Wednesday is going to be a very long day for the Estes Park Town Tustees as they tackle the minutia of how municipal money will be spent in 2025. The meeting begins at 9 a.m. and is scheduled to run until 6 p.m. Those involved in the nine-hour meeting need to be prepared to plan to spend no more than they did in 2023.
Still, the town anticipates receiving $79,786,349 in revenues, combined with a $8,796,376 fund balance the Town can use for capital expenses. The total in expenses that will be considered Wednesday total $88,582,725.
According to Travis Machalek, administrator for the Town of Estes Park, “For the most detailed picture of what a town prioritizes, look at the budget, not the strategic plan.”
With hundreds of pages of slides, tutorials on how sales taxes are allocated, charts on sales tax projections for the coming year and more, those who stay for the anticipated day-long work session are expected to spend nine hours discussing reserves and restrictions on those funds, guiding principles related to the allocation of ongoing expenditures vs. one-time expenses, and hearing about individual plans for specific areas of town work. Links to the materials can be found here: proposed budget, presentations, and capital improvement plan.
If their work is not complete Wednesday, the board members have been put on notice that they need to be prepared to return for a follow-up session from 10:30 to noon on Oct. 10.
Funding for the programs being discussed originally were presented during the town board’s study sessions on strategic planning during the summer months. The budget documents under consideration put costs with the strategic action plans.
Some ideas floated during those sessions likely will not be funded. Those include a concept to digitize community development planning and zoning documents, implementing the second phase of the wayfinding signage program, hiring a records and evidence technician in the police department, beginning design efforts and pursue land acquisition to relocate the police department, upgrading the audio/visual equipment at the Event Center, and construct a three-level parking structure at Bighorn Avenue and Cleave Street.
Once work session input has been received and incorporated into a complete document, two public hearings on the budget will be conducted. The first will be held during the Oct. 22 regular meeting of the town board and the second and final hearing will be on Nov.12 when the budget is anticipated to be approved.
Prior to the first break of the day, trustees will hear about costs related to the capital improvement plan, compensation and benefits for staff, the legislating and judicial functions, needs of the town clerk’s office, human resources, the town administrator’s office, and the town attorney’s office.
While finances are set to be discussed all day, two hours are allotted for discussion directly related to the finance office, community reinvestment, community center, emergency response, wildfire mitigation, vehicle replacement, fleet maintenance, facilities, information system technology, risk management, outside entity, and the police department.
Following a lunch break, trustees will tackle expenditure plans for workforce housing and childcare, community development, visitor services, events, the museum, parks, the conservation trust fund, open space fund, stormwater operations and improvements, engineering, streets improvement, trails improvement and trails improvements and extension funds.
Rounding out the topics for discussion will be transit operations, parking, power and communications, and water.
The meeting will be held in the Town Board Room at Town Hall, 170 MacGregor Ave. The public is encouraged to attend the study session, and subsequent session on Thursday should it be needed. Public comment is not part of the process of the meeting on Wednesday or Thursday. Public hearings on the budget will take place during the Oct. 22 and Nov. 12 Town Board meetings at 7 p.m. with final adoption anticipated on Nov. 12.