OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Community Marketing Board Special Meeting - Budget Approval for 2027-2028 - September 1, 2026

City Council & Boards — Tuesday, September 1, 2026
BodyGolden, Colorado
SessionCity Council & Boards
DateTuesday, September 1, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:00:01

Transcript — Verbatim
0:09

I like that idea.

0:10

Yeah.

0:14

Welcome everybody.

0:16

Community marketing board or special meeting to go through the approval of the budget for seven and twenty-eight.

0:23

Thanks all for joining us.

0:25

And select Derek, take it from here.

0:29

Oh, we do.

0:30

Thank you.

0:30

We did not see that.

0:31

We're not sure.

0:32

Public comment anymore.

0:34

Laura, we good.

0:35

All right.

0:37

We are good.

0:41

Okay.

0:44

This is the updated budget.

0:46

Most of the numbers are the same, a couple of little things different.

0:50

Um in the numbers themselves, but for the most part, it was just built out to be a bit more detailed, as we discussed uh last week.

0:59

The first important thing, and John brought this, brought this up in a question to me, the email yesterday was the salaries.

1:05

Why is it so big?

1:06

Uh there was an error in 2026.

1:09

And um, so it was a combination of, and I'm no not placing blame anyone, but it was as a result of uh Camille being golden greeter, her salary was initially with the general general fund.

1:22

It was moved over to visit golden.

1:24

So in that transition, the numbers got a little bit skewed.

1:27

So all that being said, and I'm learning this uh on Thursday or Friday of last week.

1:33

That 165 in 2026 will be a bit higher.

1:38

Uh so the money from the that's no longer coming out of the general fund.

1:43

No, okay.

1:44

That was the it's not that was what was agreed when the terms were set for the new community marketing fund.

1:52

I just remember having a different conversation during budget cycle.

1:57

Um, but at least the number is the same.

2:00

Yeah, we can check.

2:01

I will say in 2027, it absolutely will be coming out of our fund.

2:05

2026 may be a question mark, but um 27 absolutely, it will be coming from this fund.

2:12

And I was gonna ask about that too, because it is a 27% increase.

2:15

So I my question was was it not the whole year captured?

2:19

So it sounds like maybe.

2:21

It's looking to be um so when I was looking in um because the accounting department went in and did some random numbers on like the back end of what we saw.

2:29

So what that 2026 number was um what I was looking at was 100 roughly 199,000.

2:37

So it equates to about a three to four percent increase.

2:40

And that again, I don't there's been no announcements to city staff or anything, so hopefully I'm not like blowing the lid on something right now, but that's what we saw.

2:48

Um these are the numbers we were given from our accounting department for 27 and 28.

2:54

Um is that all in?

2:55

Is that include like everything all of that?

2:57

Okay.

2:58

I remember having that conversation when we talked about transitioning from the courses to bringing someone in and yeah, that we potentially would lose that yeah from the general.

3:10

Yep.

3:12

The three percent on top is just normal what you're expecting for a salary raise.

3:17

Yeah, again, I think the accounting just baked that in just because that's um what their best guess was.

3:22

I don't know if there's been conversations beyond what uh what we saw, but yes, that's I don't know whether that's cost of living or what I I that's a it looks like four percent increase between 2027 and 2028.

3:34

Yeah, and I think that's based on what happened last year.

3:37

Again, my guess is that that's just the counting set.

3:39

This is what happened last year.

3:40

Let's put that in again.

3:42

It's uh it's a moving target.

3:44

Very few, I don't know.

3:46

I know I think by one or two, but very few departments in the city have salaries coming out of their fund.

3:52

So that's why it's a bit unique for us, um, which that number may or may not have to be adjusted.

3:59

And that also kind of accounts for if health benefits change like based off of the fiscal year, those types of things, like the that's kind of the variance that gives flexibility for any of that stuff to shift.

4:17

So to clarify, it's not the golden greeter, it's kind of part of communes salary.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Strategic Planning███████████████████████████████████████39%
Budget Equity Analysis███████████████████████████████31%
Public Engagement███████████████████████████27%
Community Engagement███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Community Marketing Board Special Meeting - Budget Approval for 2027-2028 - September 1, 2026

The Community Marketing Board held a special meeting on September 1, 2026, at 5:45 PM (MT) to review and discuss the proposed budgets for 2027 and 2028. The meeting focused on detailed line items, including salaries, marketing contracts, visitor guides, and funding for the Golden Welcome Center. No formal vote was recorded in the transcript; the discussion appeared ongoing at the time of adjournment.

Discussion Items

  • Salaries and Budget Adjustments: Staff explained that the 2027 salary line ($209,629) was higher than originally anticipated due to the transition of the Golden Greeter salary from the general fund to the Visit Golden budget. The 2026 salary figure ($165,123) was an error and will be adjusted upward. The increase from 2027 to 2028 (to $219,000) reflects standard cost-of-living adjustments and potential health benefit changes, as projected by city accounting.
  • Visitor Guide Design and Printing: The proposed $20,000 for visitor guide design in 2027 (down from $17,350 in 2026) includes two editions (winter/spring and summer/fall) with a focus on inspiration over ad sales. Printing and mailing ($15,000) sparked debate about whether to continue physical distribution. Board members suggested reducing print runs, charging shipping to non-residents, and using digital alternatives. Staff noted that the current model forces 35,000 copies, leaving excess inventory.
  • Media Buying and Council Feedback: The media buying line ($160,000 for DVA in 2027, plus $110,000 for management) was discussed in the context of recent City Council approval. One councilor opposed all marketing; another objected to the term "high-value visitors," which was subsequently removed from the proposal. The board acknowledged the need to refine messaging around visitor segmentation.
  • Group Sales Contractor: The proposed increase from $30,000 (2026) to $37,500 (2027) and $45,000 (2028) for a part-time group sales contractor was questioned. Staff justified it based on strategic plan priorities, including off-season visitation, the new Clayworks conference space, and the 2029 IPW convention in Denver. No contract has been issued yet.
  • Strategic Plan Implementation and Welcome Center Funding: The $18,000 line for strategic plan implementation (renamed from "strategic planning implementation") is intended for project-based work such as frontline staff training. This replaces the previous $20,000 monthly fee to the Golden Welcome Center, which will now need to bid for specific projects. Board members expressed concern about the optics of cutting the Welcome Center while increasing staff salaries. Others noted the Welcome Center receives other city support (e.g., a $1/year land lease) and can apply for grants. Staff emphasized the need to align expenditures with the strategic plan rather than historical relationships.
  • Other Line Items: The board briefly reviewed banners/maps, email marketing, memberships, and analytics. The microgrant program ($12,000) was confirmed as included under special projects. The brand refresh ($18,000 total) was split into research and visual identity phases.

Key Outcomes

  • No formal vote on the budget was recorded in the transcript. Discussion was ongoing, with several board members requesting clarifications on the Welcome Center transition, group sales contracting, and printing costs.
  • The board asked staff to provide more details on the three-bid process for under-$20,000 projects and to give monthly updates on the strategic plan implementation line.
  • Staff will explore reducing visitor guide print runs and potentially charging shipping to non-residents.
  • The term "high-value visitors" has been removed from council-approved marketing materials.

Meeting Transcript

I like that idea. Yeah. Welcome everybody. Community marketing board or special meeting to go through the approval of the budget for seven and twenty-eight. Thanks all for joining us. And select Derek, take it from here. Oh, we do. Thank you. We did not see that. We're not sure. Public comment anymore. Laura, we good. All right. We are good. Okay. This is the updated budget. Most of the numbers are the same, a couple of little things different. Um in the numbers themselves, but for the most part, it was just built out to be a bit more detailed, as we discussed uh last week. The first important thing, and John brought this, brought this up in a question to me, the email yesterday was the salaries. Why is it so big? Uh there was an error in 2026. And um, so it was a combination of, and I'm no not placing blame anyone, but it was as a result of uh Camille being golden greeter, her salary was initially with the general general fund. It was moved over to visit golden. So in that transition, the numbers got a little bit skewed. So all that being said, and I'm learning this uh on Thursday or Friday of last week. That 165 in 2026 will be a bit higher. Uh so the money from the that's no longer coming out of the general fund. No, okay. That was the it's not that was what was agreed when the terms were set for the new community marketing fund. I just remember having a different conversation during budget cycle. Um, but at least the number is the same. Yeah, we can check. I will say in 2027, it absolutely will be coming out of our fund. 2026 may be a question mark, but um 27 absolutely, it will be coming from this fund. And I was gonna ask about that too, because it is a 27% increase. So I my question was was it not the whole year captured? So it sounds like maybe. It's looking to be um so when I was looking in um because the accounting department went in and did some random numbers on like the back end of what we saw. So what that 2026 number was um what I was looking at was 100 roughly 199,000. So it equates to about a three to four percent increase. And that again, I don't there's been no announcements to city staff or anything, so hopefully I'm not like blowing the lid on something right now, but that's what we saw. Um these are the numbers we were given from our accounting department for 27 and 28. Um is that all in? Is that include like everything all of that? Okay. I remember having that conversation when we talked about transitioning from the courses to bringing someone in and yeah, that we potentially would lose that yeah from the general. Yep. The three percent on top is just normal what you're expecting for a salary raise. Yeah, again, I think the accounting just baked that in just because that's um what their best guess was. I don't know if there's been conversations beyond what uh what we saw, but yes, that's I don't know whether that's cost of living or what I I that's a it looks like four percent increase between 2027 and 2028.

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