Manitou Springs City Council voted 7-0 on Tuesday, May 3, to approve an ordinance amending the annual budget for fiscal year 2022.
Council members wasted little time deciding to approve the budget and did so less than five minutes after hearing Finance Director Rebecca Davis speak about the budget.
During a work session on April 26, Davis covered various aspects of the budget, including the enterprise fund.
“With the creation of the new Mobility and Parking Enterprise Fund, staff felt that providing information during a work session would give City Council a better opportunity to ask questions than just presenting it at first reading of the ordinance,” Davis said during the April 26 meeting.
She hoped the presentation would inform the conversation during Tuesday’s meeting.
Mayor John Graham said the previous briefing provided clarity.
“I think the work session presentation was very effective and reassuring,” he said.
Davis said the forecasted unassigned ending fund balance, which is projected to be $5,702,139, will account for approximately 54 percent of total expenditures.
Davis added that this was 47 percent of all expenditures in the General Fund.
“That is a very healthy fund balance,” Davis said.
The budget has 14 “major” amendments, and the notable changes include:
• Creates the new Mobility and Parking Enterprise Fund, which includes the assigned Barr Trail parking lot;
• Increases sales tax revenues by $1 million in the General Fund due to the sales tax increase City Council approved before year-end 2021;
• Moves $54,764 from the Metro District administration revenue account line to the new Mobility and Parking Enterprise Fund, for parking enforcement;
• Moves the partial salary of the deputy city administrator out of the executive salary line and into the Mobility & Parking Enterprise Fund;
• Increases the executive department’s computer-related services account line to the 2021 amount so that it is not under-budgeted;
• Reduces the Police Department’s regular salary account line by $48,000, which is accomplished by leaving the detective position vacant this year; and
• Increasing the transfer to the Capital Improvement Fund by the above $48,000 to purchase updated computers for the police vehicles.
Council required just three minutes to decide to unanimously approve the amended budget.
Members also came to a swift unanimous vote to approve conveyance on property neighboring Emerald Fields marijuana establishment, 27 Manitou Ave., and approving a related easement agreement.
The property has not been dedicated for city park nor government purposes.
“It’s being used by Emerald Fields for certain parking spaces that are serving the dispensary,” city attorney Jeff Parker said.
“Their attorney contacted me and said ‘Will the city be willing to convey an easement, or would the city be willing to sell this property to Emerald Fields because we’d like to use it for parking? Seeing as our parking is on the property.’”
Parker said approving the resolution means approving a short purchase “because the title company wanted a purchase in the sale agreement to complete the transaction for $105,000.”
The attorney said this deal subtracts survey costs, about $1,050, and half of the title insurance policy.
He said he doesn’t have an exact figure for the title insurance policy but it’s likely “under $1,000.”
“The city would get approximately $103,000 for the parcel,” Parker said, “and an easement in return for existing utilities and future utilities that are needed to go under that parcel.”
City Council also heard the first reading of ordinance No. 0822, regarding the inclusion of Hiawatha Gardens property at 10 Old Man’s Trail and 487 El Paso Blvd. within local historic district boundaries.
Councilors voted 6-1 to move approve the plan, with Graham being the lone dissenter.