City presents preliminary FY 2025-26 budget

Breckenridge City Manager Cynthia Northrop recently introduced a preliminary budget to city commissioners and the public for Fiscal Year 2025-2026. 

The FY 2025-2026 budget, based on preliminary tax values was presented by Northrop at the Breckenridge City Commission meeting Tuesday, July 1 and is available for review on the city’s website. 

The Stephens County Appraisal District will provide the certified values Friday, July 25. 

For the budget draft, the city manager had a preliminary value of $304,609,889, an increase from the certified value of $299,380,774 from last year. 

Northrop said that the preliminary values are usually conservative and the city hopes that the numbers will change to the positive, which would allow them to have more taxable value and be able to drop the tax rate.

The proposed tax rate based on preliminary values is $1.05428 per $100 valuation, an increase of $0.00957 from last year’s tax rate of $1.04471 per $100 valuation. The proposed rate is less than the voter approval rate of $1.10159 and the de Minimis rate of $1.23684 per $100 valuation.

Northrop spoke about the importance of connecting the strategic plan to the budget, describing five main reasons for that approach. First, she said it helps them to set clear targets and expectations. Second, the approach allows them to prioritize their limited funds. 

“Every year, it’s going to be a give and take of what is prioritized this year,” she said.  Third, it reduces conflict and fourth it reduces conflict over competing demands. Lastly, the city manager said that it helps promote a unified approach to funding priorities.

Part of the initial steps of the budget process is holding commissioners and staff meetings and then reviewing the strategic plan through an open house and surveys to get feedback from the public. 

The feedback that the city receives from the public is used to get the preliminary tax values. 

Under the preliminary value, a homestead with the average taxable amount of $105,010 would see a city tax of $1,097, a $10 increase over the previous fiscal year.

Northrop said there is a 3% increase in employee pay. Along with this cost of living adjustment and merit and equity adjustments, including benefits, this would create an increase of $85,085.60 in the budget.

Other increases included $200,000 for fleet maintenance, $100,000 for a street drainage study and $75,000 for the 2025-25 CDBG grant match regarding the Panther and Fourth Street project in the pipeline. There is also an additional $10,000 for a BEDC cost share downtown 1099 worker. 

One of the biggest proposed increases is to the Breckenridge Police Department, with a proposed total salary increase of $28,472. 

The city has 67 total employees, including seasonal employees and three current vacancies. 

“We have seen positive trends in maintaining more stable levels of staffing, and I think we’re still in that trend,” Northrop said. “There are times when we have turnover, and we have had some turnover recently. But the first year I was here, we had 15 vacancies. So when you’re looking at two, three, four or five, we are in a much better place.”

In the FY 2025-2026 general fund draft, there is an overall $148,446 increase in revenue over the previous year and a $143,982 increase in expenditures. With a total revenue of $5,480,185 and total expenditures of $5,476,443 in the budget draft, there is a net revenue of $3,742. That would put the city back in the positive after sitting in the negative last year. 

The FY 2024-2025 water fund draft has a projected revenue increase of $25,000, up from last year’s $2,932,000. With a projected total expenditures decrease of $23,506, down from last year’s $2,865,414, the net revenue is projected to increase to $115,092 from $66,586. 

There is a projected $50,000 increase in net revenue for the FY 2024-2025 wastewater fund draft, $214,808 up from last year’s $164,732. This comes with a proposed decrease of $42,976 for expenditures and a proposed increase of $7,100 for total revenues. 

Northrop also highlighted that there is significant proposed funding for purified water system improvements, with $346,000 set aside for that. 

Once the city receives the certified values July 25 from the Stephens County Appraisal District, the city manager will file the 2025-2026 budget with City Secretary Jessica Sutter a week later. 

The city commission will hold another budget workshop during its regular meeting Tuesday, Aug. 5, before holding a public hearing on the tax increase Tuesday, Aug. 26 and a public hearing to consider the budget Tuesday, Sep. 2.