LA GRANDE — The La Grande Budget Committee will host public hearings in May to discuss the 2025-26 budgets for the city and Urban Renewal District.

The proposed budgets are developed based on the priorities set during annual retreats. Each year the Urban Renewal Agency decides whether to under levy urban renewal to provide more revenue to the city’s general fund.

Only $800,000 of new property tax revenues would be levied under the proposed budget in part due to the funds carried over from the current budget for programs.

The proposed budget for the Urban Renewal District includes funding to have an economic development director, core economic development funding and project funding for existing programs.

The funding for the core programs would remain the same.

Under the proposed budget, $350,000 would be allocated to the call for projects (nonbusiness park) and $75,000 to the Facade Grant Program.

The $500,000 budgeted for an agency-initiated project and the $425,000 budgeted for the traded sector/business park call for projects business attraction program will all be carried over from the current fiscal year’s budget.

The Urban Renewal Agency has an agreement to transfer money to the city’s general fund specifically for services, including funding for the Economic Development Department and La Grande Main Street Downtown. This year’s proposed budget includes $40,000 for both.

If approved, this would be a $15,000 increase for La Grande Main Street Downtown from last year — the organization’s first increase in over a decade.

The city’s general fund budget for fiscal year 2025-26 includes over $13 million in estimated revenues but more than $19 million in estimated expenditures. This gap will be filled utilizing cash on hand rolling over from the current fiscal year’s general fund.

The goal is to maintain between $1.4 and $1.6 million in the ending cash on hand to operate from the start of July through November, when the bulk of property taxes comes in.

Executive Summary of all funds

Personnel costs account for a “significant portion” of total expenditures within the general fund budget. Nearly 63% of the budget — excluding American Rescue Plan Act funds — goes to employment costs, which City Manager Robert Strope said is fairly typical given the makeup of the organization.

Labor costs are expected to increase by roughly 8% under the proposed budget.

Staffing levels remain the same within the enterprise and other funds budgets. The general fund budget includes a new full-time urban forest coordinator position, which is grant funded.

Materials and services are expected to increase roughly 21% while capital outlay is anticipated to decrease by approximately 18% under the proposed budget.

Capital outlay is money spent that results in the acquisition of long-term assets, such as land, buildings or machinery, according to the “Oregon Department of Revenue Local Budgeting Manual.”

The proposed general fund capital outlay includes a transfer to the general reserve totaling more than $1 million for projects and purchases, including the second phase of an information technology infrastructure replacement project, the implementation of a finance software upgrade, a new police vehicle, a replacement server for the police department, an electronic reader board sign for the fire department and a fire rescue vehicle.

The fire rescue vehicle, which costs $370,000, will be paid for using money from the unanticipated increase in cash balance.

View the budgets

A copy of the proposed Urban Renewal District and city of La Grande budgets is online at tinyurl.com/3apk659h.

When and where

The public hearing discussing the Urban Renewal District budget will b May 12, at 6 p.m. in the Community Room at Cook Memorial Library, 2006 Fourth St., La Grande. There will be a presentation of the urban renewal budget followed by a time for public comments. After the conclusion of the hearing, presentation of the proposed city department budgets will begin.

This hearing will reconvene May 13 to continue reviewing the city budget. There will be an opportunity for public comments on the general, enterprise and other fund budgets. If necessary, discussions will continue on May 14, until all budgets are approved by the committee.