DENVER (KDVR) — The city of Boulder is facing a potential budget shortfall of between $8 to $10 million, and is taking steps to "underspend" through the rest of 2025.

The city said that the most salient of the steps is a hiring freeze for nearly all vacant positions listed in the city's government through Dec. 31. Some exceptions will be made for "critical roles," such as those needed for public safety and water quality, but all exceptions will require the city manager's authorization to proceed.

Any job offers the city has already made will be honored, but all postings for non-essential positions ended Friday.

“We do not take this step lightly, but we, like many other local governments, are facing challenging conditions,” said Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde, Boulder's city manager, in the city's announcement of the budget concerns. “We have a responsibility to ensure we can fulfill our obligations to serve our community within a balanced budget.”

The city said it hopes to avoid mass layoffs, wage cuts or the need to use emergency funds.

General fund seeing the most budgetary stress

The city said in a release Friday that the 2025 budget was modeled with "conservative projections," but that the city's revenue trends from 2024 and the first few months of 2025 are flattening. Primarily, Boulder's revenue is provided through sales and use tax, as well as some property taxes collected within the city's limits. However, the majority of the property taxes collected go to the county and schools.

The city said that it has seen lower-than-anticipated collections not just in the sales and use taxes, but also in marijuana sales taxes and electronic smoking devices and the utility franchise fee.

"State legislation that limits property tax increases and other types of revenue is also impacting the city’s projections," the city stated in its Friday announcement.

The city said its general fund is facing the most stress from the funding shortfall. The fund is used for social service programs, public safety, roads and paths, parks, recreation centers and communications and engagement.

City presents additional cost-saving proposals

The city said it is asking every department to look for opportunities to "understand its allocated budget over the next five and a half months and has received clear direction that any new positions" and potential budget increases are unlikely in 2026.

“This is not the time for expansion,” Rivera-Vandermyde reportedly told staff last week.

The city said it wants to avoid uniform, across-the-board cuts. Instead, the city will consider proposals from every department, aiming to reduce spending while "preserving essential functions and minimizing disproportionate impacts."

“We plan to take a thoughtful approach to all proposals, especially those that will result in changes in offerings or service delivery to our community,” the city manager said in the city's announcement. “We do want to be transparent, however, that the combination of staff vacancies and reduced operational and programmatic spending could affect what we can provide as local government. We’re asking for our community’s understanding and patience.”

Rivera-Vandermyde said that Boulder is "not alone," and that some of the city's peers "are facing bigger gaps" in their budgets.

The city said that just bringing in more revenue is not the only solution to their budget issues.

“We have very generous voters, but residents, businesses and visitors are also experiencing financial pressures,” Rivera-Vandermyde said. “We need to have a serious conversation about what priorities matter most – and the level of service our community expects us to achieve.”

The city will host a series of "engagement opportunities" this year to learn more about what community members seek from future spending decisions.