City Manager Mike presented the city of Grand Junction’s recommended 2026 budget at a special council workshop on Oct. 6, 2025, saying the total proposed plan is $314,800,000 and represents a 12.3% decrease from the 2025 adopted budget.

The drop reflects the progress of two large capital projects — the community recreation center and major work at the wastewater treatment plant — that carried heavy spending in 2025, Mike told the council and the public. "The total budget is £314,800,000 — that's a decrease of 12.3% from the 2025 adopted budget," he said, explaining the decline stems largely from lower capital outlays now that those projects have moved forward.

Why it matters: the recommended budget frames where the city will place staff and capital priorities for the coming year, and shows a mix of one-time and ongoing choices the council must approve through public hearings in November and December.

Major points in the recommendation

- Overall scale and composition: Labor and benefits are the largest share at roughly 37% of the total budget; capital outlay is about 35% and internal support/operating costs make up the remainder. The city manager described the plan as aligning staffing and spending to the council’s recently defined strategic pillars.

- Positions: The recommendation shows a net increase of 29 full-time positions for 2026. The largest increase is in public safety (13 net new positions — eight in fire, five in police). Additional hires are tied to opening the community recreation center and to maintenance and engineering redundancy.

- Rates and fees: The draft budget includes proposed rate adjustments across enterprise services. The presentation lists a modest monthly water-rate change (depending on usage) and a $3.31 monthly increase for single-family sewer service; solid waste and recycling rates would rise by $1–$2 per month depending on container size. Parking meter rates would also increase in selected hourly bands.

- Use of reserves and first responder fund: The plan uses a portion of the first-responder fund balance ($1.8 million) to balance the 2026 recommendation while leaving a projected ending balance of $1.9 million. City staff emphasized the use is intentional and not intended as an annual recurring draw.

- Vendor fee change: Staff recommended eliminating the small vendor fee that the state has already removed for collections it performs statewide. Officials said dropping the fee would increase city revenue by about $1.5 million annually while the typical storefront business currently retains roughly $30–$53 per month under the existing vendor-fee structure.

Next steps and public process

The council received the presentation and scheduled further workshop time and public hearings. The city manager said the council will consider formal adoption at later meetings, with public hearings planned in November and potentially a final adoption in late November or early December.

Speakers and sources

City Manager Mike — City Manager (government)
Budget manager Jimmy Welch — Budget staff (government)
Jody — Budget/finance staff (government)
Jay Valentine — Chief Financial Officer (government)

Provenance:

[{"block_id":"block_18.575","local_start":0,"local_end":162,"evidence_excerpt":"We will be, calling our we're gonna try to see the council workshop to order. It's a special workshop for the, overview of the city budget on 10/06/2025. And as we are getting started, as per usual, ask our city manager Mike to, pick us up. Alright.","reason_code":"topicintro"},{"block_id":"block_11420.245","local_start":0,"local_end":151,"evidence_excerpt":"So that wraps up tonight's discussion on the budget, appreciate all the time, patience and questions and hope that we've had and look forward to next week to dive further into the 2026 recommended fire. Great, thanks Mike, I appreciate the work, you did a great job thanking staff, I think all the council would echo that settlement and all the work that's been done and and certainly, no soul has to to accomplish what's been accomplished here. So looking forward to finishing this process.","reason_code":"topicfinish"}]

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