HomeMy WebLinkAboutagenda.council.worksession.20251027AGENDA
CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION
October 27, 2025
4:45 PM, City Council Chambers
427 Rio Grande Place, Aspen
I.Work Session
I.A Overview of ACRA's 2026 Plan
I.B Overview of CORE's 2026 Plan
I.C Budget Work Session #4 - Council Interest Areas & Conclusions
II.Council discussion of the items published in the most recent information update,
as needed
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2026 Budget Work Session 4 - Conclusions final.pdf
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1
October 27, 2025
2026 Proposed Budget
Work Session # 4
2
2026 Proposed Budget
Work Session # 4 –
APCHA
Follow-up Items & Conclusions
3
620 APCHA Housing Administration LRP
3
4
620 APCHA Housing Administration LRP
4
5
ACI and Truscott II Housing
• City Manager and Finance Director will continue conversations with tax
credit experts and our financial partners on how to best manage within the
existing tax structures, explore shared capital expenses, and improve asset
performance
6
Council Follow-ups
& Conclusions
7
2026 Proposed Budget
Traffic Congestion
8
West End Congestion Project Estimated Costs
Pedestrian Improvements
Analysis and Design Cost
Estimate
Projects Identified in Work Session
$9,125Vehicle Barriers on W. Hallam St1
$46,215Additional Pedestrian Areas2
$119,075Curb Extensions at Key Intersections3
$6,090Investigate School Zone Signage at the Yellow
Brick
4
Additional Enforcement5
$16,000Additional Project Management
$ 196,505TOTAL
9
West End Congestion Project Estimated Costs
West End Traffic Flow Improvements
Analysis and Design Cost
Estimate
Projects Identified in Work Session
$23,555One Way Alley Signage 1
$5,500Additional Speed Limit Signs and Stop Bars2
$16,830Weight Restrictions on Power Plant Road3
$4,830Neighborhood Signing Plan4
$41,940Review Technology for Noise Code Violations5
$93,515Investigate Congestion Pricing in the West End6
$51,450Feasibility of Cordoning off West End7
$35,935Analysis of No Right Turn at Bleeker St8
$16,000Additional Project Management
$289,555TOTAL
10
West End Congestion Project Estimated Costs
HWY 82 Traffic Flow Improvements
ANALYSIS AND DESIGN
COST ESTIMATE
PROJECTS IDENTIFIED IN WORK
SESSION
$30,595Review Signal Timing with CDOT for
Cemetery Lane and Truscott
1
$3,670Investigation Signaled Pedestrian
Crossing at 8th Street
2
$16,000Additional Project Management
$50,265TOTAL
The cost estimates do not include Highway 82 Efficiency Analysis that was discussed at the October
13th Council Budget Work Session.
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West End Congestion Project Estimated Costs Summary
$ 196,505.00 Pedestrian Improvements (5 Projects)
$ 289,555.00 West End Traffic Flow Improvements (8 Projects)
$ 34,265.00HWY 82 Traffic Flow Improvements (2 Projects)
$ 520,325.00 TOTAL
These cost estimates are for design and analysis only. Design costs are estimated to be around 10% of
construction and implementation costs.
The cost estimates do not include Highway 82 Efficiency Analysis that was discussed at the October
13th Council Budget Work Session, including programmatic and infrastructure improvements along the
Highway 82 Corridor.
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Mass Transit Options
• Fare Free Pilot
• Transit and TDM
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Other related financial items
• 2026 spring supplemental (not part of 2026 budget adoption):
– Possible study and collaboration with regional committees, citizen
groups, & other local municipalities on Hwy 82 traffic flow and
congestion relief. TBD.
• 2027 forecast (not part of 2026 budget adoption):
– After internal discussions, propose to leave 2027 capital project
placeholder for Hwy 82 efficiencies at $3.8 million. This placeholder is
for potential studies or further implementation of 2026 actions.
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2026 Proposed Budget
Arts and Culture Grants
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120 Arts & Culture Fund: Arts Grants
• Historical: ~$400,000 annually
• 2025: $1,246,300
• 2026: $1,277,458 (growing at
the 2.5% inflationary rate)
• New Capital Arts Grant
Program under consideration
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120 Arts & Culture Fund LRP
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17
2026 Proposed Budget
Financial Aid Programs
18
Federal Poverty Level Table
* From HHS.gov federal website
# in Family Annual 200%300%400%500%600%700%800%
1 15,650$ 31,300$ 46,950$ 62,600$ 78,250$ 93,900$ 109,550$ 125,200$
2 21,150$ 42,300$ 63,450$ 84,600$ 105,750$ 126,900$ 148,050$ 169,200$
3 26,650$ 53,300$ 79,950$ 106,600$ 133,250$ 159,900$ 186,550$ 213,200$
4 32,150$ 64,300$ 96,450$ 128,600$ 160,750$ 192,900$ 225,050$ 257,200$
5 37,650$ 75,300$ 112,950$ 150,600$ 188,250$ 225,900$ 263,550$ 301,200$
6 43,150$ 86,300$ 129,450$ 172,600$ 215,750$ 258,900$ 302,050$ 345,200$
7 48,650$ 97,300$ 145,950$ 194,600$ 243,250$ 291,900$ 340,550$ 389,200$
8 54,150$ 108,300$ 162,450$ 216,600$ 270,750$ 324,900$ 379,050$ 433,200$
2025 Federal Poverty
Level
19
Recreation & Red Brick Arts Financial Aid
• Recreation:
– Budgets $10,000 for scholarships annually.
– Receives $9,000 donation from the Elks Lodge for youth programs, camps, and passes
each year.
– Senior scholarships for recreation passes are also available.
– Partners with Aspen Family Connections.
– 2024: 35 youth scholarships and 17 senior scholarships.
– 2025 YTD: 39 youth scholarships and 14 senior scholarships.
• Red Brick Center for the Arts:
– Partners with the Buddy Program and Aspen Family Connections to nominate students
and spread the word in our community about available scholarships.
– There is no maximum threshold for aid; reviewed on a demonstrated need basis.
– 2024: 8 students, $3k awarded.
– 2025 YTD: 9 students $4k awarded.
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Other Financial Aid Programs
• Kids First:
– Multiple factors go into any financial aid calculation, including family size, number of
children in care, days of care per week, cost of care, and federal poverty level.
– The recent revisions to Kids First financial aid could provide some level of aid up to
750% of the FPL, depending on the other variables.
• Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP):
– Qualified through Pitkin County/State
– Assistance for both heating expense and water bills
– Aid provided up to 60% of the estimated state median income or approx. 400% of FPL
• Low Income Property Tax Relief Program:
– Qualified through Pitkin County
– Aid provided individuals or households, up to approx. 500% of FPL
– Available for free market homeowners
21
2026 Proposed Budget
Financial Call-Outs
22
New Format for 2025Budgeted Revenue by Category & Tax Details
22
Revenue by Category 2026
Taxes $114,002,786
Licenses & Permits $7,026,213
Intergov't $3,020,055
Services $43,572,963
Fines, Fees, & Refunds $22,348,445
Grants & Investments $13,471,800
Transfers In $26,939,888
Total Gross Revenue $230,382,150
Tax Revenue Details 2026
41100-General property taxes $12,666,280
41210-County sales tax $21,137,000
41220-City sales tax $29,451,400
41240-Lodging tax $6,043,000
41260-Public education sales tax $5,048,760
41280-City Tobacco Tax $326,000
41800-Other taxes $3,056,306
41300-Selective sales and use taxes $2,200,000
41400-Real estate transfer taxes $26,800,000
41500-STR excise tax $7,274,040
41000-General Revenue (Taxes) $114,002,786
23
New Format for 2025Budgeted Revenue by Category – 3 Year Trend
23
Revenue by Category 2024 2025 2026
41100-General property taxes $10,734,100 $12,186,000 $12,666,280
41210-County sales tax $17,913,000 $20,225,000 $21,137,000
41220-City sales tax $26,135,200 $26,985,900 $29,451,400
41240-Lodging tax $6,061,000 $5,973,000 $6,043,000
41260-Public education sales tax $4,485,360 $4,629,360 $5,048,760
41280-City Tobacco Tax $305,000 $318,000 $326,000
41800-Other taxes $1,772,000 $1,824,000 $3,056,306
41300-Selective sales and use taxes $1,000,000 $1,000,000 $2,200,000
41400-Real estate transfer taxes $19,400,000 $21,100,000 $26,800,000
41500-STR excise tax $7,900,000 $7,065,940 $7,274,040
41000-General Revenue (Taxes) $95,705,660 $101,307,200 $114,002,786
42000-Licenses and Permits $6,819,630 $6,852,810 $7,026,213
43000-Intergovernmental revenues $860,190 $3,208,040 $3,020,055
44000-Charges for services $37,655,042 $39,309,569 $43,572,963
45000-Other inflows $18,336,626 $19,819,393 $22,348,445
46000-Other revenue sources $13,931,278 $15,130,653 $13,471,800
64010-General transfers in $17,724,150 $21,131,110 $26,939,888
Total Gross Revenue $191,032,576 $206,758,775 $230,382,150
24
New Format for 2025Budgeted Expenditures by Category – 3 Year Trend
24
Expenditure by Category 2024 2025 2026
51000-Personnel services $52,406,947 $56,567,138 $60,003,308
52000-Purchased professional and technical services$9,632,077 $11,308,476 $10,640,048
53000-Purchased-property services $3,137,877 $3,258,912 $3,243,045
54000-Other purchased services $19,803,178 $22,598,427 $27,078,099
55000-Supplies $3,836,111 $4,141,763 $4,389,918
56000-Utilities $8,892,912 $9,280,672 $11,322,221
57000-Property $45,638,230 $57,342,210 $171,168,250
58000-Debt $6,410,370 $6,333,405 $3,651,470
59000-Other outflows $10,591,909 $11,112,362 $12,283,131
61100-Allocations $10,432,200 $11,057,200 $12,195,200
65010-General transfers out $14,738,850 $18,271,710 $23,720,088
Total Gross Expenditures $185,520,661 $211,272,275 $339,694,777
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2026 Proposed Budget
2025 Orig.
Budget 2026 Budget $ Change %
Change
Revenues $206,698,878 $230,382,150 $23,683,272 11.5%
On-Going Ops Budget (Base) $108,430,398 $113,634,096 $5,203,698 4.8%
One-Time Supplementals $3,309,402 N/A ($3,309,402) N/A
New Supplementals N/A $7,812,599 $7,812,599 N/A
Total Operating $111,739,800 $121,446,695 $9,706,895 8.7%
Capital Outlay $57,102,210 $171,168,250 $114,066,040 199.8%
Debt Service $6,333,405 $3,651,470 ($2,681,935) (42.3%)
Net Appropriations $175,175,415 $296,266,415 $121,091,000 69.1%
Transfers $35,977,310 $43,428,362 $7,451,052 20.7%
Total Appropriations $211,152,725 $339,694,777 $128,542,052 60.9%
Ending Fund Balance $293,575,727 $215,654,083 ($77,921,644) (26.5%)
26
New Format for 2025Operating Budget by Cost Center (Dept)
26
Gross Less Supp. Total Base % of GF
Fund Cost center/Dept Personnel Services Supplies Utilities Other Exp Operating Requests Ops Exp Ops Budget
001 General Fund 000 Non-Classified - 102,500 - 102,500 102,500 0.2%
112 Mayor and Council 332,502 484,574 18,814 1,573,933 2,409,822 349,431 2,060,391 4.5%
113 Clerks Office 671,378 258,531 24,608 - 954,517 - 954,517 2.1%
114 Managers Office 3,303,165 788,038 61,795 - 4,152,998 303,840 3,849,158 8.5%
115 Human Resources 910,171 558,558 60,766 - 1,529,494 327,217 1,202,277 2.6%
116 Attorney 981,832 90,909 7,978 - 1,080,718 - 1,080,718 2.4%
117 Finance 2,597,248 639,050 21,570 - 3,257,868 - 3,257,868 7.2%
119 Asset Management 1,828,528 1,045,757 68,506 470,712 - 3,413,502 - 3,413,502 7.5%
122 Planning 2,449,290 263,736 33,439 - 2,746,465 75,000 2,671,465 5.9%
123 Building 2,577,462 786,502 33,552 - 3,397,517 - 3,397,517 7.5%
221 Police 7,471,789 1,724,807 200,692 53,178 9,450,465 234,000 9,216,465 20.2%
321 Streets 1,701,640 334,500 413,105 66,451 - 2,515,695 - 2,515,695 5.5%
327 Engineering 2,274,402 560,187 94,175 - - 2,928,764 180,000 2,748,764 6.0%
431 Environmental Health 1,475,503 437,570 148,090 118,680 2,179,843 88,365 2,091,478 4.6%
532 Special Events 626,898 652,554 155,430 - - 1,434,882 195,000 1,239,882 2.7%
542 Recreation 4,139,121 256,018 262,302 721,457 15,250 5,394,146 71,402 5,322,744 11.7%
572 Parks and Open Space 252,786 51,393 - - 304,179 - 304,179 0.7%
592 Business Services - - 104,125 - 104,125 - 104,125 0.2%
001 General Fund Total 33,593,713 9,035,183 1,708,944 1,258,619 1,761,040 47,357,498 1,824,255 45,533,243
27
New Format for 2025Budgeted Net Appropriations by Fund
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28
2026 Proposed Budget
Internal Service Department Comparison
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Internal Service Department Comparison
• Data was gathered for 9 resort/western slope municipalities and 3 Front Range
municipalities.
• Municipalities were identified based on budget size, FTE count, and population
size – with the understanding that the city of Aspen functions as a municipality with a
population closer to 30,000 - 40,000.
• There are nuances in the data, such some departments may include SIO positions in
IT or the manager’s office, which could affect the accuracy of the FTE internal
services dept. counts.
• Comparison data was gathered for Finance, IT, HR/Risk, Communications,
Attorney & Manager’s Office.
30
Municipalities for Internal Services Department Comparisons
Front Range Comparisons:
City of Golden
City of Lafayette
City of Englewood
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2025 Internal Services Department Comparison Data:
Resort/Western Slope Municipalities:
Municipality Population 2025 Budget 2025 FTE Finance *
Information
Technology **
Human Resources /
Risk Management
Communications /
Community
Relations Attorney
Manager's
Office ***
City of Aspen 6,566 $175,000,000 368.81 16.30 9.00
5 (6.00 including
termed) 5.00 4.00 12.55
City of Glenwood Springs 10,171 $115,012,501 219.00 10.00 5.10 3.00 contracted 3.30
City of Steamboat Springs 13,620 $150,373,142 360.84 14.90 11.00 6.00 5.00 3.90 9.00
Town of Breckenridge 4,892 $157,400,000 319.05 7.60 3.00 5.00 3.50 1.00 5.00
Town of Vail 4,466 $158,000,000 354.64 10.80 7.00 7.00 3.60 1.00 2.00
City of Grand Junction 67,601 $172,000,000 880.00 23.00 28.00 19.00 4.00 8.00 4.50
City of Durango 19,071 $199,414,889 429.00 17.00 17.00 6.00 4.00 3.00 4.00
Summit County 14,619 $250,000,000 354.60 8.00 6.00 6.00 2.00 4.00 6.00
Pitkin County 16,643 $263,000,000 393.30 16.00 10.00 10.00 5.00 4.00 11.50
Eagle County 54,330 $281,000,000 514.00 6.00 13.00 8.00 7.00 9.00 10.00
Average 22,824 $194,022,281 424.94 12.59 11.12 7.78 4.26 4.24 6.14
32
2025 Internal Services Department Comparison Data:
Front Range Municipalities:
Municipality Population 2025 Budget 2025 FTE Finance *
Information
Technology **
Human Resources /
Risk Management
Communications /
Community
Relations Attorney
Manager's
Office ***
City of Aspen 6,566 $175,000,000 368.81 16.30 9.00
5 (6.00 including
termed) 5.00 4.00 12.55
Front Range Comparable Municipalities:
City of Golden 20,151 $166,578,393 296.00 11.00 10.00 4.00 5.00 4.00 10.00
City of Lafayette 30,587 $121,500,000 277.00 11.00 7.00 7.00 3.00 2.00 7.00
City of Englewood 33,634 $206,960,152 511.75 18.75 15.90 7.05 7.00 3.95 5.50
Average 28,124 $165,012,848 361.58 13.58 10.97 6.02 5.00 3.32 7.50
* excludes treasurer functions
** varied as to whether or not includes GIS or SIO
*** CMO includes resiliency and/or sustainability positions
33
2026 Proposed Budget
Budget Adjustments and Financial Policy Updates
34
Adjustments prior to final budget adoption
• Personnel: ($173k). Elimination of the former Parking & Transportation
Director position, -1 FTE.
• Capital: +$30k to add the fleet trailer replacement.
• Operating:
– +$200k to the 130 Tourism Promotion Fund expense authority, to align
revenues and expenses.
– +$122.5k to the 510 Information Technology Fund, for ongoing annual
community broadband operating expenses. Community Broadband has
offsetting revenues paid by users.
35
2026 Proposed Budget w/Adjustments
2025 Orig.
Budget 2026 Budget $ Change %
Change
Revenues $206,698,878 $230,382,150 $23,683,272 11.5%
On-Going Ops Budget (Base) $108,430,398 $113,776,024 $5,345,626 4.9%
One-Time Supplementals $3,309,402 N/A ($3,309,402) N/A
New Supplementals N/A $7,812,599 $7,812,599 N/A
Total Operating $111,739,800 $121,588,623 $9,848,823 8.8%
Capital Outlay $57,102,210 $171,198,250 $114,096,040 199.8%
Debt Service $6,333,405 $3,651,470 ($2,681,935) (42.3%)
Net Appropriations $175,175,415 $296,438,343 $121,262,928 69.2%
Transfers $35,977,310 $43,428,362 $7,451,052 20.7%
Total Appropriations $211,152,725 $339,866,705 $128,713,980 61.0%
Ending Fund Balance $293,575,727 $254,181,570 ($39,394,157) (13.4%)
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36
Proposed Financial Policy
Updates
• Interfund Loans
– Updating maximum length of loan from 10 to 20 years.
• Fixed Asset Capitalization Threshold
– Federal update from $5k to $10k
– Reviewed peer and Colorado municipality thresholds
– Recommending update from $5k to $25k
• City Municipal Code
– Updating unclaimed property policy to match new state
law
•All Proposed Changes brought to Council in November
and December
37
New Format for 2025
Budget Conclusions
•Focus on Council Priority Projects,
Goals, and Guiding Principles
o Capital Planning, Putting Fund
Reserves to use
o Major Capital Projects:
Armory
Lumberyard
Water Plant
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38
2026 Proposed Budget
Questions?
• Budget Next Steps
– November 11
th
• City of Aspen Budget Resolution
• First Reading 2026 Fee Ordinance
– November 18
th
• Second Reading Fee Ordinance
• Updates to Financial Policies
– Prior to December 15
th
• Mill Levy Resolution
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