Greeley city council approves 2022 city budget. Here’s a look at the highlights.

By Kelly Ragan

City councilmembers voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the 2022 city budget.

While the future remains uncertain due to COVID-19, and funding hasn’t yet returned to pre-pandemic levels, city staff is cautiously optimistic. 

At a previous city council meeting, Interim City Manager Raymond Lee said the city made smart moves to minimize financial damage caused by the pandemic. Going forward amid uncertainty, Lee said the city recommends prioritizing investments that he said are critical to the city’s long-term success. 

“That includes investing in employees with cost-of-living increasing, strategic investments in public safety, community vitality and quality of life, mobility, sustainability, and creating a high performing government overall,” Lee said. 

The city will continue to monitor economic recovery and make adjustments as necessary, Lee said. 

Here’s a snapshot of the highlights.

City revenue 

The big unknown, obviously, is COVID-19. But according to city staff, even if things go bad, the city is confident it has strong reserves and could withstand economic pullback. 

Despite the economic turbulence, the city is still projecting nearly $10 million in revenue growth in the general fund, coming from sales and use taxes, property taxes, and other revenue streams. 

The city looks at several indicators to forecast what kind of tax revenue it can expect to bring in over the year, and thus what it can spend. 

Those indicators include things like the number of new housing permits issued, jobs added or lost, wage growth, and more. 

Here’s snapshot of Greeley’s economic health

  • Overall employment fell by 4.4% in the past year 

  • Wages grew by 1.6%, however that was lower than inflation, 2.4% 

  • Top 10 industries lost 2,261 jobs in the past year

  • Top 10 industries expected to add 912 jobs in 2022

City priorities 

Lee previously the city had three main priorities as it developed the budget. Those included:

Restoring services impacted by COVID-19: reopening city recreation centers and returning programming to the Union Colony Civic Center.

Investing in staff: new positions, new equipment, raises for existing employees 

Organizational investments that allow the city to adapt and manage growth: department assessments and staffing adjustments, compensation and class analysis, public safety

New positions proposed in the budget

Public safety: two police officers, a services and administrative division chief 

Administration: office of human affairs contract position 

Transportation: water quality and regulatory compliance manager, engineering and concrete technician, equipment maintenance mechanic 

Water and Sewer: five plant operators, two utility locators, water quality analyst, maintenance mechanic, seasonal labor water meter installation 

More organizational investments proposed in the budget

Public safety: salary increases, co-responder agreement (supporting residents in need), upgraded police equipment (body armor, rifle cases, etc.) 

Programming and recreation: Return to pre-COVID service levels, Boomerang stormwater construction (required drainage), Emerald Ash Borer tree impact 

Administrative: Compensation and classification implementation, small equipment replacement fund, strategic master plan and community needs assessment 

Infrastructure: Water and sewer maintenance and equipment, high mountain reservoir maintenance, regional strategic water quality funding

Changes to utility rates 

The budget included a proposal to increase utility rates. So, if you live in a single-family home, expect to pay more. 

A single-family home can expect their utility rates to increase by $10/month, bumping it up from about $100.30/month to $110.22/month. These increases are being driven primarily by capital improvement projects, such as addressing drainage issues downtown. 

City staff said the increase would remain competitive with neighboring communities. 

Previous
Previous

Greeley’s Go West Film Fest is on for 2021, with special guest Temple Grandin set to make an appearance

Next
Next

Greeley city council unanimously agreed to urge voters to vote ‘no’ on ballot questions 2G and 2H