The Durango City Council on Tuesday approved the 2014 budget, complete with Buzz Bus service, and authorized the purchase of 85 acres on Raider Ridge to add to open space in Horse Gulch.
“We moved the Buzz Bus out of Transit into the General Fund because it’s a community service,” Finance Director Julie Brown said about finding the $35,000 to keep the bus running for imbibers seeking a safe way home on Friday and Saturday nights.
Other changes in the final budget from the draft submitted in September included continuing service on the Trolley without charge; adding another $3,000 to the low-income Transit pass program after Lift riders said the proposed pass price increase would be a hardship; and adding more than $12,000 to the already recommended budget for books and materials for Durango Public Library.
City residents also will see a 5 percent increase in water and sewer fees in 2014, but that may just be the beginning as the city begins to address its aging water and sewer infrastructure.
“We’ve allocated $20,000 for a rate study in 2014,” Mayor Dick White said. “There will probably be rate increases in future years to look at improvements, but we’ll undergo an intensive process to study it next year before making any changes.”
All told, the city is looking at an operating budget of more than $63.2 million in 2014, up $8 million from 2013, with another $15.75 million budgeted for capital improvements. The capital-improvement budget includes an additional $1.3 million for street improvements from the original draft.
City staff also decreased the revenue in the Sustainable Services Fund by $129,000 to reflect the repeal of the bag fee ordinance in the November election.
In a final budget-related vote, councilors voted to continue the mill levy rate at 2.507 mills, or $70 for a house assessed at $350,000, a rate that has remained constant since 1981.
“Homeowners are getting a heck of a deal right here in Durango,” Councilor Sweetie Marbury said.
In one of the last big expenditures approved for the 2013 budget, the council approved an agreement to purchase 85 acres on Raider Ridge in Horse Gulch, which overlooks the SkyRidge subdivision, from Jake Dalla. The agreed-upon price, $6,000 an acre, for a total of $550,000, is slightly more than the appraised value, but the two lots complete an important part of the Open Space and Trails Master Plan, said Assistant Community Development Director Kevin Hall.
The lots are surrounded on several sides by some of the 1,300 acres the city already owns in Horse Gulch. The city will look at purchasing additional acreage in the area from Dalla in coming years.
“This will increase trail connectivity, protect the viewshed and maintain wildlife habitat,” Hall said. “And we thought it prudent to get an access easement to Horse Gulch Road in the event we don’t close on the remainder of the property, we’ll still have access to the trail.”
City Manager Ron LeBlanc was authorized to close on this portion Dec. 10, using funds allocated for the purpose in a 2005 bond election.
“I can’t think of a more fun Christmas present for the residents of Durango,” Councilor Christina Rinderle said. “It’s truly the Central Park of Durango, and so many use it for recreation and just to get away. It’s just minutes from downtown.”
abutler@durangoherald.com
If you go
The Durango City Council and Planning Commission will hold a joint study session from 4 to 6:30 p.m. today before holding a public meeting on the Land Use and Development Code from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Durango Public Library, 1900 East Third Ave. Mayor Dick White said the Accessory Dwelling Unit proposal has gotten all the attention, but it’s a small portion of the entire plan.
At 5:30 p.m. Thursday in City Council Chambers, 949 East Second Ave., the Planning Commission will hold a hearing about the land-use code before making recommendations to City Council for its review in January.
