KINGSBURG – After careful consideration, the Kingsburg City Council landed on the specific language it would like to see on next year’s ballot when the city tries to renew the public safety sales tax known as Measure E.
The discussion over how to pose the question to voters — and whether or not to include an expiration date on the tax — spanned two meetings in November as council members weighed their options and consulted residents. Through a unanimous vote on Nov. 19, the council ultimately decided to not include a sunset clause and to emphasize that this is an extension of an existing tax, not a tax increase.
“My kids are older, I’m getting older, but for the younger generation and then the children, I want them to be safe forever,” Councilmember David Silva said. “So you could call it in perpetuity, you could call it a forever whatever. I love the fact that we’re going to keep our community safe until the voters say, ‘We’re safe enough, we don’t need it anymore.’”
Measure E is a one-cent sales tax within the Kingsburg city limits that was first passed by voters in June 2018. Revenue generated by the tax supports the city’s police and fire departments, making it possible for them to purchase new equipment and maintain essential staffing levels.
The tax included a 10-year sunset clause when it was first passed and will expire on Sept. 30, 2028, unless approved by voters again. Since beginning the process earlier this year to place a renewal measure on the ballot, the city council has debated if it should include a similar sunset clause or ask voters to put the tax in place for longer.
Council members were initially split 3-2 over the ballot language, with Mayor Brandon Pursell Jr. and Councilmember Staci Smith preferring to include a sunset clause and Silva, Mayor pro tem Vince Palomar and Councilmember Laura North preferring no sunset clause.
Smith said one of her main concerns was that Measure E may not pass without a sunset clause, even if that was 30 years into the future. Pursell had similar concerns and said that, as a private taxpayer, he opposes what are sometimes called “forever taxes.”
North, however, noted that voters in any case — whether there is a set expiration date on the tax or not — have the power to repeal the tax. She said she felt more empowered as a voter when reading the version of the measure that said the tax would be in place “until repealed by voters” compared to the version that said it would be in place for 30 years.
Council members also said that when they first decided to put the tax on the ballot in 2018, the 10 year sunset clause was intended to be a kind of trial run, to prove to voters that the city would spend the revenue responsibly.
Further, council members considered the importance of Measure E to the city’s public safety operations.
City Manager Alex Henderson said that from a city staff perspective, no expiration date on the tax revenue allows the city more financial security when planning department budgets. Positions within the police and fire departments rely on Measure E to continue, and it can be difficult to recruit for those roles if the funding for them is not guaranteed year after year.
Kingsburg Police Officers’ Association President Derek Gagnon said the association is in full support of not having a sunset clause because of the value that the tax has brought to the police department.
“I can tell you that as I keep seeing the houses being built and the city growing, we’re going to continue to need those fundings and the training, the equipment we’ve gotten, everything that we’re getting is a necessity,” Gagnon said.
He added that the association is ready to hit the ground and talk to Kingsburg residents to ensure that they understand the tax and are in support of it.
Pursell said that hearing that from the union president made him feel more confident about not including a sunset clause.
“If you think that’s going to pass, I want to give you the tools that you need,” Pursell said to Gagnon. “And that’s really what this comes down to, even against what Brandon as a taxpayer likes. It’s really about keeping (the city) safe.”
With the ballot language decided on, the Kingsburg City Council expects to consider a resolution to put Measure E on the June 2026 primary ballot at a council meeting in January 2026.
