The Carson City Open Space Advisory Committee meets 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the community center boardroom (851 E. William St.) and will be reviewing work priorities and a proposed budget going into the city-wide budget cycle for fiscal year 2026.
After election of a chair and vice chair for the calendar year, OSAC members will review the Open Space Work Plan for fiscal year 2026, which begins July 1.
“Most, if not all, of the projects have been discussed previously with the committee; and therefore, staff believes this reflects the committee’s direction for the immediate tasks ahead,” reads a staff report.
The plan includes grant-funded initiatives and is divided into capital improvement projects, land acquisitions/transactions, management activities and planning activities. Projects range from securing water rights at Buzzy’s Ranch in east Carson to the continued sheep grazing program for wildfire fuel reduction in the west hills of the city.
A copy of the plan is online: legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/3138011/5B_EXHIBITS-_FINAL.pdf.
OSAC members will also consider making a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors regarding a proposed fiscal year 2026 budget for the Open Space program. The program is funded by a .25 percent sales tax approved by voters in the Quality of Life Initiative in 1996. Forty percent of that revenue goes to Open Space.
“For FY 2024, the sales tax revenue for the Quality of Life — Open Space budget was $1,686,405. In FY 2025, the revenue is anticipated to be approximately $1,664,276. This is a conservative estimate based on current sales tax revenue projections,” according to a staff report.
The FY 2026 proposed budget for the Open Space program is approximately $1.58 million, according to documents provided for Tuesday’s meeting.
Supervisors approve the city’s tentative budget in April and the city’s final budget in May.