Kingsburg council debates Measure E ballot wording; motion made for 'until repealed' option

Kingsburg 's City Manager Alex Henderson told the council that Measure E, the 1% transaction-and-use tax dedicated to public safety, was approved in March 2018 and is scheduled to sunset on Sept. 30, 2028, unless renewed. Henderson said the tax was originally forecast to generate about $1,000,000 annually but has produced about $16,200,000 since inception and has funded employees, vehicles, equipment and training.

Henderson presented two draft 75-word ballot questions for a renewal: one that renews funding for 30 years and a second that renews the tax "until repealed by voters," both retaining the 1% rate and limiting proceeds to public safety with citizen oversight. He noted recent state-law wording requirements for ballot questions and cited examples from other California cities that have used no-sunset language successfully.

Councilmembers debated whether to mention school resource officers specifically in the ballot language. Councilmember (Speaker 5) said she worried that including "support SROs" could mislead voters into thinking the city guarantees school-district salary obligations, noting some SRO positions are funded by district grants that may expire. "If this is how it was presented, I vote no," Councilmember (Speaker 5) said, arguing the phrase could create expectations the city might not be able to meet without sacrificing other public-safety priorities.

Other councilmembers and staff pushed back on that framing, saying the phrase reads as support rather than a guarantee and that annual budgets and the citizen oversight committee would control actual spending. "It won't require you to continue that because every year the council and the citizen oversight committee review the budget," City Manager Alex Henderson said, adding that Measure E dollars have historically funded the SRO agreements with local schools.

Members of the public who spoke largely urged renewal. Derek Gagnon, president of the police officers association, told the council the union is "in full support of the no sunset clause" and said members are prepared to campaign in favor of the no-sunset option. In a separate public comment, Josh Gary, who identified himself as a Kingsburg police sergeant speaking as a resident and veteran, urged renewal for 30 years or "until repealed," saying the measure has improved safety in the city and asking residents to vote yes when the measure appears.

On the procedural question of what to place on the ballot, Councilmember (Speaker 5) moved to adopt option 2, the "until repealed by voters" wording; Mayor (Speaker 1) seconded the motion and City Manager Henderson sought a brief clarification about whether the "support SROs" phrase remained in the same form. The transcript records the motion and second but does not record a subsequent roll-call vote or final action on the motion.

Henderson told the council BBK, the firm the city retained to assist with the election effort, will prepare the ordinance for council consideration at the Jan. 7, 2026 meeting, with a proposed election date of June 2, 2026 and a statutory filing deadline in March. Henderson also said citizens could qualify an initiative petition at any time under the statutory process if they sought repeal.

Next steps recorded in the staff presentation were to finalize ballot language for BBK and return an ordinance and related resolutions on Jan. 7, 2026; the transcript does not record a final vote on a preferred option during the meeting.