BY FREDA MIKLIN
STAFF WRITER
The 2023 citywide budget passed by the Greenwood Village City Council on October 17 anticipates revenue of $59.7 million, a four percent increase over this year’s amended budget, despite a reduction in 2023 of $3.5 million, or 45%, in intergovernmental revenue, including almost $2 million that GV banked in 2022 from the American Rescue Plan.
A major reason for GV’s positive outlook is, as of mid-September, “2022 sales tax collections are expected to exceed initial forecasts by 13.6%.” The significant rise in sales tax collections this year is attributed to both “the faster than anticipated economic recovery” and inflation. The 2023 budget projects sales tax collections will rise another $1 million over the final total for 2022 total, to $34.5 million.
Besides sales tax, GV’s, “use tax, lodging tax, and occupational privilege tax for 2022 are also all projected to come in at amounts higher than the 2022 amended budget.” Total general fund revenues for 2022 were $5.1 million, 5% higher than budgeted, as of the end of September. General fund expenditures for the same period were 2% lower than the amount budgeted, even after the city spent $250,000 during September on retroactive pay increases due to its “change in compensation philosophy.”
As a result, the city expects a 2023 operating surplus (the amount by which the city’s income exceeds its operating expenses) of $6.4 million.
With zero debt issued or outstanding, at year’s end, after all expenses are paid, GV expects to have $49.3 million in its bank account, of which $27.4 million is considered its “Unassigned Fund Balance,” which it defines as “funds available to meet the needs of the community without regard to spending limitations imposed by (GV itself) or external agencies.” Some of the “restricted” amounts in the city’s fund balance are set aside only as a matter of policy and can be changed by a simple vote of the council at any time. Those include a 25% Operating Reserve Assignment, an Open Space Acquisition Assignment, and a Traffic Safety Assignment; those three items comprise $14.3 million of GV’s “restricted” fund balance of $21.9 million out of the total fund balance of $49.3 million.
New this year in GV’s budget is $678,627 in unexpected revenue that GV received from the sale of the Denver Broncos as a result of a 1998 agreement between the Metro Stadium District, PDB Sports and Stadium Management Company “that requires that 2% of the net proceeds” from the sale of the team are “to be paid to the Metro Stadium District to be used for youth activity programs.” The money, which GV received in 2022, which was an unbudgeted windfall resulting from the stadium construction sales tax that was in effect from 2001 to 2011.
GV City Manager John Jackson announced the windfall to the city council at its September 16 budget meeting, along with the fact that the requirement be used for youth activity programs. The city council did not decide at that meeting how the money would be used and has not yet taken up the question in any city council meeting or study session since.
Like most organizations, nearly half of GV’s expenditures are for “costs associated with personnel.” For 2023, total personnel costs are expected to increase $3.65 million, or 13%, over the current year-end estimate for 2022. Of the total increase, $1.4 million is attributed to “compensation philosophy update” and “general employee market adjustments” for all non-police officer positions. The market adjustment in the 2023 budget for commissioned officers is just over half a million dollars. The city council discussed these changes to how it will pay its regular and police personnel at multiple study sessions over the summer.
The City Hall Interior Remodel Project, as reflected in the capital improvement program included in the 2023 budget, is presently expected to cost a total of $5 million for planned expenditures through the end of 2024.
Also included in the 2023 capital projects budget is $2 million for a fiber backbone. The project detail page for that expenditure says, “As GV continues to define the role and portion of citywide fiber to the premises that the city will own and maintain, the initial phase will be to build a fiber backbone (which) will allow for the city or a future partner to extend the fiber network into the neighborhoods, and if ultimately decided, to each residential property as well.”
fmiklin.villager@gmail.com