May 2—CHEYENNE — Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins this week announced a proposed $147.6 million city budget for the 2025 fiscal year, which begins July 1.

The budget will be presented and discussed at several public meetings over the next six weeks, possibly amended and then approved by June 10.

"This was a really tough budget," Collins told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. "Some of the things we did last year, as they transferred over to this year, there was very little money left to do a lot of new things. But we were able to prioritize a couple things."

One item Collins said he is excited about is the addition of two new police officer positions and pay raises for members of the Cheyenne Police Department. The mayor has approved a request for salary increases for 93 police officers, 14 sergeants, four lieutenants and two captains at an annual cost of $395,405.

Another highlight for Collins is the addition of two new compliance officers. He said they will assist with efforts to clean up and relocate homeless camps and enforce city ordinances. Each position will have an annual salary of $59,000.

Although the mayor and Cheyenne City Treasurer Robin Lockman project an increase of $5.4 million in revenues compared to the current fiscal year, Collins said inflation has made it difficult to take full advantage of growing revenues, just like it does with personal budgets.

"When I first started [as mayor], I thought this would be the year, as I looked at the revenues, that I thought we'd start to finally get ahead a little bit ... and maybe start to do some quality of life projects," Collins said. "We started in the $50 million range, we're up to around $70 million in the general fund. So, revenues have grown significantly, just like we thought they would. But man, the cost of doing business has gone up too, just with all the inflation going on. Everything that we do is so much more expensive that, what I anticipated would be a much easier time by this time, in fact, has not gotten easier."

The budget is divided into six different funds, with the largest pot of money going toward the general fund, the city's primary operating account. It is used to keep track of all revenue sources and expenditures that are not required to be accounted for in other funds.

In the proposed budget, $71,647,647, or 72.9% of the total budget, will go toward the general fund. Of the general fund, 61% will be used to pay full-time employees and 27% will cover benefits.

Under the budget proposal, the police chief would remain the highest-paid city employee, with a $4,000 raise to $139,857. That is followed by the municipal court senior judge and the city attorney at just over $134,000 each.

The mayor would also receive a $7,500 raise from $95,000 to $102,500, and Lockman said City Council members would receive a raise so that all nine seats, after they are elected and sworn in, will receive $24,000 each.

Collins wrote in the budget that the development of data centers and expanding historic horse racing are two drivers of the increase in city revenues. The largest contributors to city revenue are sales and use taxes, making up 36.5% of projected revenues. Total revenues are expected to increase by $5,432,369, or 8.2%, from the current 2024 fiscal year budget.

Next, the budget discussions go to the public for the governing body to make any necessary changes.

The process began in January, when all city departments presented their goals and objectives and any spending changes to the city in what's called a budget narrative, which is due Jan. 31.

In February, Collins and Lockman began making revenue projections based on economic trends and conditions. During that same time, city departments and support agencies were crafting their budget requests.

Lockman and city staff worked to match the projected revenues with the budget requests and submitted the budget proposal on May 1.

Work sessions will begin next week, during which departments and agencies will come before the City Council to present their requests. These sessions will continue throughout the second week of May.

Noah Zahn is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's local government/business reporter. He can be reached at 307-633-3128 or nzahn@wyomingnews.com. Follow him on X @NoahZahnn.