It was a bumpy task, but Boulder’s City Council has approved the city’s 2023-24 fiscal year budget.
“What a relief,” said new City Clerk Megan McCauley following the Council’s second 8 a.m. special budget meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 13 at City Hall. “I need a mental health day.”
“Well, [Mayor Rusty Giulio] has a place in town you can go to for that,” chimed in City accountant Mike Blakely, jokingly referring to The Windsor, the bar Giulio owns.
The city’s tax revenue increased by about $11,000. Property taxes, on average, should be comparable to last year’s. The city’s levy rate declined to 137.72 from 184.26 in fiscal 2022-2023, counterbalancing sharply higher property assessments by the state’s Department of Revenue this year. (State law limits increases in local government expenditures to one-half the rate of inflation over the previous three years.)
Cash reserves was another key talking point during the special meeting. With a $50,000 transfer out of capital improvements, cash reserves were at 28% (about $38,000 in the general fund).
“You are eligible to set aside up to 50% of your appropriation for cash reserves, but you don’t want to flirt with that 50% number, so we are happy with where we are at,” Blakely said.
Mayor Rusty Giulio said the City has become more fiscally conservative in the last few years. For example, there used to be $0 in cash reserves (about five years ago), Giulio said, and now the city has a little more than $250K This has allowed the city to increase the emergency services fund from $10,000 to $37,000, reflecting the hiring of Jack Trethewey as Boulder Ambulance service interim manager. The city also plans to hire a grant writer, whose pay has been budgeted at $25,000.
The road department’s budget saw an exponential increase as a result of gas taxes. House Bill 473, passed by the State Legislature this year, authorized a significant increase in the state’s gas tax, which supports local road construction and maintenance projects.
According to City Council member Bear Taylor, who also manages the road department for Jefferson County, this is a “spend it while you’ve got it” scenario, the 2024-25 road budget is expected to be tighter. The state collects a fuel tax when fuel is purchased. That fuel tax has been paid out to local governments in two ways previously, as a State Fuel Tax Payout and as a Bridge and Road Safety and Accountability Act (BaRSAA) fund.
Previously, BaRSSA funds had to be applied for by the city and dedicated to a particular project, similar to a grant, Taylor said. This process was extensive for both the local governments and state employees overseeing it. In the last legislative session, it was approved to roll all the funds into the State Fuel tax payout as a monthly payment moving forward to be used solely for the “Construction, reconstruction, and maintenance of Roads.”
“There were some remaining BaRSSA funds that were never appropriated to local government, so the state is paying those out as a one time lump sum payment,” Taylor wrote in an email to The Monitor. “This year the city received that lump sum payout as well as receiving the new fuel tax appropriation. This is why there are more funds available to the road dept this year only. We will receive fuel tax moving forward, but the amount will be less than this year.”
What is budgeted this year for roads will not include chip sealing, Taylor said, as chip sealing has to be done before August, which is not included in the 2023-24 fiscal year budget. However, Taylor said he highly recommends stockpiling chips this fiscal year, up to $100,000 worth.
In addition, Taylor said the road department can accomplish a lot of asphalt repair, fixing up bad spots on roads, drainage issues, culverts and more.
Taylor said the city is working to create a plan to best utilize funds for road maintenance and improvements. The funds cannot be used for the purchase of equipment or facilities.
Another significant budget change is a 3% cost of living raise for employees. Health insurance coverage hasn’t changed, McCauley said, but it is a priority for next year’s budget.
A few other line items of note include the swimming pool, which has $35,000 budgeted for professional services, up from $500 the previous year. McCauley said the pool is in need of major repairs. There was also a significant increase in administrative services for salaries/wages and for publicity/subscriptions. This money will be spent on a billboard for the City of Boulder, in partnership with the Boulder Transition Advisory Committee.
City Councilors also expressed gratitude for funds available through the American Rescue Plan Act, $251,000 of which will be used for the ongoing Water System Improvement Project. This includes a new well, a new storage tank and other water infrastructure improvements.
