City staff presented the proposed 2026 operating and capital budget to the Longmont City Council on Sept. 9, highlighting street maintenance, transit programs and downtown development projects.

Finance staff said the proposed budget includes 12 new full-time equivalents across several enterprise funds and technology services (total authorized FTE would reach about 1,168.905 in 2026). New positions include watershed and natural-resources technicians in the water and open-space funds, several line-worker positions and a signal technician in electric and streets, and four temporary technology-services roles to support a new IT services fund.

On transportation, Engineering Director Jim Angstadt said the street fund draws primarily from a 0.75-cent sales tax, with intergovernmental grants and permit revenue supplementing capital work. The city manages about 356 miles of road, 102 traffic signals and more than 600 miles of sidewalk. The 2026 proposed street fund budget totals roughly $37.4 million with about $19.6 million targeted to capital and $9.0 million to operating and maintenance. Street maintenance items include plowing, sweeping, concrete repairs, traffic-signal work and a pavement-management program; staff noted the pavement program funding is slightly lower than 2025 because sales-tax revenue and grant offsets are flat.

Transit funding in the 2026 proposal includes about $2.1 million for microtransit (Ride Longmont), LEAD bus service to Fort Collins and fare support for RTD services (Ride Free Longmont). Staff said microtransit is still in a learning phase; staff recently secured an RTD grant amendment to extend funding and added another vehicle for Ride Longmont.

On downtown investment, staff and the Longmont Downtown Development Authority (LDDA) reported available tax-increment (TIF) resources and a multi-year set of projects. Kimberly McKee, LDDA executive director, said the construction fund will spend less new money in 2026 than in 2025 because prior-year carryover remains available and several multi-year projects are mid-implementation. Major priorities include initial implementation at 600 Main Street (a town-square concept and possible future mixed-use building), wayfinding and placemaking, murals and events tied to Sundance 2027 planning, and additional parking operations, including expanded use of the Spoke/Kaufman garage.

Councilor questions centered on ridership and cost-effectiveness for microtransit and on how parking will be managed for residents and downtown users. Staff said ridership data and performance metrics will be monitored and that integrated parking technology (permit sales and QR-code pay options) will make all-day parking simpler for the public.

Why this matters: the 2026 budget frames the citys maintenance commitments on streets and transit while continuing investments in downtown infrastructure and programming. Several capital requests are one-time uses of fund balance or interfund transfers; staff said they will bring CIP details and deeper utility budget summaries to a study session the following week.

Next steps: staff will present deeper CIP detail and the new technology services fund in upcoming study sessions and finalize the 2026 proposed budget for council review.