Boulder staff recommend $552.6 million 2027 budget with service cuts and higher utility rates

Boulder city staff recommend a balanced $552.6 million 2027 budget that would close a projected $6.3 million General Fund shortfall through service reductions, position eliminations and higher utility rates. The proposal is not final; City Council is scheduled to hold public hearings and consider adoption Oct. 1 and Oct. 15.

The recommendation includes $417.24 million in operating spending and $135.36 million in capital projects. Operating spending would rise 2.35% from the 2026 approved budget, according to the city’s 2027 recommended budget materials.

The city would end its police photo-radar van program. Police traffic patrols would instead be used for targeted Vision Zero enforcement, while red-light and speed-on-green photo enforcement would continue, staff say.

The proposal would reduce service at two pools and eliminate child watch at East Boulder Community Center. Spruce Pool would remain open through 2027 with one-time funding. Scott Carpenter Pool would have fewer shoulder-season and lower-demand indoor swim and leisure hours. East Boulder users could use child watch at North Boulder Recreation Center instead.

Other service reductions include cutting custodial service in municipal buildings from five days a week to three and limiting Boulder Walks’ expansion into new neighborhoods and recruitment of volunteer walk leaders. The proposal also reduces economic incentive funding and other ongoing programs.

The budget plan eliminates 24.1 full-time-equivalent positions across 10 departments, including 13.1 filled positions and 11 vacant positions. The reductions include seven police photo-enforcement officer positions, one Animal Protection and Code Enforcement officer position, three Innovation and Technology positions, three Housing and Human Services positions, three Parks and Recreation positions, two Climate Initiatives positions, two Communications and Engagement positions, and 4.1 positions across the Municipal Court, City Council, Open Space and Mountain Parks, and Human Resources.

The city also plans to hold 8.5 vacant positions through 2027, including facilities and parking-maintenance positions, three Transportation and Mobility positions and one Finance position. The recommendation adds or realigns other positions, including three police lieutenant positions and staffing for a centralized Office of Customer Experience, so the 24.1-position elimination figure is not the city’s overall net staffing change.

Recommended utility rates would increase 5% for water, 7% for wastewater and 7% for stormwater and flood management. Staff say the increases would support operations, regulatory compliance and infrastructure rehabilitation. The budget materials project utility revenues to rise 6.8%, though billed revenue would vary with usage, conservation and weather. The packet does not provide a typical residential bill, so the household impact would depend on a customer’s rate class, usage and stormwater charge.

The budget also includes an estimated $3.03 million from a Transportation Maintenance Fee beginning in 2027. Property owners would pay the fee to support bridge maintenance, pavement management, sidewalk repairs and street markings.

The packet separately describes a proposed $400 million Recreation and Safety Bond for the Nov. 3, 2026, ballot. Repayment would come through property taxes. Proposed projects include a new South Boulder Recreation Center, a new Public Safety Building, work at recreation centers and fire stations, improvements to the Penfield Tate II Building, and transportation and fleet-maintenance facilities in east Boulder.

Council’s Sept. 10 meeting was a study session, not a budget adoption vote. Members were expected to submit potential amendments between Sept. 11 and Sept. 28. The first reading and public hearing are scheduled for Oct. 1, followed by a second reading, public hearing and possible adoption Oct. 15.