Broomfield officials warn flatter revenues, $6 million property-tax hit and tighter budgets in 2026 draft

BROOMFIELD, Colo. — City and County of Broomfield finance staff on Tuesday told council members the city’s preliminary 2026 budget outlook is “fragile,” with revenue pressures from slower consumer spending, high interest rates and recently adjusted property valuations.

Jeff Romine, the city’s economist, told the study-session meeting that staff now views the outlook more conservatively than earlier this year. “We have moved from stable but fragile into fragile,” Romine said, summarizing the updated revenue outlook.

That shift matters because the general fund depends heavily on three local revenue sources — sales tax, use tax (including vehicle-related use tax) and property tax — which together fund police, library, human services and other core services. Finance Director Graham Clark and Budget Manager Nathan Mosley outlined the department-level process staff are using to align spending with expected revenues.

Why it matters: staff described a near-term revenue pullback for 2025 and 2026 that will change departments’ baseline assumptions and could limit new initiatives. Romine said sales-tax receipts are projected to be essentially flat for 2025 compared with the previously adopted budget, producing what staff characterized in follow-up discussion as roughly a $3 million reduction for the current year. Property-tax collections — which reflect 2024 valuations billed in 2025 — are expected…