Council staff flags OPCD staffing gap and a short‑term rental tax mismatch with ordinance 125872

Council central staff told the Select Budget Committee that the Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD) may lack staff and outreach capacity to complete long‑range planning work the council has requested, and that the proposed short‑term rental tax allocations in the 2026 budget do not match the dollar allocations spelled out in Ordinance 125872.

“Planning for the comprehensive plan and related implementation work is ongoing,” Lish Whitson, Council Central staff, told the committee, noting a long‑range planning position that has been vacant through 2025 is scheduled to be defunded in the 2026 proposed budget although the pocket would remain. Whitson said the council’s recent actions “have significantly increased the amount of work that this division is being asked to do.”

Outreach capacity: Whitson told the committee OPCD currently has one FTE dedicated to outreach and engagement for long‑range planning; that position was term‑limited and is scheduled to end in 2026. Staff said council could restore or make permanent outreach resources, add staff or provide targeted outreach funds (for mailings and other tools) if it wants OPCD to expand community engagement beyond projects that carry dedicated outreach budgets.

Short‑term rental tax allocations: Whitson also flagged a mismatch between the 2026 proposed budget and Ordinance 125872, which governs short‑term rental tax proceeds. The ordinance directs the first $5 million of short‑term rental tax proceeds to EDI grants, $2.2 million to affordable housing bond payments, $3.3 million to permanent supportive housing operations, and up to $1.1 million to EDI overhead, with remaining funds to equitable development grants. “The 2026 proposed budget does not align with those requirements,” Whitson said, and the executive transmitted legislation to amend the ordinance to remove the fixed dollar allocations and replace them with a description of eligible categories.

Other items: Whitson described a new Northern Lights planning project (North Aurora) funded at $250,000 in the proposed budget and a $200,000 pocket for OPCD to develop a process for administering an equity housing fund after the office of civil rights completes a housing reparations study. Councilmembers asked whether shifting positions out of OPCD (to other departments) and defunding the vacant position would slow compliance with council requests tied to the comprehensive plan.

Ending: The committee asked OPCD staffing and outreach questions and was offered options: restore or make permanent outreach staff, refund the vacant long‑range planning position, add direct outreach funds, accept the executive’s proposed amendments to ordinance 125872, or maintain the ordinance and adjust the budget to match it. Council staff said the executive proactively transmitted amending legislation for the short‑term rental tax allocations.