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City managers and department heads lay out $30—2$44 million capital priorities in annual State of the City
Summary
Interim City Manager John Ellen and department leaders presented the 2026 State of the City to the Yreka City Council, detailing major projects including a proposed $30—2$35 million fire hall, a $7 million water-supply package, and a multi-year wastewater upgrade estimated at $44 million.
Interim City Manager John Ellen and Yreka City department heads presented the 2026 State of the City on March 3, outlining capital projects, staffing plans and grant-seeking efforts that will shape the city's budget and operations through the coming years.
Ellen said the city is running an executive recruitment for a permanent city manager with an executive search firm engaged and a filing deadline in mid-March. He described a multidepartment fire hall project that staff estimates will cost $30—2$35 million and that will require a long-term funding and debt-servicing plan; city staff and consultants are finalizing construction design and grant/financing strategies.
Public Works Director Matthew Bray described major water projects under construction: a new production well, a one-million-gallon tank and a new 200,000-gallon tank, funded largely through state revolving funds with no city match; he said the $7 million bid package had mobilized contractors. Bray also discussed a multi-phase wastewater treatment plant upgrade, describing engineering estimates currently near $44 million and noting the city will pursue phased state revolving fund assistance over multiple years.
Finance Director Emily Aldrich outlined a three-year, $300,000 budget plan to transition manual water meters to a cellular read system to cut manual reads and improve reporting; she also said staff is preparing a potential November ballot measure to raise the transient occupancy tax from 10% to 12% to align with county-wide rates and add tourist-generated revenue.
Fire and police leaders, HR and public works staff described workforce and equipment priorities: phased addition of paid firefighters tied to station construction and staffing, investments in radios and training props, replacement of aging public-works HVAC and fleet vehicles subject to CARB requirements, and potential purchases of dispatch computers and portable speed signs. Code enforcement and resilience staff highlighted a hazard-mitigation grant application that would fund home hardening and defensible-space work if selected for FEMA funding.
Councilmembers thanked staff for the overview and suggested pairing the presentation with budget hearings; no public comments were received during the presentation segment. Ellen said staff would return with further budget and financing details as projects proceed.
