Lebanon City hearing outlines $478,000 shortfall and proposed staff cuts; early-retirement option discussed

Lebanon City — City staff told residents at a public hearing that the preliminary fiscal 2026–2027 budget shows constrained revenues and a roughly $478,000 shortfall, prompting proposals to eliminate several positions and consideration of an early-retirement incentive to avoid layoffs.

The council chair opened the hearing and said staff would present background before soliciting public suggestions on closing the gap. "We’re going to have to eliminate the building inspector code enforcer position," the chair said, describing it as a full-time post with insufficient work to justify the current staffing level.

Jess, a city staff member who presented the budget, said the city expects just over $2.5 million in general-fund revenue and that most operating costs for police, administration, ambulance coverage, streets and the cemetery come from that account. "With everything we have budgeted, you can see here that we have an estimated remaining of $66," Jess said, adding there is only limited flexibility in line items.

Jess outlined several constrained revenue streams and how they may be…