October 20, 2026: A first look at the 2027 budget

The Proposed 2027 Budget

Started council's review of the proposed 2027 budget Under study

Worked through the city manager's proposed 2027 budget with council at a study session. Council adopts the budget and the city's mill levies on December 8. Every major fund is balanced and meets the city's 25 percent reserve policy, and the city carries no debt. Taxes make up only 51 percent of 2027 revenue, against a usual 75 percent or so, because of large outside contributions expected for the Happy Canyon interchange. The plan assumes only 104 new home permits, so construction use tax is projected to drop 36 percent from this year and total tax revenue about 1 percent. It proposes raising the city's $2.2 million salary budget by $212,216, or 9.6 percent, to carry out an outside pay study that staff revised downward after reviewing it with Council Members Blue and Eubanks, plus $39,000 in retirement and payroll taxes; health insurance costs are rising 10 to 13 percent. It also proposes three new positions and $500,000 for a pavilion and parking lot north of the community center. Council gave informal direction on the policy questions; nothing is final until the December 8 vote. Staff agreed to answer every open question from the night in writing.

Asked why the city would add staff in a year it expects only 104 new homes On the record

The proposed budget adds three positions: a Planner II ($63,000 in salary for a second-quarter hire, $83,000 a year after that, plus $30,000 in benefits), a second parks foreman ($78,000 in salary, $37,000 in benefits and a $48,000 truck) and an engineering inspector ($75,000 in salary, $36,000 in benefits and a $52,000 truck). Salazar asked how new hires square with a forecast of only 104 new homes and lower building permit, planning and zoning fees and construction use tax or whether the positions are meant for needs beyond 2027. The city manager said community development's 2027 work plan is already full enough that some projects are being pushed into 2028, that the Unified Land Development Code has to get done, and that he expects development to continue or increase over the next decade. Staff said the planner would replace part of an outside planning contract and cost less than contracting the same work, the inspector should be offset one-for-one by a smaller engineering contract, and the parks foreman covers the east-side parks, trails and open space expected to transfer to the city in late 2026, roughly doubling the area the city maintains.

Roads, Sidewalks & Parks

Asked where sidewalks fit as the city moves its road plan years ahead On the record

The city manager proposed speeding up the Road Solutions Plan so it is finished in 2028. This is nine years instead of 13, which he estimated would save around $5 million in inflation. The 2027 proposals are $2,000,000 for the median and concrete on Castle Pines Parkway from Village Square Drive to Beverly Boulevard, a year early; $2,400,000 for a raised, low-water median from Forest Park Drive to Pine Ridge and a rebuilt Buffalo Trail roundabout, two years early; and $3,000,000 in each of 2027 and 2028 to reconstruct Monarch Boulevard from Castle Pines Parkway to Shoreham Circle, two years early, working around Buffalo Ridge Elementary. Pavement maintenance gets $3,500,000 to keep city streets at a condition rating of 80. Salazar asked where sidewalks and pedestrian-friendly design fit in. The city manager said the missing sidewalk on the south side of Castle Pines Parkway, from Debbie Lane east to the I-25 bridge, is on hold because it would be a sidewalk to nowhere: CDOT's new ramp crossings do not connect to anything yet, and the land east of the interstate has not been platted. He called it a long-term need and offered to show council a map. The budget also carries $150,000 for pedestrian safety improvements. Each project's contract and median design comes back to council.

Community Center Pavilion Under study

The budget proposes $500,000 from the parks fund for a parking lot and an open-air pavilion north of the community center, similar to the picnic shelters at Elk Ridge Park. The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board recommended it, but design has not started and there has been no neighborhood outreach yet; a colleague asked staff to talk with nearby residents and to check for any old agreement limiting changes to the property. The city manager said the design will go through the parks board and asked council to send recommendations to Salazar, who serves as council's link to the board, and one colleague. The budget also proposes about $90,000 for a full rewrite of the trails master plan that folds in the east-side trails the city is taking over; the city manager noted Salazar has already heard some of that work in her role as the Parks and Recreation Board Council Liaison. Both contracts come back to council.

About this record

Every entry comes from a public Castle Pines City Council meeting; video and official minutes are available through the city clerk's office. Ordinances take two council votes: an entry marked first reading still needs a second, confirming vote before it becomes law. Resolutions, emergency ordinances and contract awards take a single vote. Matters still in process are described as such rather than claimed as outcomes. Dollar figures come from the staff memo or the record; none are estimated.