The Pagosa Springs Town Council held two work sessions for its 2027 budget on Sept. 21 and Sept. 22.
The work sessions took place after the council heard the initial budget proposal at its Sept. 15 regular meeting.
At the Sept. 21 work session, the council discussed not raising the rate for residential sewer customers while directing staff to raise the rate by $10 per month for commercial users.
The direction came after council members Madeline Bergon and Leonard Martinez, as well as Mayor Shari Pierce, expressed opposition to the original proposal to raise the rate on residential customers by $10.
Bergon expressed that this would be a “slap in the face” to those who voted for the 1 percent increase in the town’s sales tax to help pay for town’s sewer infrastructure and repairs, especially as the campaign indicated that the town’s sewer rate might actually be lowered in the future.
At the Sept. 21 work session, council member Brooks Lindner also aligned with Bergon, Martinez and Pierce to oppose raising the rate on residential users of the wastewater system.
All present were in favor, to varying degrees, of raising the rate for commercial users.
Town Manager David Harris explained that he had gotten clear direction from the council and would work this information into a new draft of the budget’s fee schedule.
The residential user rate will stay put at $71.25 per month, whereas the commercial user rate is poised to increase to $81.25 per month.
Town Clerk April Hessman clarified that short-term rentals (STRs), such as Airbnbs and Vrbos, will be considered commercial.
At the Sept. 22 work session, Harris explained “the big jump” in the revenue number in the town’s general fund, increasing by about $2.7 million.
The increase in revenues in the 2027 budget’s general fund, compared to last year’s, is due to “the fact that we’re moving money between funds to help cover costs and projects,” Harris said.
On the expenditures side, he explained that a lot of the increases come from “salaries and benefits costs” for town staff through various departments.
A budget presentation, presented by Harris, shows that the town expects its total revenues for 2027 to stand at $26.5 million.
However, the town’s expenses for the year are budgeted to be over that amount, standing at about $30.5 million, leaving a shortfall of $4,029,453, the presentation states.
Some of these rising expenses stem from the general fund, which are up by $2.7 million compared to fiscal year 2026, according to the presentation.
Harris clarified that the budget proposal viewed “the other night did not include funding for early childhood education, and I wanted to let you all know that we are putting that back in.”
He added, “We are looking for revenue to help fund that.”
This addition of early childhood education funding came after some on the council members expressed that they didn’t want to see this funding disappear in light of the affordability issue for parents in the community.
There will be a public hearing on the proposed budget on Oct. 6 at Town Hall during the regular town council meeting, with Harris explaining he’s holding out hope for the council’s adoption of the budget on that date.
The draft budget can be viewed at www.pagosasprings.co.gov.
derek@pagosasun.com
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