Strong Mt. CB budget ready for 2022

More than $1 million budgeted for housing

[ By Kendra Walker ]

The Mt. Crested Butte town council reviewed and approved the town’s 2022 budget ordinance during its December 21 meeting, following a special meeting and public hearing on November 30 that received no public comment. The 2022 budget for all funds is $8,834,230.

“We haven’t made any big changes compared to previous non-COVID year budgets,” said town manager Isa Reeb. “Last year we budgeted to be 40 percent down in sales tax and this year we are back to normal with a 3 percent increase of sales tax over 2021 projections (which now includes online sales).”

Building and roadwork
“We are expecting another big building permit year and bumped our building permits up from $400,000 in 2021 to $500,000 in 2022,” said Reeb.

The 2022 budget has allocated $550,000 for roadwork and maintenance, which is a typical year, said Reeb. The town has also set aside $250,000 to rebuild the Recreation Path retaining wall on the Gothic Road corner just before the entrance to town.

“We will also be replacing some of the Town machinery, as this has been a need for a few years,” said Reeb.

Housing
The town has budgeted $1,172,000 for housing needs, with $100,000 of that allocated for the Good Deed Program and $50,000 for the Housing Matters Surety Fund.

“Further needs are being identified in the Master Plan process, so more to come on that in the future,” said Reeb. The Master Plan will be finalized in 2022 and the draft can be viewed at https://mtcrestedbuttecolorado.us/masterplan.

Virtual access to meetings
The council has set aside $10,000 for a virtual option for the community to tune into council meetings in 2022. “However, we have a wider system issue with our Internet being able to support virtual meetings,” said Reeb. “We do not have a timeline, as this is a larger issue that does not have a simple one-size-fits-all solution.”

2020 audit looks good
The town also reviewed a 2020 audit presentation from Michael Jenkins of McMahan and Associates, LLC during its December 7 meeting. This was the first audit with this firm, which brought some fresh eyes for the town.

The audit results on financial statements were identified as “unmodified,” which is the highest form of assurance from independent CPA auditors that financials are properly reported in accordance with applicable standards.

Overall the town’s overall financial health remains strong, with growth of net position and fund balances drawn down by capital investments. The town has budgeted and spent conservatively, which Jenkins noted was impressive budgeting and financial management given the economic chaos from COVID-19.

“Accounting policies and practices are conservative, consistent and compliant,” he said.