The Boulder County Badger

Louisville tax collections improve outlook for 2027 General Fund budget

Louisville collected $20.17 million in taxes through July, helping put its General Fund forecast at structural balance for 2027 and within about $200,000 of balance for 2028.

Published Boulder
Louisville’s General Fund forecast chart shows annual ongoing and one-time revenue, expenses, fund balance, reserve thresholds and targeted amounts from 2023 through 2031.
Louisville’s General Fund forecast chart shows annual ongoing and one-time revenue, expenses, fund balance, reserve thresholds and targeted amounts from 2023 through 2031.

Louisville collected $20.17 million in combined taxes through July, up $3.2 million from the same period last year and 17.5% above budget. Finance staff’s updated forecast now shows the city’s General Fund at structural balance for 2027 and within about $200,000 of balance for 2028.

The [July revenue report](https://louisvilleco.api.civicclerk.com/v1/Meetings/GetAttachmentFile(fileId=5446), prepared for the Louisville City Council Finance Committee’s Sept. 17 agenda, shows collections were 18.9% higher than the $16.97 million collected through July 2025.

Sales tax accounted for $1.59 million of the year-over-year increase. Year-to-date sales tax reached $14.78 million, up 12.1% from the same period last year and $1.35 million above the city’s budget. Businesses outside Louisville generated $8.09 million in sales tax, up 17.3%, while businesses inside the city generated $6.69 million, up 6.3%.

Audit tax accounted for about $1.5 million of the overall increase, reaching $2.22 million through July — a 211.5% increase from the comparable period in 2025. July audit collections included $132,793.71 in penalties and interest on delinquent sales-tax payments.

Consumer use tax rose 24.9% year over year, adding about $194,000. Finance staff describes it as an unstable and unpredictable revenue source in the [monthly revenue report](https://louisvilleco.api.civicclerk.com/v1/Meetings/GetReportFile(fileId=2419).

Finance staff incorporated the July sales-tax data into the updated long-term forecast. The [General Fund budget update](https://louisvilleco.api.civicclerk.com/v1/Meetings/GetReportFile(fileId=2417) says the fund had been the only city operational fund not fully balanced for 2027 and 2028 after the initial budget presentation.

The forecast will inform, but has not finalized, the city’s budget decisions. The next listed budget discussion is a Sept. 22 review of refinements to the 2027-2032 Capital Improvement Plan. A budget public hearing and final City Manager presentation are scheduled for Oct. 20, followed by budget adoption scheduled for Nov. 2.

The stronger collections improve the city’s budget outlook, but do not themselves authorize new spending, restore services or change the capital plan.