A Northglenn resident urged the City Council to clarify the city’s 2025 budget and said he could not find the adopted $85,900,000 figure on the city’s finance web pages, while Deputy City Manager Jason Loveland presented the council with unaudited November 2024 financial results that staff said were on track.

The resident, Tim Long, used the public-comment period to question budget transparency and reserves. “I cannot find the $85,900,000 budget adopted for 2025 by city council on October 28th. Where is it? It’s not in the northglennorg/finance,” Long said. He also flagged figures in a community paper showing citywide expenditures of $85.9 million and asked whether the general fund reserve met the 25% rainy-day policy.

Loveland told council the November numbers are unaudited but generally favorable. He said sales and use tax through November (which captures October activity) were up about 4.2% year-over-year. He identified components of that change: auto use tax down slightly, food tax up roughly 5%, and the marijuana tax down about 9% compared with the prior period.

On reserves and fund totals, Loveland said the city’s general fund reserve balance was about $15,700,000 and that the general fund’s 2024 expenditures are on the order of $40,000,000, which produces a reserve around 40% of the general fund — a larger percentage than the 18% number a public commenter had cited when comparing total city spending to the general-fund balance. “The reserve balance is an accurate statement of being around $15,700,000 that’s specific to the general fund, which has expenditures of $40,000,000 which is where you get a fund balance in the general fund of about 40%,” Loveland said.

Loveland also reported cash and investments at the end of November totaled about $74.2 million and summarized other enterprise fund activity: water consumption through November was about 1.2 billion gallons (up about 20% vs. 2023), and water, wastewater, stormwater and sanitation funds showed revenues and expenditures generally in line with budgeted expectations.

Council discussion did not produce directives beyond the regular financial update. The council later considered a supplemental 2024 budget appropriation (CB 2025) on first reading; that ordinance and other formal items are summarized in the votes-at-a-glance article from this meeting.

Ending — next steps

Loveland’s presentation used unaudited numbers and he told council staff would answer follow-up questions as needed. The city’s formal audited figures will be published once audit work completes; budget documents and ordinance language for 2025 appropriation and supplemental items were on the meeting agenda and subject to separate formal action.