Boulder City Council on Thursday received a multi-part briefing on the city’s long-term financial strategy and a proposed multiyear ballot-measure framework that staff says is intended to address a large backlog of unfunded capital and program needs.

The presentation, led by Charlotte Husky, the city’s budget officer, laid out four work streams — a long-term financial plan, alternative funding mechanisms, core service levels and a multiyear ballot-measure strategy — and recommended two options for the 2025 ballot: (1) extending the existing 0.3% community, cultural, resilience and safety (CCRS) sales-and-use tax and (2) creating a public-realm property tax that would increase the permanent parks property tax and expand allowable uses. Staff also said it will continue exploring a vacancy charge as a potential revenue source and will present statistically valid polling results to council in late June.

“The long term financial strategy focuses on the development of a comprehensive citywide strategy to help guide fiscal decision making and long term, financial health of the city,” Budget Officer Charlotte Husky told council during the presentation.

Why it matters: staff said the city currently faces a large list of unfunded capital and maintenance needs and an overreliance on sales tax. The proposed measures are intended to diversify revenue, provide more flexibility for funding infrastructure and maintenance, and fund a prioritized set of capital and nonprofit needs while staff develops a five-year comprehensive plan.

What staff proposed and the numbers presented
- CCRS extension: Staff presented an estimate of roughly $15,000,000 in annual sales-and-use tax revenue if the CCRS tax is extended. Staff modeled an extension through 02/2050 and said that scenario would generate roughly $195–$210 million total over the extension period, with roughly $175–$189 million directed to city capital and $19.5–$21 million for nonprofit capacity and capital support if extended only to 2050 (rather than made permanent). Staff said exact allocations and the refined project list will be brought back in June–July.
- Public-realm property tax: Staff proposed exploring an increase in the permanent parks property tax from 0.9 mills to 2.252 mills, broadening eligible uses to include parks, civic buildings and public right-of-way work (streets, sidewalks, bike lanes and multiuse paths) and allowing issuance of debt against the revenue stream.
- Vacancy charge: staff described an exploratory, high-level estimate of $1–$2 million annually from a vacancy charge calculated at $1,000–$2,000 per vacant unit based on a notional 1,000 vacant units; staff noted vacancy-charge levels used elsewhere in the U.S. range from roughly $2,500 to $7,500 per unit and said additional analysis would examine legal, administrative and revenue-range questions.

Staff framed the 2025 approach as focused and incremental and described 2026 as an opportunity for a broader, more creative tax approach. Staff said Boulder leads comparable Colorado cities in the share of sales-and-use taxes that are dedicated (staff cited roughly 56% dedication for Boulder versus a 31% average among the comparables) and noted that, across the comparables, historically most general-purpose and CIP ballot measures have succeeded; staff reported comparable cities averaged about an 84% success rate across tax ballot measures, with about an 89% success rate for general-purpose measures and 100% for capital-investment measures.

Timeline and next steps
- May 8: additional staff material and council discussion of potential 2025 ballot items.
- Late June: presentation of statistically valid polling results to council.
- July 24 and Aug. 7: ballot-item confirmation and ordinance readings if council decides to place measures on the 2025 ballot.
- Summer–Fall 2025: a community engagement program called Fund Our Future (staff said engagement will include forums, targeted conversations with underrepresented groups, boards and commissions previews, online input and connector networks).

Council reaction and outstanding questions
Council members pressed staff on which projects would be prioritized, how the unfunded list would be refined, whether parks funding could be protected from diversion, and the sequencing and timing of measures given economic uncertainty. Several council members urged clarity in ballot language so voters could easily distinguish the proposed public-realm tax from existing parks and CCRS funding. Staff said the unfunded list will be refined and vetted as part of the June–July work and that polling results will help shape final recommendations.

Scott Carpenter, principal budget analyst, described the alternative-funding work stream and said staff will request two-year revenue plans from departments for the 2026 budget and prioritize updates based on revenue potential, last update date and legal nexus to the city’s goals.

“The alternative funding mechanisms work stream focuses on identifying and analyzing additional revenue opportunities, including performing a comprehensive review of existing revenues and considering potential new revenues to support the City's programs and services,” Carpenter said.

Staff repeatedly told council the current materials are a framework, not final ballot language; several members urged caution about putting multiple measures before voters in a volatile economic period. Multiple council members said they support moving the discussion forward but asked staff to refine the project list, clarify legal/dedication issues, and outline how nonprofit grants from an extended CCRS tax would be awarded.

Ending: staff will return with refined project lists, polling results and draft ballot language as the council continues to weigh whether to ask voters to extend or expand taxes in 2025 or 2026.