Cheyenne proposes $82.8 million general fund budget for FY2027, prioritizing employees and reserves

Mayor Collins presented the Cheyenne administration's proposed fiscal year 2027 budget, telling the council it is a conservative, structurally balanced plan that matches projected expenditures to $82,765,026 in general-fund revenue.

The mayor highlighted the city's recent revenue growth and said 72.7% of the budget is dedicated to payroll and benefits. "They say you can tell what you value by looking at your budget," Collins said, framing the proposal's emphasis on compensation and staffing as a deliberate policy choice.

Robin Lochman, the city treasurer, said the administration has strengthened reserves in recent years, growing general-fund reserves from about $21.8 million in early 2021 to roughly $77.3 million at the end of 2025. Lochman described the FY2027 plan as "structurally balanced," noting the administration deliberately budgets conservatively for volatile revenue sources such as sales tax.

Key figures and policy items in the proposed FY2027 budget include:

- General-fund revenue: $82,765,026 (an $8 million, or roughly 11%, increase from FY2026). - Payroll and benefits share: 72.7% of the budget. - Compensation: a previously approved 3% cost-of-living adjustment and a proposed 3% merit increase effective July 1; a change to the step program (moving the step stay from 35 years to 25 years) to address pay compression. - Health insurance: a request to allocate $1,000,000 of reserves to reduce projected employee health-insurance cost increases from 15% to 5%. - Staffing: net increase of approximately 26 positions across the city, including nine firefighters transitioning from the SAFER grant into the general fund (total cost in the budget: $889,649), an additional deputy director for the CRE department, an HR recruitment specialist, an arborist for the arboretum, and an extra municipal judge to address caseload pressure. - Technology and transition costs: temporary dual operation of OpenGov and the Harris ERP during migration is projected to add about $614,803 in FY2027 costs as part of a broader modernization effort. - Debt: limited outstanding debt, primarily parking-structure bonds with a remaining balance of $2,320,000 and full repayment expected in 2028; a FY2027 debt payment of $768,524 is budgeted and a $520,000 bond reserve has been set aside. - Council discretionary amount: the mayor noted roughly $250,000 remains available for council priorities after the proposed allocations.

Council discussion focused on reserves, debt-management strategy and recruiting. Councilman White asked whether it would make sense to use reserves to pay off the parking garage bond early; Lochman and other council members advised against that step because the city earns a higher return on invested reserves than the bond interest rate.

Lochman said sales tax collections and franchise fees—especially from increased power generation and data center activity—have driven much of the recent revenue gains. The treasurer said the administration intentionally budgeted FY2027 sales-tax revenue below the most recent peak (budgeted at $27,970,000) to avoid building ongoing commitments around potentially transient highs.

Lochman and council members also discussed municipal workload and service needs: the treasurer said the treasurer's office budget totals about $1.17 million and that payroll represents nearly all of it; she described OpenGov implementation as a significant multi-year modernization project intended to improve transparency and reporting.

The work session produced questions and clarifications but no formal votes; the council will continue department-level budget reviews in subsequent work sessions.