Manitou Springs budget proposal would shorten pool hours, cut parks and tourism funding

Manitou Springs’ proposed 2027 budget would reduce spending at the Pool & Fitness Center by $88,390 and shorten its hours, while also proposing cuts to parks services and Visit Manitou Springs’ formula funding.

The Parks and Recreation presentation lists pool operating expenses of $647,567 for 2026 and proposes $559,177 for 2027, a 13.6% reduction. It also projects revenue falling from $117,500 to $82,000, leaving a proposed net operating cost of $477,177.

Under the proposal, the facility would close Sundays and Fridays year-round. The pool would also close Mondays through Thursdays from 1 to 5 p.m. during fall, winter and spring. The presentation lists reduced hours and the loss of one full-time employee. It treats full pool closure separately, as an outcome in modeled 20%, 30% and 50% budget-cut scenarios; the fitness center might remain open on limited hours in those scenarios.

Parks options include cuts to seasonal staffing, downtown upkeep, maintenance and sustainability programs. The presentation says those reductions could mean fewer seasonal workers, less frequent mowing and downtown trash service, fewer special projects and no new garden plantings. A separate $10,000 reduction to the tree-voucher program would end residents’ $100 vouchers; all 100 vouchers had been distributed in 2026. The presentation also lists ending a gardening and streetscape contract that runs through 2029, an option that would require breaking the agreement.

Visit Manitou Springs’ funding presentation proposes $438,731.37 in 2027 formula funding, $111,268.63 less than the $550,000 allocated in 2026. The organization also asked that $90,000 for downtown holiday lighting remain in the Business Promotion & Tourism budget; its presentation does not say whether that amount is included in the formula allocation.

Visit Manitou Springs projected that deeper cuts could reduce marketing, events, staffing and business-support work. Its modeled 75% cut scenario projected the Visitor Information Center would close. Those are the organization’s projections for larger cuts, not effects established for the current proposal.

A Finance Director memo dated Oct. 5 said a no-tax budget would require $1.128 million in additional reductions if a ballot measure was not approved. Staff would present that version for discussion only if the Council gave that direction. The memo also anticipated an amended budget in the second quarter of 2027.