Boulder City Council OKs changes to 2024 recommended budget

Amber Carlson, Daily Camera, Boulder, Colo.
·3 min read

Oct. 6—After a detailed discussion Thursday night about possible changes to Boulder's 2024 recommended budget, the City Council voted unanimously to advance four budget-related ordinances that included a handful of changes councilmembers had endorsed.

Specifically, council moved forward ordinances to adopt the 2024 budget with an additional $500,000 of funding for pavement management, $103,000 to increase pay for city ambassadors, $30,000 to support underpass lighting and $10,000 to support the Community Connectors-in-Residence program. Councilmembers voted to fund the pavement and underpass projects with from the Transportation Fund, the Community Connectors program with money from the General Fund and the ambassador pay with money from the Central Area General Improvement District.

In addition, the council approved ordinances to establish 2023 property tax mill levies to be collected in 2024 and amend city code regarding certain taxes and fees.

City staff had asked councilmembers after a Sept. 14 discussion on the recommended budget to suggest any changes they wanted to see and specifically identify where funds would come from for any funding proposals.

Councilmembers Lauren Folkerts and Nicole Speer made a variety of recommendations that included repurposing some or all of the more than $3 million allocated to the Safe and Managed Public Spaces program and the City Council travel budget to provide more funding to support other programs and services such as Community Connectors-in-Residence, emergency assistance payments and sheltering efforts.

Councilmembers Rachel Friend and Tara Winer both suggested increasing funding for pavement management, and Winer said she was interested in funding underpass lighting and maintenance.

Mayor Pro Tem Mark Wallach suggested deferring spending on FAA-related projects on the airport, while Councilmember Bob Yates proposed redirecting some CAGID funds toward supporting the city's ambassador program.

Councilmembers generally agreed on taking funds from the Transportation Fund, General Fund and CAGID to free up funding for pavement management, underpass repair, city ambassadors and the Community Connectors program. However, a majority of councilmembers did not support repurposing some or all of the SAMPS program funding for other uses. Only two councilmembers, Folkerts and Speer, favored that option.

"We know from research these encampment cleanup programs don't help reduce homelessness. ... They're just moving people around and we know from research ... they do decrease the life expectancy of people who are moved around," Speer said. "So to me, this is not a satisfactory use of funding."

Wallach said he understood the motivation for wanting to reduce SAMPS funding, but that he sees it as "tantamount to abandoning portions of our public lands from public use because they will become permanently blighted."

Wallach ultimately withdrew his proposal on airport spending since a decision has not yet been made on the airport's future.

Thursday night marked the first reading and public hearing for the four ordinances. They are set for a second reading and final vote on Oct. 19.

Additionally, a majority of councilmembers on Thursday night gave the nod to ask city staff to move forward with exploring potential options for safe outdoor spaces in Boulder. Several ideas were put forth about what such a program could look like, but city staff will research some possibilities and bring them back to the council at a later date.