Arvada presents 10-year budget and CIP; sales-tax change, street maintenance and 70 Second Avenue loom

Mr. Archer, a city budget presenter, told the Arvada City Council that staff was presenting 10-year operating and capital financial models as the start of this year’s budget process and that the figures shown were preliminary, not final or recommended. “Tonight, we are here to present to you 2 different sections of our budget. 1 being our operating and 1 being our capital,” he said.

The presentation showed a range of near‑term pressures — slower sales‑tax growth, employee pay and benefit gaps, and rising health‑care costs — alongside planned capital work including the 70 Second Avenue project, ongoing water and wastewater projects and work on bridges, traffic signals and parks. Staff said the end of the 10‑year general fund projection is modestly positive (about $7 million) after adjustments, but earlier changes to revenue assumptions reduced projected receipts by about $14 million versus the previous model.

Why it matters: the sales‑tax outlook drives both the general fund and the city’s capital program. City staff said they reduced the 2025 assumed sales‑tax growth to 1% from roughly 2.1% previously, a change that lowers available operating revenue and the sales‑tax‑backed capital pool used for major projects. That reduction flows through the 10‑year model and affects decisions about staffing, maintenance and whether to issue debt to complete large capital projects.

Key figures and priorities

- Sales tax: staff lowered the 2025 assumed growth rate to 1% (previously ~2.1%), a change that lowers projected general‑fund receipts over the 10‑year horizon by about $14 million. - Ten‑year general…