City Of Boulder Releases 2020 Recommended Budget

BOULDER, CO — The City of Boulder released its 2020 Recommended Budget Friday. The $369 million budget reflects an increase in the overall city budget by 4.3 percent compared to last year, which is mainly due to an increased capital budget, city officials said.

“This recommended budget addresses community needs and priorities within the context of the current and projected city revenues,” Boulder City Manager Jane Brautigam said in a statement. “As we plan for 2020, there are reasons to proceed cautiously. While Boulder’s financial foundation remains strong, the city faces several challenges. The primary challenge is accommodating increased costs while balancing costs against projected revenues. The second challenge is the rising cost of labor.”

The recommended budget aims to balance ongoing expenses with ongoing revenues and limits new expenses, Brautigam said. The budget also revisits and executes past recommendations that create efficiencies and eliminate redundancies across city departments.

(Stay up-to-date on Boulder news with Boulder Patch! There are many ways for you to connect and stay in touch: Free Newsletters and Email Alerts | Facebook)

Boulder City Council will first discuss the recommended budget at its Sept. 10 study session, and then at two public hearings in October.

Under Boulder's proposed 2020-2025 Capital Improvement Program, $85.6 million is recommended for 2020, and approximately $564.9 million is recommended for project allocations for years 2020 to 2025, the city said. The 2020 proposed CIP was lower than anticipated at this time last year based on timing of large utility projects that have been pushed to 2022, according to officials.

About 82 percent of the six-year CIP is allocated to repair, rehabilitation and enhancements for existing public facilities. These capital investments are prioritized, and funds are set aside over time, to directly cover the costs of planned projects. Because of large variances in capital, it is better to look at the operating budget change, the city said.

The proposed operating budget represents a 1.8 percent increase compared to 2019. Similarly, the 2020 General Fund Recommended Budget increased 1.6 percent, or $2.5 million, more than the 2019 budget.

The proposed budget projects retail sales tax will continue to grow, at a slower rate, and assumes a 2.1 percent increase above the 2019 end-of year projection of 1.9 percent growth over 2018, the city said. Through June 2019, use tax revenues are down over 2018. Construction use tax is down 11.5 percent and business use tax is down 10.7 percent.

For 2020, the city’s portion of property tax is estimated to increase approximately 10.5 percent or $4.5 million city-wide. This increase in property tax revenue will help compensate for the slower growth in sales and use tax revenue, officials said. Boulder’s diverse tax structure is designed to accommodate shifts in revenue growth to continue the delivery of essential services.

Because retail sales tax trends indicate a slower-growth local economy next year, the recommended budget takes a conservative approach that addresses essential services and key council priorities while focusing on citywide benefit, risk mitigation and good governance to ensure Boulder remains a fiscally sustainable community, the city said.

The city listed the following key initiatives in the 2020 Recommended Budget:

• Electronic Signatures and Petitioning - Measure 2G authorized the council to allow for on-line signing or endorsement of initiative petitions. This project aims to identify the requirements needed in order to achieve the goals of this measure, which the electors voted in favor of on Nov. 6, 2018, and to implement an appropriate solution that meets those requirements.

• Library Master Plan - the 2020 budget continues investment in the Library’s Master Plan and expands funding into the Meet Community Demand service level by adding a new Bilingual Youth Services Specialist, a new Volunteer Services Specialist, George Reynolds Branch Library Collection and Public Space Reconfiguration as well as planned investment in North Boulder (NoBo) Library operating expenses, beginning in 2021.

• Transportation Essential Services - Safety and providing essential services are the highest priorities within the city’s Transportation Master Plan. Transportation-related essential services such as snow and ice removal, pothole filling and street repair as well as median maintenance provide travel safety, multi-modal access, and protect the investment in our existing infrastructure.

• Language Access Specialist - A language access specialist will support the city’s efforts to identify and implement best practices to support inclusive and meaningful communication and engagement. Specifically, the individual will spearhead the creation of a language access plan, which will chart short-, mid- and long-term goals and strategies for when and how the city will offer Spanish translation and interpretation services. In addition to overseeing the plan creation, this bilingual colleague will provide strategic counsel related to language access, vet outside translators and interpreters and back-translate city documents to ensure consistency and quality.

• Living Wage - Council opted in 2003 to adopt Resolution 926 that directed the city manager to recommend annual budget appropriations necessary to pay its standard, full-time employees no less than 120% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. In 2015, the methodology was updated to reflect the Colorado Self Sufficiency Scale (SSS), a better predictor of regional living costs. Council agreed with the staff recommendation to make appropriate future adjustments in the context of updates to the SSS, salary and market data, and as budget resources and priorities allow. The 2020 budget increases the minimum Living Wage to $17.42/hour.

• Cyber Security - This position will be supporting the cyber security program, as well as supporting server administration tasks with a security or resilience component as identified in the Innovation & Technology department’s strategic assessment. This includes supporting the identity management system, digital communication systems, network firewalls, and enterprise security tools.

The full 2020 Recommended Budget is available online. The city will hold an initial public hearing and consider the 2020 Recommended Budget on Tuesday, October 1.