Last year, Greeley city officials focused on returning to normal after COVID-19. This year, the city's budget looks more like a plan to move forward.

The Greeley City Council unanimously voted to approve a $367 million budget for the 2023 fiscal year. That's about a 10% increase from the 2022 fiscal year budget.

In a letter recommending the budget, City Manager Raymond Lee said Greeley finds itself at the intersection of growth and responsibility.

"Greeley must be future-focused and present in the here and now to successfully plan for a growing population and the infrastructure, service, and quality of life expectations of residents," he said in the letter. "Projections put Greeley on track to reach nearly 260,000 residents by 2065."

City revenues are rebounding from the lows seen during the pandemic, he said in the letter, and are growing steadily. Housing permits — an indicator of growth — are up this year, already exceeding original projections. However, Lee noted, inflation has risen more than 8% since last year.

Lee said that the city is balancing its improved financial condition with the need to have sufficient reserves.

Where does the money come from?

The vast majority of the money for the city's operating budget and the capital budget comes from charges for services and taxes.

Most of the city's revenue sources are bringing in more money than last year. The breakdown looks like this:

• Sales tax up 14.5%
• Auto use tax up 19%
• Building use tax up 16.4%
• Food tax up 8.5%
• Property tax up 26.6%

The revenue generated by the general use tax is down about 12%.

City priorities

City council previously identified several key priorities, including sustainable infrastructure and mobility, high-performance government, quality of life, business growth, community vitality and housing for all.

We'll break down what each priority is and some of the highlights that demonstrate how the city is paying for them. For those who want to look at each line item in the budget, you can find that at https://greeleygov.com/government/finance/budget.

Sustainable infrastructure and mobility

This priority includes investments to provide safe, clean water. The goal also focuses on preparing for long-term growth and improving neighborhood connectivity and mobility (think bicycles, sidewalks and public transit).

This is the biggest chunk of the budget, coming in at $169,993,987.

Some of the capital improvement projects set to be funded include:

• $13.7 million in the annual pavement rehabilitation program
• $5.5 million for future water acquisition
• $2.4 million in treated water reservoir rehabilitation
• $1.6 million for phase 1 of the 12th Street storm trunk line
• $3.8 million for a nonpotable (read: not for drinking) water expansion project
• $3.8 million for wastewater treatment reclamation facility generator replacement

Some of the other interesting budget highlights include hiring a facilities manager in the Public Works department, set to cost at least $146,482 annually, adding three additional trucks to help plow snow, set to cost $71,000, and hiring two equipment operators and the equipment those operators would use (think tractor, dump truck with plow) for $411,028.

High-performance government

This priority includes improving processes, internal systems and structures, stabilizing departments and more. This is the second-biggest chunk of the budget, coming in at $71,974,573.

One big ticket item in the budget this year, coming in at $488,500, includes the replacement of the Public Works Department's fleet management system. It's a software system that provides a mobile app that allows city employees to document a crash, request service, complete vehicle inspections and use web-based service centers rather than having to call or stop by the maintenance office to schedule a repair.

The city is also set to spend $320,000 on contracted government affairs and lobbying services in 2023. According to the city, these services support its vision by establishing strong governmental affairs relationships at the state and federal levels.

The city is also set to hire a performance and data analytics professional to establish regular performance metric standards to measure the city's overall operations. The budget carves out $175,000 for this new position.

Safe and secure communities

This priority centers on the people and equipment that keep our community safe, including first responders, police, response vehicles, upgraded equipment, salary increases and more. This makes up the third-biggest chunk of the budget, coming in at $64,742,228.

Hhighlights include:

• $108,518 to be used for dispatch cost increases
• $82,180 to hire an additional municipal court probation officer. According to the city, the municipal court has more than 120 active probation cases — a caseload too high for a part-time person. The normal caseload for a full-time municipal probation officer is 75-100.
• $300,000 total, or $150,000 each, to replace radio equipment for fire and police. The radio equipment has increased in price by about 20% since last year, according to the city.
• $444,000 for the purchase of an explosive device response vehicle for use by the police department. According to the city, the vehicle will improve the effectiveness of technicians on scene, increase safety of citizens and police personnel and improve reliability of getting people and equipment to the scene.

Quality of life

This priority includes Culture, Parks and Recreation programming, acquisition of open space and funding for facilities and operations. This is the fourth-biggest chunk of the budget, coming in at $43,103,167.

Highlights include:

• $62,000 to fund adaptive programming in youth and adult sports. According to the city, these expenses are expected to be offset by the cash brought in through increased participation.
• $115,504 to hire a business manager in the Culture, Parks and Recreation Department. The person hired for this position would institute a planning approach focused on data collection and documentation while handling other business matters.
• $70,292 for additional part-time staff and additional supplies for the Greeley Ice Haus. According to the city, the demand for the rink's programs, activities and ice time are at all-time highs.
• $118,190 to buy a new lithium-ion electric Zamboni at the Ice Haus.
• $300,000 set aside for future open space acquisitions
• $351,206 to fund two new maintenance technicians to help keep the city's landscaping up to industry standards.
• $100,000 to fund three full-time staff positions to maintain, repair and operate the city's natural areas and trails

Business growth

This priority includes investing in the city's brand and using economic development planning to support bringing various jobs, industry and housing opportunities to the city. This is the fifth-biggest chunk of the budget, coming in at $8,263,003.

One big-ticket item includes $3.1 million in one-time funds to replenish the Redevelopment Incentive Fund. According to the city, the cash is used to offset development impact and building permit fees for projects within the city's redevelopment district.

The city also plans to hire another communications specialist, with about $93,750 set aside to fund the position. According to the city, as Greeley returns to normal activities in a post-Covid landscape, it plans to invest in communication and public engagement to promote transparency.

A one-time fund of $35,000 is set aside for the development of a 2023-25 tourism master plan.

Community vitality

This priority encompasses long-range planning to support city growth. It's the sixth-largest chunk of the budget, coming in at $7,053,778.

Highlights include:

• $192,284 to hire a deputy director for the Community Development Department. The primary responsibilities are set to include oversight and management of planning, historic preservation, code compliance, engineering development review, civil inspections, building inspections, administrative support functions and more.
• $125,063 to hire a long-range planner, to focus on creating, implementing and managing long-range studies, conducting public outreach and using state-of-the-art Geographic Information Systems skills.
• A one-time funding of $200,000 to contract with an engineer to help with complicated development projects set to increase the number of lots within the city in the next 5-10 years by 15,000. This is intended to support the expected population increase.

Housing for all

This priority includes redevelopment and conducting housing needs assessments. It's the smallest chunk of the budget, coming in at $1,423,944.

Highlights include:

• $150,000 for one-time funds for the Greeley Home Ownership Program for Employees, to help folks employed by some of the city's largest employers own homes in the University District. Council recently voted to increase the funds available.
• $196,435 in one-time funds to hire a housing director to support the implementation of the city's strategic housing plan under the assistant city manager.

Expect utility rate changes

As part of the budget process, council voted to approve a 7.9% utility increase. That shakes out to an additional $8.67 per month for single-family homes.

Unfunded initiatives

This year, the council voted to approve more than $20 million in funding requests from various departments. But there were also many requests that were denied. We think including this helps paint a more complete picture of the compromises and priorities involved in the budgeting process. Here are some of the requests, by department, that were denied.

• City manager's office: Real-estate senior specialist and executive positions
• Communications and engagement: Part-time communications specialist
• Community development: Planning technician
• Culture, Parks and Recreation: Operations and administrative facility manager for the Active Adult Center; museum assistant curators, a public art technician, a special events coordinator, Union Colony Civic Center programming and a senior administrative specialist for the Cultural Administrative Division; Ranger program development and operations funding for Natural Areas and Trails; park maintenance technicians, a median maintenance crew supervisor, professional development, a parks planner/project manager and parks seasonal staffing for the Parks Division; boxing, maintenance, public art education outreach and Tointon Gallery for the Visual Arts for the Rodarte Center
• Finance: Special projects assistant
• Fire: Accreditation manager, fire captain specialist: EMS, fire protection engineer, uniform increase request, business analyst and strategic planning
• Human Resources: Organizational development specialist and retention funding
• Information technology: Application administrator and computer equipment for replacements
• Municipal court: Court-appointed council hourly rate increase and deputy court administrator
• Police: Police commander, take home care program and new computer-assisted dispatch module
• Public Works: Equipment operator for street and sidewalk sweepers, equipment operator for trucks and other equipment, additional overtime and traffic operations supervisor
• Sewer: Source control specialist
• Water: Safety trainer, water conservation specialist and water resources administrator

— Kelly Ragan is the founder and senior editor of the NoCo Optimist. You can usually find her covering Greeley and Weld County government. Have a tip? Let her know at [email protected]. Like this reporting? Let the Greeley Tribune know so they keep her around. Find more NoCo Optimist content at www.thenocooptimist.com.