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Boulder council adopts 2026 budget, approves related fee and tax changes
Summary
The council approved the 2026 budget and several related ordinances (8722, 8723, 8724, 8727), adopting a fiscal plan that includes a $2.25 million transportation maintenance fee line and other fee and tax adjustments; council votes were mostly unanimous.
On Oct. 23 the Boulder City Council adopted the city’s 2026 recommended budget and several attendant ordinances after a public hearing and council deliberations.
Budget Officer Charlotte Huskey presented an overview of the recommended 2026 budget, which projects total revenues of about $407.2 million and reflects slowing revenue growth. Staff told council they identified a General Fund shortfall of approximately $7.5 million during the development process and addressed that gap through reductions, realignments and one-time uses of fund balance where appropriate.
Council voted to adopt Ordinance 8722 (the city budget for fiscal year 2026) by a roll call vote of 8–1. Ordinance 8723 (establishing the city’s 2025 property mill levies), Ordinance 8724 (appropriations for 2026) and Ordinance 8727 (amendments to various fee and tax sections of the Boulder Revised Code, including parking fees and other adjustments) were each adopted by roll call; the latter three passed unanimously.
Staff said the long-term financial strategy work continued to explore enhanced revenue measures and alternative funding, including the Transportation Maintenance Fee (programmed at $2.25 million in the proposed 2026 budget), parking fee adjustments and a proposed single-family housing expansion fee. Charlotte Huskey summarized capital needs in a six-year CIP and noted $113.3 million in new appropriation for 115 capital projects, and a planned six-year spending total of roughly $789.5 million across 173 projects.
During the public hearing, Maria Stepan, executive director of the Center for People with Disabilities, urged continued support for Elevate Boulder, a guaranteed-income pilot. Staff replied that the pilot was funded with one-time dollars and that, given current fiscal constraints, the city cannot fund it on an ongoing basis without additional external funds; staff said they would support community fundraising efforts and could consider matching private funds in the future.
Council signaled continued attention to human-services needs and directed staff to return with criteria on reserves and to continue monitoring community impacts, including potential reductions in federally funded benefits that could affect local demand for social services.
