Colorado Springs proposes $465.5 million 2027 budget with $9.37 million property-tax credit
Council members voiced informal support for several parks expenses at an Oct. 29 markup; the budget and tax credit remain proposals.
Published at
Colorado Springs finance staff proposed a balanced $465.5 million General Fund budget for 2027, $38.2 million more than the amended 2026 budget. It includes a $9.37 million property-tax credit. The City Council discussed the proposal at its Oct. 15 work session but took no formal budget action, where finance staff outlined the plan.
A separate draft ordinance details the proposed credit for taxes payable in 2027. It would set a 4.279-mill general operating levy, offset by a temporary 1.070-mill credit, for a net levy of 3.209 mills on most taxable property. Taxable business personal property would receive a credit for the full 3.209-mill levy, leaving it with no net levy. The draft ordinance estimates $28,105,886 in General Fund property-tax revenue.
The city estimates that, without the credit, property-tax collections would exceed the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) property-tax limit by about $9.4 million. The proposed credit is intended to reduce revenue by roughly that amount and keep collections below the limit, the draft ordinance says.
Sales and use taxes account for 58% of projected General Fund revenue. Staff forecast 2.8% ongoing sales-tax growth from its 2026 year-end estimate, rising to 3.5% when revenue attributed to two new tax-enforcement positions is included. Property-tax revenue is projected to grow 4.5%. The earlier budget presentation estimated that the credit would reduce city collections by $9.37 million; it did not estimate the effect on an individual property owner’s bill.
The proposal also includes about $12.3 million in one-time revenue for uses including reserves and capital projects. Staff said it intended to avoid using those funds for ongoing costs because temporary revenue cannot reliably support recurring expenses.
Staff estimated the General Fund reserve level at 21.8% entering 2026, above the 16.7% benchmark it attributed to the Government Finance Officers Association. That figure is a 2026 estimate, not a projection of the 2027 reserve balance.
Personnel costs — salaries, benefits and pensions — make up about 72% of proposed General Fund spending and are projected to rise about $19.1 million over the amended 2026 budget. The proposal includes roughly $2 million for civilian performance increases averaging 2%, $812,000 for eligible civilian employees’ progression increases of up to 4%, and market adjustments and step progressions for sworn police and fire employees. Staff said the proposed sworn market adjustments would move each rank about one-third of the way toward market. The changes remain proposals; the salary schedule was expected to come before council separately.
At an Oct. 29 budget-markup work session, council members informally indicated support for $196,000 for two parks maintenance positions: a $90,000 parks infrastructure skilled-maintenance technician and a $106,000 unfunded park-maintenance position. Members also indicated support for $55,000 in park projects: $25,000 for a graffiti-removal machine and $30,000 for repairs to the Deerfield Hills spray ground. The work-session recording captures the discussion and informal support; the council took no formal vote at the session.
Staff said changes discussed at the markup would be incorporated into a budget package for November consideration. The posted Oct. 29 meeting agenda does not specify whether the parks proposals were included in a revised package.
The City Clerk’s agenda planner lists the tax-levy ordinance and the annual appropriation ordinance for the 2027 budget for the Nov. 10 council meeting, according to the planner. Both remain proposals.