The Boulder County commissioners adopted their 2023 budget on Tuesday.
The $593.5 million budget is about $40 million larger than the 2022 budget. The county noted that this increase is not due to more revenue from unrestricted sources, but from external restricted sources like the American Rescue Plan Act and voter-approved revenue sources that must be spent on specific programs.
“Boulder County’s 2023 budget allocates the resources needed to maintain the county’s current level of operations, safeguard its reserves and provide for investment in infrastructure and transportation,” Commissioner Claire Levy said in a release. “The county had unexpected expenses this year as a result of the Marshall Fire and the Dec. 30, 2021, wind damage to mobile home parks and, as such, has had to develop a budget within that reality.”
In property taxes, the commissioners certified a 2023 mill levy for the county of 24.746 mills, compared to 24.25 in 2022. This is projected to generate property tax revenues of $229.4, up $1 million from 2022.
Sales and use tax revenues are projected to increase by six percent over 2022. The county attributes the increase to a stable economy and statues that require remote sellers to now remit tax to the county.
The voter-approved Wildfire Mitigation and Emergency Services Sales and Use Tax, which passed last month, will take effect on Jan. 1 and generate an additional $19 million in revenue, the county said.
“The voters continue to amaze me by their generosity and care for Boulder County,” Commissioner Marta Loachamin said. “This year was no exception and the passing of the 1B Emergency Services Ballot Measure was significant to provide a future facility for Rocky Mountain Rescue Group volunteers and fund other needs.”
Capital projects of note being funded next year include the continued construction of the Alternative Sentencing Facility at $12.4 million along with $1.4 million to implement a software to manage the facility and clients served there. Another $2.5 million will go toward upgrades at the recycling center and $1.2 million for vehicle replacements.
ARPA spending will continue next year with $15 million appropriated for activities and programs related to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The American Rescue Plan Act funding and allocations we were able to allocate this year will continue to provide relief for those most impacted by COVID-19, and I am hopeful that some of the local grants connected to those funds will continue to help programming and resourcing gaps for our community members,” Loachamin said.
The Road and Bridge Fund includes $16.7 million for the maintenance and rehabilitation of county roads and bridges along with $20.4 million for continued work on dedicated transportation sales tax projects.
The budget added 30 new full time staff members, 10 of which are funded by property taxes. That includes seven new positions in the sheriff’s office as required by statutory mandates, three new public works staff at the new Southeast Lafayette HUB facility and nine new positions to support the county’s Sustainability, Parks and Open Space and Offender Management programs.
The county also paid for a flat rate pay increase of $200 a month for all employees, a 5% general increase and a 2% discretionary pool for each office and department.
“Boulder County continues to deliver a high standard of services across a broad range from land stewardship to family and children’s services that serve the residents of Boulder County,” Levy said. “To retain our talented and dedicated employees, our 2023 budget was built around providing competitive compensation so we can continue to deliver that high standard of service.”
Now that the budget has been formally adopted, the Office of Financial Management will prepare a summary of the adopted budget that will be available in the new year.
