With many costly projects underway and a focus on transportation, infrastructure and housing, Greeley city staff projects a $21 million deficit for the city’s 2026 budget.
On Tuesday, Nathan Mosley, the new budget and policy director, presented the proposed 2026 budget to the city council, reporting that an overestimation of city revenue would result in a $21 million deficit. The city has seen a notable dip in development and consequently development fees, which are included in the city’s charges for services that make up 43% of the city’s revenue.
Through several methods, including carrying over $11 million in funds from 2024 and realigning work expectations, the city has managed to close the $21 million gap between revenue and expenditures, avoiding any interruption to city services. However, the city will still need to continue its ongoing hiring pause and will look to transition away from temporary staffing in an effort to help prevent deficits in the future, a challenge the city has faced since 2023.
Mosley also informed the council that 49% of this year’s budget, $246.1 million, will be directed toward infrastructure and transportation. In particular, this focused funding will be used to expand bus routes along U.S. 34 and the budget for the downtown stormwater project.
The item that represents the most significant shift from the previous budget is the $14.9 million that the council has directed toward housing, which is the amount of funding needed to sustain the city’s Housing For All program. This funding surge represents a 29% increase over the previous year and also allocates $1.2 million to support the United Way of Weld County’s homeless shelter remaining open year-round.
Councilwoman Deb DeBoutez had questioned how much other city partners are contributing to this funding, to which Mosley said that about 30% of the shelter’s funding would be coming from grants and other programs. However, 70% of this funding is coming from the city, and this can be expected to continue as United Way of Weld County plans to move away from directly operating the shelter in 2027.
Both Councilman Dale Hall and Councilman Johnny Olson angled for additional funding to purchase drones as part of the Real-Time Information Center’s proposed drone program.
“I still want to find money for the drones. If not one, then two drones for the Real-Time Information Center,” Olson said. “I really think it’s important and it helps not only the Greeley Police Department, but also will support the fire department, too.”
The program would consist of a handful of drones that would act as first responders to emergency calls, providing officers and firefighters with critical information before they arrive on the scene.
Councilwoman Melissa McDonald urged Mosley to find additional funding so the city could hire more firefighters, as the department has reported being understaffed. This funding was considered as part of a tax increase earlier in the summer but was struck down due to poor polling.
“The fire department had specifically put nine firefighters just to bring staffing up. And that since that’s not going through, we’re not gonna get nine firefighters,” McDonald said. “So at any given point, the maximum number of firefighters is 39 for any shift. The lowest is 31, and they’ve been constantly running with 31 firefighters on shift.”
Mosley said it might be possible to find the necessary funds, estimated to be slightly over $5.5 million. However, the city would need to cut funding in other areas, as it has already stretched the budget thin to accommodate the deficit without dipping into the city’s revenue stabilization funds.
“If we add anything into the budget, it’s gonna make things more difficult in the future,” Mosley said. “We’re not dipping into our revenue stabilization fund, so that’s certainly something that we could do. Again, it’s an option, but I wouldn’t advise that. I think we’re going to need those reserves in the future, and they’re there for when times are really, really dire.”
With several additional expenditures proposed during the meeting, Mayor John Gates reminded council members to temper their expectations and dial back their requests. Gates warned there were some major last-minute requests.
The second reading of the 2026 budget will be a public hearing on Tuesday, Oct. 21, and residents are encouraged to attend. Residents can also review the proposed budget by going to bit.ly/Greeley2026Budget.
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