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Woodland Park staff present draft $32 million 2026 budget, propose $2.75 million capital reserve
Summary
City staff outlined a draft 2026 budget that totals roughly $32 million across funds, proposes a $2.75 million capital reserve for Meadowood projects (possible reallocation to the golf course), and estimates the general fund ending balance at about 17.2% for 2026.
City staff presented a draft 2026 budget at a Woodland Park City Council work session, proposing a total budget across major funds of about $32 million and a $2,750,000 capital reserve targeted for Meadowood projects.
City staff member Aaron opened the presentation and said council members had received the budget recently and that staff would review year-over-year changes in detail. "We did get the budget delivered to you all on Bridal, so you haven't had that much time to review it. But, we are gonna go through it in detail tonight," Aaron said.
The draft includes a general fund projection of $13,077,000 in revenue for 2026 and estimates the general fund unrestricted fund balance to end 2026 at 17.2%, about $2,297,000. Staff noted the 2025 year-end general fund unrestricted balance was projected at 20.99% after one-time items including the Bergstrom Park purchase.
Key staffing and compensation items in the draft include a 2.1% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) budgeted at $141,000, effective January 2026, and a $250,000 set-aside for market adjustments following a compensation study staff expects to complete in spring 2026. "We are looking for a $250,000 set aside, for market adjustments based on that compensation study," Aaron said.
The draft also carries capital and operating additions across departments: $199,100 to replace two of four roofs at city facilities, three vehicle requests (two snowplow trucks and one 3/4-ton diesel for utilities), and continued funding for utilities and street projects. Staff said health insurance costs are budgeted to rise 5.5% and the city will absorb the increase without passing costs to employees.
Staff described revenue anomalies tied to a midyear 1.09 tax change that complicates year-over-year comparisons; they said 2025 revenues are expected to finish under the original 2025 budget by roughly $2,700,000 and that personnel savings from vacancies helped offset one-time purchases in 2025.
The presentation also included a five-year financial outlook and the staff recommendation to follow conservative revenue and expenditure assumptions. "We try to be very conservative in both our revenues and our expenditure projections so that we don't do anything crazy to make those very difficult to predict into the future," Aaron said.
No formal council vote on the budget occurred during the work session; staff presented the draft for review and asked for council feedback before final adoption procedures.
Looking ahead, staff said the draft assumes the council will confirm any mill-levy decisions before finalizing changes to ensure the city retains a fund balance near the policy target. Staff also noted multiple grants will be pursued (mostly state grants), but those potential awards are not included in the general fund line items unless federal reporting rules require separate handling.
