire personnel are deployed to reimbursable mutual-aid incidents.

The committee was shown that long-term personnel costs, insurance and pension (PERS) liabilities are growing faster than Measure E revenue. Kieser said the city removed about $200,000 of pension unfunded liability from Measure E and placed it in the general fund to reduce…