Council approves $19.7M adjustment
The Boulder City Council on Thursday unanimously approved adjusting the city’s 2023 budget by about $19.7 million.
The modification approved is a special adjustment which gives the city the ability to begin distributing its remaining American Rescue Plan Act dollars, said Boulder Senior Budget Manager Mark Woulf. Boulder typically OKS two such adjustments a year and occasionally more, particularly when there are extenuating circumstances or unexpected revenue such as the federal coronavirus relief funds.
Uses for city’s remaining $11.4 million in ARPA funds include $2.5 million for behavioral health improvements; $1.5 million for childcare support; $2.75 million to update Boulder’s guaranteed income pilot program; $3 million to support the Ponderosa Community Stabilization Project; $435,269 to help with the increased costs of winter shelters for people experiencing homelessness; $470,000 to continue Boulder’s economic recovery programming; and $715,000 for transformative economic recovery to increase business opportunities for underserved populations.
Elizabeth Crowe, deputy director of Boulder Housing and Human Services, said the guaranteed income pilot program will begin this year and will provide low-income residents with $500 a month for two years.
“What we continue to hear as staff, community members (and) nonprofit partners is the power of positive transformation that this kind of project brings in addition to the financial assistance that is very restricted — limiteduse, one-time only, which we already provide either directly or through our partners,” she said. “This type of direct cash assistance is really rooted in that relationship and trust that gives community members the freedom to make the decisions as to how to spend their income.”
The City Council also moved forward with staff’s recommendation to reallocate APRA funds from the public health reserve to appropriate $547,321 to support human services, homelessness services, small businesses and arts organizations.
The ordinance also included two other priorities as a result of two ballot measures that passed during the November general election.
The first change will use $350,000 from the budget adjustment to help cover the $1.4 million in revenue the former 0.333 library mill levy was expected to generate this year. The difference will be paid using the library fund. The City Council also supported staff’s recommendation to use $238,456 from the budget adjustment to pay for increased security at Meadows and George Reynolds Branch libraries.
The second update renamed the climate and utility taxes as the climate action tax. This will in turn cut $2.77 million from the budget but will be replaced by $4.27 million as the two taxes are consolidated and reorganized into the climate fund. The funding will be used to enhance wildfire resilience efforts. Lastly, there will be a onetime transfer from the budget of $1.43 million as part of the utility occupation tax reserves and $774,000 in disposable bag fee reserves, which will be moved to the new climate tax fund.
“I am just really thrilled by all these investments that are going in here,” said Nicole Speer, of the budget adjustment. “I think it really reflects some of the best of our community values.”