Council approves first amendment to Broomfield's 2026 budget, adding police step-plan funding and realigning revenues

The City and County of Broomfield adopted the first amendment to the 2026 budget on a unanimous vote, aligning revenue and expenditure estimates after updated projections and programming bond-financed enterprise projects.

City manager Hoffman and Graham Clark, director of finance, told council the amendment rebalances assumptions after final 2025 sales-tax receipts exceeded projections while anticipated fiber-lease revenues have shifted later. The amendment carries forward unspent, multiyear grant funds and formalizes enterprise financing for water- and wastewater-related projects funded through bonds issued in January 2026.

Council discussed the police 'step plan' funding included in the amendment. The manager said the step plan keeps public-safety compensation competitive and is historically built into Broomfield's approach; council members asked how the plan interacts with tight budget conditions and whether the plan is mandatory. "Council will always have the ability to scrutinize the market and the merit," the manager said, adding that public safety has been prioritized.

Finance staff said some capital projects will be re-sequenced because one grant was not awarded; the amendment also programs known bond amounts for enterprise projects such as water-tank and wastewater-phase work. Clark said the amendment is an administrative realignment rather than a final reconciliation; the external audit will begin in early April and a reconciliation will follow.

The council approved the city and URA budget amendments unanimously.