Palmer Lake draft budget projects $974,333 shortfall for 2026
The proposed 2027 budget would draw $343,093 from reserves; potential police, fire and public works cuts remain undecided.
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Palmer Lake’s revised draft budget projects a $974,333 shortfall for 2026. The proposal also shows a $343,093 gap for 2027, which Town Administrator Patrick Davidson said would need to be covered by reserves. Trustees did not adopt the budget or approve staffing changes at the workshop, Davidson told the board.
The draft assumes $1.96 million in sales, use and excise tax revenue. Davidson cautioned that business turnover, economic uncertainty and a weakening marijuana market could make that estimate optimistic. He recommended reviewing actual receipts in March or April.
Proposed reductions include ending fire deployments outside town limits and removing the related revenue and costs from the draft. Davidson cited concerns about staffing, overtime and equipment expenses. The draft also zeros out funding for a part-time police records technician and a part-time officer pending further board direction, reduces proposed part-time firefighter staffing and other fire expenses, and removes a road-and-park supervisor position as public works duties and staffing are reviewed. No park capital spending is proposed for 2027.
Davidson said policy choices on police and fire staffing should go to the board for a vote at its next regular meeting. The board’s Oct. 8 minutes set a Nov. 12 public hearing for the proposed 2027 budget. An October staff memo targeted Dec. 10 for adoption.
The town’s August unaudited financial report listed a planned $503,024 shortfall in the original 2026 General Fund budget. The workshop presentation did not specify whether its revised projections use the same fund basis, so the figures cannot be directly compared.
The town is also evaluating whether to proceed with the Spruce Mountain Road project. Davidson said its roughly $240,000 match had already been set aside and carried over from the current year, rather than being a new expense in the draft; not proceeding could free that amount. The workshop ended without a decision on the project.