2025 Budget Highlights

The Safe goal area supports a welcoming and inclusive community that fosters positive neighborhood and community relations and ensures that all residents are secure and cared for during emergencies and natural disasters. The 2025 Budget includes initiatives supporting:

• Office of Independent Police Monitor ($63,400): Increased funding to strengthen civilian review of law enforcement and learning from best practices to promote accountability through annual attendance at the National Association of Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE), AXON body camera licenses for the Police Oversight Panel, and funding for community events.

• Advancement of Reimagine Policing ($239,500): Additional civilian staffing, including a Victim Services Specialist, Property and Evidence coordinator position and Civilian Armorer position, to allow for enhanced officer readiness and supporting victims of crimes and critical incidents.

• Safe & Managed Spaces ($3.7 million): Additional one-time funding for the continuation of the Ambassador Program and permanent investments for Urban Rangers staffing to foster a climate of safety and security in public spaces. 

Healthy & Socially Thriving focuses on uplifting residents to be able to meet critical needs, enjoy high levels of social, physical, and mental well-being, and have access to abundant recreational, cultural, and educational opportunities. Investment highlights include:

• Equity, Access, and Community Building ($376,000): Funding for the creation of a new Immigration Legal Defense Fund, public safety training and cultural competency assessments, in addition to ongoing funding for the EXPAND program supporting those with disabilities, and grant funds for open space trail repairs and access. 

• Family Resource Programming ($26,500): A realignment of $26,500 to support a full-time Bilingual Resource School Program Manager position for full-time afterschool programming for the fourth highest need school in the Boulder Valley School District. 

• Arts, Culture, & Heritage (Over $3.0 million): Over $3.0 million in funding to support arts programming, administration, and events such as Bridge Year Arts Grant Funding, Experiments in Public Arts program, Event Sponsorships, Arts Administration, Meadow Music Event, Arts in the Parks, and Artist Hiring Incentive Grants. The Arts & Culture Office performed a Bridge Year Needs Assessment receiving input from the community, informing key 2025 arts and culture investments.

The Livable goal area aims to have high-performing, safe, and well-maintained buildings and infrastructure that accommodate a diverse set of community needs for working, learning, playing, and living. Budget highlights aligned to this goal area include:

• Eviction Prevention & Rental Assistance Services (EPRAS) Funding ($315,000): Additional ongoing funding for the city's EPRAS program will support legal aid, rental assistance, and mediation services to help tenants facing eviction. This program prevents evictions for 96% of tenants actively engaging with EPRAS services.

• Human Services Funding ($200,000): An additional $100,000 in ongoing funding and $100,000 in one-time funding for additional human services grants for non-profit organizations supporting outcomes such as economic stability, mobility, and resilience and increased positive physical, mental, or behavioral health and well-being. 

• Housing Affordability Investments ($31.2 million): A total of $31.2 million to several key affordability investments, including the construction and rehabilitation of 144 affordable housing units for Rally Flats, Thistle, and Ponderosa projects.

Responsibly Governed focuses on providing an excellent customer experience, responsibly managing the city’s assets, and making data-driven decisions informed by community engagement inclusive of those who have been historically excluded from government programs and services. 2025 highlights include:

Cybersecurity & Disaster Management Planning ($105,000): The creation of a Disaster Management Plan will enhance cybersecurity and help the city shield against future disruptions to operations. Additional funding for Office of Disaster Management training will advance efforts in regional disaster prevention and planning. 

Significant One-time Capital Maintenance Backlog Investments ($4.3 million): The city has significant unfunded and underfunded needs supporting capital maintenance. The 2025 Budget includes $3.3 million for fire apparatus replacements and $1.0 million for facilities capital maintenance, costs that have risen significantly in recent years. 

The Economically Vital goal area supports a healthy, accessible, resilient, and sustainable economy based on innovation, diversity, and collaboration that benefits all residents, businesses, and visitors. Key investments include:

Small Business Support for Economic Resilience ($200,000): Additional one-time funding will support the development and implementation of an Economic Vitality Strategy, named a key council priority at the 2024 Council Retreat, which aims to expand current capacity for small business support, including cultivating strategic partnerships for revitalization, additional business incentives and financial assistance and enhanced connection to resources and regional economic initiatives. 

Outdoor Dining Program ($150,000): The Outdoor Dining Program began as a pilot program in 2020 with the rapid expansion of outdoor dining during the pandemic. An outcome of this change shifted business operations and enhanced cultural vibrancy within the downtown districts, including University Hill and Downtown Pearl Street Mall area. Currently the city has 30 parklets predominantly located within these two districts. With the additional funding, the city will purchase two additional parklets to expand the programs and support outcomes of enhancing cultural vibrancy as well as maintaining well assets within special districts.

The Environmentally Sustainable goal area advances a sustainable, thriving, and equitable community that benefits from and supports clean energy; preserves and responsibly uses the earth’s resources; and cares for ecosystems. 2025 budget highlights include:

Community Wildfire Resilience ($1.56 million):

A total of $1.56 million in Climate Tax funding will support Community Wildfire Protection Plan ($470,000), the new Community Wildfire Resilience Assistance Program ($559,000), and the addition of a two-year fixed-term Wildfire Resilience Project Coordinator ($120,000). Community Wildfire Resilience efforts focus on reducing risk of wildfire to vulnerable homes and increasing community preparedness with wildfire education and resilience grants. 

Water Quality Operations ($3.9 million): The Water Quality program within the Utilities Department includes $130,000 in staffing enhancements to support technician work within the Water Resource Recovery Facility Lab to implement process upgrades to further reduce phosphorus in the wastewater effluent. In addition, the conversion of a fixed-term position to permanent staffing will support greenway management efforts such as noxious weed and invasive tree monitoring and removal, ecological support for Utilities projects, program development, and coordination with a cross-departmental land manager work group and the Mile High Flood District (MHFD).