City of Greeley 2027 Budget

Welcome to the City of Greeley's 2027 Budget Page

In Colorado, every city is required to develop and adopt an annual budget. The City of Greeley is currently developing its 2027 budget. This page provides information about the budget process, key dates, current financial challenges, and opportunities for residents to learn more and provide feedback.

As budget discussions continue throughout the year, this page will be updated with new information, videos, presentations, and answers to frequently asked questions.

Understanding the City's Budget Challenges

Starting in 2022, the City made deliberate investments in service delivery, organizational capacity, and operational needs across departments. This approach reflected a balanced financial strategy: maintaining healthy reserves for stability and emergencies while also using taxpayer resources to meet community needs. Over time, however, these recurring investments increased the City's ongoing expenses faster than recurring revenues were growing. Those challenges began to surface in 2024 and became more pronounced in 2025.

Since that time, the City has closely monitored its finances and taken steps to balance annual budgets. In recent years, revenue growth has slowed as sales tax collections and development activity have leveled off. To maintain services and balance the budget, the City used one-time funding sources and available reserves (think of these like the city's savings account) while continuing to monitor financial trends.

While those actions helped address short-term budget needs, they did not eliminate the ongoing gap between recurring revenues and expenses. Addressing that gap is a major focus of the 2027 budget process. The City's goal is to develop a sustainable budget that supports core services while living within its long-term financial means.

To close the gap, the City is taking several steps. These include limiting hiring and offering voluntary separation opportunities to eligible employees. The City is also reviewing service levels, reducing expenditures where possible, and finding efficiencies across departments.

The 2027 Budget Process

The City started working on the 2027 budget in March using a target-based budgeting approach.

Target-based budgeting sets spending targets for each department based on available revenue. Departments then build their budgets within those targets, focusing resources on the services that matter most to residents.

This approach helps the City focus its limited resources on key services, like public safety and other community priorities. It also creates a balanced and sustainable budget for the future.

To keep up to date, explore this page including our FAQs, check out the Open Budget Dashboard, and watch our budget videos. To see the proposed 2027 budget, click here.