Boulder staff outline up to $1.85 million in 2027 wildfire enhancements
The framework identifies grants, Open Space Fund money and a possible shift of existing Climate Tax Fund spending as potential support; City Council is scheduled to discuss the plan, not vote on funding.
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Boulder staff have outlined up to $1.85 million in possible 2027 wildfire-program enhancements, alongside an estimated $10.25 million in current annual spending across 10 priority programs.
The framework in the packet for City Council’s Oct. 22 study session lists up to $500,000 for home and property risk reduction, $100,000 for community emergency preparedness, $600,000 for wildfire fuels management and $650,000 for evacuation planning.
The packet identifies up to $1.25 million in county, state and federal grants the city is pursuing or plans to pursue, and up to $600,000 from the Open Space Fund, as potential sources for the enhancements. It does not assign final funding sources to each item. Separately, it lists a possible realignment of $1.8 million in existing 2027 Climate Tax Fund expenditures for home-risk reduction and community-preparedness work; that is a proposed redirection of existing spending, not new revenue.
The $10.25 million estimate is an order-of-magnitude figure for the 10 priority programs, not all 25 programs or 137 projects in the framework. It includes costs such as staff time, equipment, materials, contractors and administration.
The framework organizes 137 projects into 25 programs and sets proposed 2030 goals for 12 western wildland-urban-interface areas. Those goals include detailed assessments for 55% of homes, qualifying home hardening for 20% and evacuation-preparedness programming for 75%.
The Oct. 22 session is scheduled as a study session, not a vote on a spending package. Staff are seeking council feedback and say they intend to finalize any work plan and funding shifts for council consideration in spring 2027, pending that feedback.