Brighton City Council Study Session - August 26, 2025: Budget, Utility Rates, and GID Proposals
Brighton City Council Study Session - August 26, 2025
The City Council held a study session on Tuesday, August 26, 2025, to review the 2026 proposed budget, utility rate and impact fee updates, and a proposal for the South Brighton General Improvement District (GID). The meeting began with a call to order, pledge of allegiance, and presentation of the executed contract listing for June and July. Staff presented financial updates, followed by detailed discussions on the 2026 budget, utility rates, and the GID mill levy. No formal votes were taken; council will consider adoption in October.
Consent Calendar
- Appointment to District Plan Commission: The council considered an appointment (no details provided).
- Executed Contract Leasing for June and July: The finance director presented the contract listing, noting an additional column for change order amounts. No questions or objections were raised.
Discussion Items
- Q2 2025 Budget and Financial Update: The finance director reported that total governmental fund revenues (excluding internal transfers) were $43.9 million through June 2025, up 10.5% over the same period in 2024. Sales tax filings showed a 5.1% increase year-over-year, but the growth rate is slowing. Staff noted that residential development remains strong, but online shopping is growing while brick-and-mortar sales are flat. The city has spent 35% of its budget halfway through the year, with capital projects progressing as expected. Councilmember Green asked about the decline in utility tax revenues; staff explained it is primarily due to lower electric and natural gas usage, not streaming services.
- 2026 Utility Rate and Impact Fee Proposal: The finance director presented recommendations: a 7% increase in water rates, an 8% pass-through increase from Metro Water Recovery for wastewater, and a $3 per month per EQR increase for storm drainage (generating an additional $1 million annually). For impact fees, staff recommended a $1,624 increase per single-family residential unit (5.2% increase) instead of the full study recommendation of $3,777, to balance affordability. Councilmembers raised concerns about aligning Lockbui wastewater rates with Metro rates without concrete data; staff agreed to provide more information before October. Councilmember Green and Mayor Pro Tem suggested exploring square-footage-based fees for residential units to encourage smaller, more affordable homes. Staff will consult with rate consultants on feasibility.
- South Brighton GID Mill Levy Proposal: The city manager presented a proposal to levy a 15-mill tax on the South Brighton GID, which was formed in 2004 but never levied. The 2026 estimate is $35,000 (updated from $20,000) based on current property values. The GID has a revenue cap of $400,000 per year. Funds would be used for regional storm drainage and road improvements (e.g., Sable corridor). Councilmember Fiddler questioned the equity of taxing new residents who had no vote in creating the GID, but staff noted that current property owners are developers and the GID is a tool to fund infrastructure. The city attorney clarified that the council acts as the GID board and will hold a separate meeting. Council will consider adoption in October.
- 2026 Proposed Budget Presentation: The budget team presented the proposed budget, emphasizing a structurally balanced general fund with no cuts to programs. The 10-year revenue/expenditure projection shows no inflection point, a first. Key changes include a new Budget and Innovation Department, a 4% annual increase for employees (5% for sworn police), and savings from the Target 36 modified work schedule. The total budget is $56 million higher than last year's proposal, largely due to changes in the sewer enterprise fund. Councilmember Green praised the balanced approach. Councilmember Worth requested additional funding for the Brighton Legacy Foundation ($30,000) to address increased nonprofit needs; staff noted that budget adjustments would require trade-offs. The city attorney clarified that lodging tax reserves cannot be used for the museum move without a council resolution, as the allocation is restricted.
Key Outcomes
- Staff will return with more detailed data on Lockbui wastewater rates and impact fee alternatives (square-footage-based discounts) before the October adoption.
- The GID proposal will be formally considered at a separate GID board meeting prior to October.
- The 2026 budget, utility rates, and fee resolutions will be presented for adoption in October 2025. Council indicated support for the balanced budget but requested further discussion on the Legacy Foundation funding and lodging tax allocation for the museum.
- No formal votes were taken; all items are scheduled for final action in October.
Meeting Transcript
Call to order our study session for Tuesday, August twenty-sixth, twenty twenty-five. And I'm going to ask uh Mayor Pro Tempadilla to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. And to the Republic for which it stands. Um first off on our agenda, consider appointment to the district plan commission. Thank you, Mayor. Before we begin our budget session, we do have a couple of items for business, and at this time I'll ask our city clerk to present this item. Okay. Okay, thank you so much. Next, executed contract leasing for June and July. A listing. Thank you. City Manager Martinez. Thank you, Mayor. Our finance director will be up shortly to present this next item. I'm sure she'll be up here a lot. Good evening, Council, as our city manager mentioned. The uh packet or the contract listing is in your packet. We did add that additional column showing change order amounts if there is a change order applicable for the contract. Um, if there's a change or order amount of zero, that just means there was no dollar change, but it was a change to other terms, maybe timing or something else. So I'm happy to answer questions if you have any. Questions? Comments. Very cool, is all I've heard. All right. Coolest contract listing. Thank you. Fascinating. Next, um second quarter 2025 budget and or financial and budgetary update. City manager Martinez. Thank you, Mayor. So now, technically, we will officially kick off tonight's session. So just a few items about what we'll be discussing this evening. First, we're gonna start off with the Q2 2025 budget and finance update. Obviously, revenues are important, kind of drive how we budget for next year. So we're going to give you just a quick overview of how we're doing this year, how we're projected to finish, um, which will lead us into the discussion about our 2026 budget. Uh we also have two other items other than the budget to present to you this evening. Uh, we'll have our 2026 utility rate and impact fee proposal, which will follow this, and our South Brighton GID discussion. All of these things will tie together to give you a more clearer picture of what the total budget picture looks like for 2026. I'll also remind you that we do a two-year budget now, right? This is something that we implemented uh when I became the city manager, and at least according to me, I think it's working smashingly. Really does give us a better runway to plan for different things. Uh, it gives us 24 months instead of 12 months. Uh, I think the longer outlook really does help us to plan better. Plus, it takes a little bit of pressure off of the staff rather than having to do a full-on budget process annually. Having the two-year budget process allows us to um be a little more proactive with the time that our budget and innovation department has. So, with that, I will turn it over to our budget team and our finance team to present the next item. Thank you, Michael. So, this is the uh quarter second quarter financial update budget update as well. This is the same format you've seen before, so we'll go through some financial trends and I'll hand it off to Catherine to talk through the budget updates. Nope.
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