Angel Fire presents FY27 interim budget showing $1.57M gap covered by reserves

Julianna Gibson, the village budget supervisor, told the Angel Fire governing body at an interim budget workshop that the village projects $26,000,000 in revenues and $27,600,000 in expenditures for fiscal year 2027, leaving an approximately $1,570,000 shortfall. “This gap is entirely covered by existing cash in the bank within each respective fund,” Gibson said, adding, “We are not taking on additional debt to balance this baseline.”

Gibson said taxes make up the largest single revenue source at about 42.7% of projected receipts, followed by grants and appropriations (~25.7%) and charges for services (~25.3%). Salaries and benefits are the village's largest expenditure category, accounting for roughly 35.5% of the proposed budget. Gibson said the village employs 84 full-time and 15 part-time employees across its operations.

Adrienne Dawn, director of finance for the Village of Angel Fire, briefed the council on department-level numbers, saying the finance department's FY27 operating budget is roughly $1,150,000—about $875,000 of which is payroll, with auditors, IT and professional services making up the remainder. Dawn noted the village’s enterprise resource planning system cost nearly $115,000 last year and is paid from the administrative general fund rather than the finance department's own line.

Officials highlighted pressure points that could affect FY27: projected health-insurance-premium increases of up to 15%, continuing personnel needs, and capital and maintenance priorities. Councilors and department heads discussed workforce housing as a tool to address recruitment and retention for public-safety and public-works staffing needs.

The workshop presentations laid out department requests and capital priorities; staff said the village will rely on existing fund balances this year while continuing to evaluate ongoing revenue and expenditure assumptions ahead of final budget adoption.