Pueblo West presents proposed 2027 budget: $87.7M total, $43M fund-balance use noted

Karen Cordova, the district's director of finance, presented the procedures and highlights of the proposed 2027 budget and the timeline for public hearings and adoption. "It it is approximately 88,000,000 is what we're proposing for the 2027 budget," Cordova said while walking through slides on revenue, expenditures and required filings.

Cordova told the board the draft expects approximately $44.8 million in total revenue and roughly $46 million in capital expenditures for 2027. The general fund projection showed about $15.4 million in revenue versus $16.3 million in expenditures, implying approximately an $865,356 draw on fund balance to balance the general fund. Cordova said the overall net use of fund balance across funds for 2027 was about $42 million. The presentation also listed personnel impacts, including a 3.9% cost-of-living increase, higher insurance costs, and a net increase of about seven full-time-equivalent positions for 2027.

Cordova corrected a numeric slip in the meeting when a Conservation Trust Fund line was misstated as $118,000,000 and clarified the correct figure is $118,000. She invited directors to review the October 15 draft and to ask follow-up questions before the budget hearing schedule in November and adoption in December.