LOVELAND, Colo. - Before Loveland voters approved a measure to get rid of the 3% sales tax on groceries, city staff started sounding the alarm.
"We want people to understand what they're deciding on," Loveland's Chief Financial Officer Brian Waldes told Denver 7 in October 2023. Ballot Question 300 asked voters whether or not to eliminate the tax on groceries or food for home consumption and it passed with more than 65% of the vote.
At the time, the initial financial estimates said there'd be about $10 million lost in sales tax revenue. Now, Waldes said that number is actually on the lower end.
"We had some later estimates around $13 million and right now we're seeing actual results in 2024 come in between those numbers," Waldes said.
"It's very, very difficult. On one hand, you certainly have to respect the outcome of that vote. That's the way our system works. But there are ramifications to it, and here we are. We're $13 million down," said Mark Jackson, acting deputy city Manager.
City staff will be presenting some possible solutions to city council Tuesday night. Something needs to be done quickly to balance the 2024 budget, and a longer more strategic plan needs to be figured out for the future.
"We have to identify areas that we can no longer keep doing, or areas that we can scale back and reduce. I don't think there's a way with this to not impact the community in some fashion," said Jackson.
The city saved some money from salaries that were never used last year for vacant positions. They are also proposing canceling capital improvement projects. Right now some possible options could impact improvements that were planned for Public Works and Parks and Rec.
From Public Works, $3,615,000 could be saved by:
- Canceling Facilities Master Plan
- Capital Projects - Budgetary Savings
- Facility Custodial Contract Reduction
- Foundry Space Monitoring System
- Reduce Ongoing Facility Maintenance
- COLT FLEX Contribution Reduction
- Salary from a vacant building attendant position
- Library sprinkler upgrades
- Traffic operations software reduction
- Traffic Fiber Lease
Potential cuts to Parks and Recreation projects being considered could save $1,872,000.
- Centennial Park Ballfields Plaza Upgrades
- Northlake Tennis Courts Reno (10-12)
- Chilson Revenue Adjustment
- Equipment Replacement fund adjustment
- Chilson Equipment replacement
- Recreation Equipment replacement
- Payroll savings due to restructuring
- Milner Schwartz House Fence replacement
City staff also identified one-time rollover savings from 2023 that total: $8,404,804.
No cuts or changes to the budget are set in stone until City Council makes a final decision. The council will hear some of the possible options Tuesday night, the cuts to projects are expected to happen by June.
"I think it's possible to adapt to it. It won't be easy. It won't be pretty," said Jackson, "It will be impactful, but at the end of the day there is no other funding source there."
To learn more about Loveland's budget,click here.
