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City staff previews 2026 budget release; arts commissioners given timeline and fund details
Summary
City finance staff reviewed the 2026 budget publication process with the Boulder Arts Commission, including how to navigate OpenGov fund financials, the arts, culture and heritage tax fund, and key public hearing dates. A Create Boulder representative urged greater budget transparency and called for council advocacy for arts funding.
City of Boulder finance staff walked the Boulder Arts Commission through the citybudget publication and review process for the 2026 fiscal year, explained where arts funding is summarized in the online budget book, and outlined deadlines and public-hearing opportunities for commissioners and community members.
Elliot (city finance staff) told commissioners the proposed 2026 budget was scheduled to be released to the public in two days. He said the commission would receive an emailed link to the online budget book and instructions for navigating program- and fund-level pages. Key dates given in the meeting: a council study session on Sept. 11 (no public comment), first reading with public hearing on Oct. 9, and second reading with public hearing on Oct. 23; final reading is planned for Oct. 29.
Elliot emphasized that the city managerrecommends the proposed budget but City Council appropriates funds and can make changes between first and second reading. He guided commissioners to the OpenGov "fund financials" appendix where the Arts, Culture & Heritage fund (the 2A tax fund) is listed and cautioned that the 2025 revised figures will differ from the 2026 recommended numbers because of updated sales-tax projections and budget adjustments. He said staff would present an in-depth, program-level breakdown of the Arts, Culture & Heritage fund at the commissionmeeting in September.
During public participation, Nick Forster, representing Create Boulder and identifying himself as a venue owner, said voters had "passed overwhelmingly" a ballot amendment to support the arts and urged commissioners to advocate for the arts and for a more transparent, user-friendly budget process. Forster said the arts generate local economic activity and described the budget timeline as "truncated," asking commissioners to push for earlier and clearer community input into city budget decisions.
Finance staff said the online budget book includes multi-year fund forecasts, operating budgets by program, and an appendix with fund definitions and fund financial tables. Staff noted some arts-related line items are funded from multiple sources (for example, transportation or capital funding may contribute to public art) and that the public art portfolio and grants are funded from combined sources, not solely the 2A tax.
Staff also reviewed the arts-related line items commissioners had recently discussed: a public art budget figure presented in the meeting and a separate note that the Dairy Arts Center reported having invested nearly $10 million in improvements and has budgeted a capital HVAC/roof replacement project estimated at $1 million. Staff committed to share fund-detail pages and a simplified summary intended for community audiences.
No appropriation vote occurred at the commission meeting; staff advised commissioners how to submit comments to council and how commission recommendations would be considered ahead of the council public hearings.
