Longmont proposes $547.5 million 2027 budget, including nine firefighter positions

Longmont city staff have proposed a balanced $547.5 million all-funds budget for 2027, a 5.3% increase over the current budget. The proposal would maintain current service levels, add nine firefighters partly to reduce overtime and fund a five-year, $316.5 million capital-improvement program.

The budget, presented to the City Council on Sept. 1, includes water, wastewater and electric operations in addition to the general fund. Staff projected the general fund reserve would remain at 19.4%.

The proposal is not final. The council is scheduled to review budget components in September and early October, with adoption ordinances expected in November. The later schedule would allow the city to incorporate the results of a November public-safety tax ballot question.

Revenue pressures

Staff said departmental expense requests initially exceeded projected revenue by about $6.8 million. Expenditure controls, a tactical hiring freeze and fleet-auction savings helped avoid an estimated $1.2 million increase.

Property-tax projections also remain unsettled. A budget presentation initially cited a $2 million impact from state assessment-rule changes before a city budget official corrected the figure to $1 million. After receiving updated county data, staff said the city needed to reduce its property-tax revenue assumptions by at least another $511,000, with the reduction potentially reaching $750,000 before accounting for appeals.

Staff also cited volatility in sales and use tax, inflation, interest rates, slower construction and reduced state marijuana distributions. City Manager Harold Dominguez said Longmont operates as a lean organization, so reductions can require cuts to services rather than the elimination of excess capacity.

The proposal includes a separate 1.4-position allocation for parks, sustainability and transportation work, supported by conservation-trust and transportation-fund revenue. Recreation was modeled at 80% cost recovery. Staff also proposed keeping employees who were below market at 2026 market levels while raising the midpoint of the city’s pay structure by 3%; staff said that would not mean every employee receives a raise, though most likely would receive some increase.

Firefighter positions

The proposed budget includes 10.41 new general-fund positions, including nine firefighters. Staff classified the firefighter positions as ongoing Level Two expenses, a category for new or enhanced services, positions or equipment.

Staff said the positions would reduce overtime associated with minimum staffing and shift-relief requirements. After Fire Station 1 opened, the city relied on overtime to cover some relief shifts. Regular staffing would avoid the additional half-time cost of overtime, staff said, and the positions would be financed through reduced overtime spending and some one-time funds during the transition.

The meeting record does not specify the positions’ total cost, expected overtime savings or hiring timeline.

Capital plan

The proposed 2027-2031 capital-improvement program totals $316.5 million, including $95 million in new 2027 funding. The largest five-year allocations are $78.2 million for electric projects, $69.9 million for water and $62.6 million for transportation.

Staff described roughly 55% to 65% of the program as asset management, 25% to 35% as enhancements to existing infrastructure and about 10% as new infrastructure. The presentation said development primarily funds the new-infrastructure share.

The 2027 plan includes nearly $1.7 million for roofs, about $1.3 million for boilers and about $2.4 million for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning work. Staff said the HVAC work covers six locations and the roof work covers three. Other projects include railroad quiet zones, electric-grid modernization, wastewater digester No. 4 design, cast-iron water-pipe replacement, South Pratt Parkway Bridge rehabilitation and the final segment of the Resilient St. Vrain project planned for 2027-28.

The First and Main Street transit station was not listed as new 2027 funding because it was included in the previous budget cycle and is expected to roll over from 2026 into 2027 once funded.

The council also gave direction on a proposed change to the electric utility franchise-fee policy, but staff said the change still requires approval as part of the overall budget. The Sept. 1 presentation and discussion did not constitute final adoption. The city’s Sept. 1 meeting discussion and budget presentation are available online.