The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
All funds in good financial health
By Kendra Walker
Budget season is here, and the Mt. Crested Butte town council is working on finalizing the town’s 2025 budget. During work sessions on October 15 and November 6, the council met with town finance director Karl Trujillo for an overview of the upcoming year’s draft budget. The council will hold a special meeting on Friday, November 22 for a budget work session and public hearing of the 2025 budget ordinance.
“In the 2025 budget all the town’s funds are in good financial health,” said Trujillo in an October memo to the council. “The budget has been put together with a view of continued optimism that has come with strong revenues in all funds over the last two years.”
Trujillo noted some of the town’s recent accomplishments, including extending the Rec Path, keeping the roads in good shape, putting in the new Wayfinding signs, building affordable housing, and building a new maintenance facility with new equipment. “The town has again seen record-breaking sales tax collections, a strong year of new construction and building permits, and we are expecting sales tax to level out next year. The town is currently completing the 2024 road projects and recreation path projects, plus we purchased a new loader, two maintenance trucks and a new police vehicle in 2023.”
Trujillo said that the 2024 sales tax revenue has increased 5% year to date, and he plans to be conservative with the 2025 sales tax, projecting it to be flat with 2024 projections. “We are budgeting city sales tax to be $3,581,000 for the General Fund which is flat with 2024 projections. We are projecting the year-end sales tax to be 5% above 2023 collections.”
He said the property taxes will increase in both General and Capital Funds. “The 2023 assessed values increased by 58% which means 2024 and 2025 property tax collections will increase by the same amount in both the General and Capital Funds,” he said. Property tax revenues will be $1,943,000 which is split up between the General Fund and the Capital Projects Fund.”
Trujillo said that construction related revenues are projected to be $700,000 in 2024 and is budgeting $700,000 for 2025.
Trujillo said big-ticket capital project items will include more roadwork and phasing repairs for the town hall building. “The Capital Projects Fund expenditures are $1,468,000. The amount includes annual full depth reclamation and overlays of roads, town hall repairs and vehicle replacements,” he said.
For staff, “The full-time employee numbers will increase by one, adding one full-time police officer,” he said. “The health insurance cost is projected to increase by 4% and payroll increases are 6%.”
He also noted that with many projects in the works, the town would like to set aside approximately $100,000 to hire a consultant to help with grant writing. “In the next five years we have a lot of big projects and new projects pop up; the new Rec Path going across Gothic, Cinnamon Mountain Road that we need to fix and stabilize, town hall that we need to remodel. We’d like to see what we can get with grant money.”
He concluded, “It is important to note that with our strong revenues over the next five years we will be able to transfer about $4,800,000 to the Capital Projects fund and keep our General Fund reserves at 50% of total expenditures. We estimate the cash reserves for December 31, 2024 to be $2,445,244 after transferring $800,000 to the Capital Fund for future projects. We are projecting the cash reserves to be $2,650,000 at the end of 2025.”
During the council’s November 6 work session, Trujillo presented budget adjustments based on updated items, some previously misclassified expenses and the recent ballot issue to raise the excise lodging tax for the town’s affordable housing fund passed by voters. “Total revenues for 2024 are projected to be $470,000 over the budget for total collections of $6,948,000,” he said in a memo. “Total expenditures for 2024 are projected to be $591,000 over the budget for total expenditures of $5,808,000.”
Council member Steve Morris expressed interest in the town ramping up its holiday lights at the entrance to town. ““The lights in Gunnison are outrageously beautiful,” he said. “Can we do something about holiday lights at the entrance to town while still being respectful of dark skies?”
“The ones that have been there have been there, I think, since Bud Light,” agreed Kempin, referring to the Whatever, USA campaign in 2014. “I do think it deserves a broader discussion.”
The topic of holiday lights has also come up with the Crested Butte town council’s budget planning, in which they recently expressed unenthusiasm to budget in additional holiday lighting in the town for next year and keep skies dark.
Town manager Carlos Velado said that staff has been having discussions with a local lighting company about updating the town entrance lighting. However, the initial estimate just focusing on the town entrance was $40,000. “Last year, we budgeted $3,000. We’re trying to get a proposal of what we can do with $3,000,” he said, noting that he will coordinate a meeting for the lighting company to present options to the council.
The council will hold another work session on November 22 at 3 p.m. to bring the new council members who were sworn in earlier this week up to speed with the budget. A public hearing will follow at 4 p.m. for public input regarding the 2025 budget.
