Boulder council approves tentative fiscal 2026 budget, moves $127,000 class C transfer into roads line

Boulder Town Council on June 5 adopted a tentative fiscal year 2026 budget after a public hearing on revenues and line-item adjustments and an extended council discussion.

The council approved the budget as presented in the meeting’s Google document; the motion passed unanimously (yes: Gladys Lafever, Josh Ellis, Ray Gardner, John Brandt). Council members discussed projected fund balances, a planned transfer of $127,000 from the town’s Class C road fund to the FY2026 roads budget to cover recent chip-seal work, and a range of administrative increases included in the draft.

Why it matters: the approved tentative budget sets the town’s spending authority through the coming fiscal year and includes a one-time transfer to cover road work invoiced after the close of the current fiscal year.

Council presentation and discussion: Council member Josh Ellis walked the public and the council through line-item changes he described as minimal adjustments to match year-to-date spending. “I call this the lazy budget,” Ellis said, adding he increased some lines only to reflect current-year spending and built a cost-of-living increase into the wage table.

Ellis reported the town began the year with about $207,000 in the general fund and roughly $240,000 in Class C road funds. He told the council the town would use about half of the Class C balance for recently completed chip-seal work and said the capital projects fund started the year at about $175,000.

Public comment: Resident Steve Cox urged staff to use the state tax website to pull more current monthly revenue numbers for tighter forecasting. “You can go in and actually fill in the missing information, right, almost up to date within a month?” Cox said, recommending the town use posted state shares to refine projections.

Concerns and next steps: Council members raised concerns about increases in administration, auditing and information-technology costs. Ellis and other council members said some of those increases are transitional as the town contracts with a new CPA and professional services; they signaled intent to seek efficiencies during the year. The town clerk and staff were tasked with filing required budget paperwork with the state before statutory deadlines.

Votes at a glance: The council approved the tentative FY2026 budget as moved by Josh Ellis and seconded by Gladys Lafever; recorded ayes were Gladys Lafever, Josh Ellis, Ray Gardner and John Brandt.

Ending note: The council emphasized the approved document is the tentative budget; staff will continue to refine revenue projections and report back as invoices and state revenue reports are finalized.