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City Budget Watch

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For more than 70 years, the City of Loveland has been a full-service City working to keep our community vibrant, healthy and safe. The City’s budget process ensures that Loveland can provide exceptional service levels and allows for investment in infrastructure that will benefit our community for years to come. We take pride in effectively managing public funds, ensuring that every dollar is spent wisely and in the best interest of the community.

How the City Gets Its Revenue

The City receives funds from sources such as sales and use taxes, licenses and permits, charges for services, interest income and more.

  • The General Fund supports services provided by the police, fire rescue, public works, library, parks and recreation, cultural services and more. Sales tax is the largest source of General Fund revenue.
  • The City’s Enterprise Funds support services like water, wastewater, stormwater, power, solid waste and golf. Enterprise Funds are dedicated funds supported through user fees. Just like a business, user fees fund the operation, maintenance and capital projects necessary to provide the service. Only people who pay for these services receive the benefit of these services.
  • Special Revenue Funds are dedicated funds established by federal or state law, or by municipal ordinance or resolution. Each has its own specific revenue source, such as the countywide Open Lands Sales Tax, which can only be used to support that specific service.

Of these three major fund types, both Enterprise and Special Revenue Funds are dedicated funds, which means they cannot be legally used for anything other than their dedicated purpose.

Changes in The City's General Fund Budget

Since 2016, the increases in costs to maintain infrastructure and provide services to the community have outpaced available revenue. In 2024, the City also lost an ongoing multi-million-dollar revenue stream to fund General Fund departments, including public safety (police and fire), transportation, community spaces (parks, library, museum, Rialto Theater, the Chilson Recreation and Senior Center and Winona Pool), infrastructure projects, general government services, and support services for nonprofits, small businesses, and residents in need.

Stay in the Know

Stay tuned to this webpage to learn more about the City’s budget, ask questions and find helpful resources as the City navigates budget options for 2024 and planning for the 2025 Budget.

For more than 70 years, the City of Loveland has been a full-service City working to keep our community vibrant, healthy and safe. The City’s budget process ensures that Loveland can provide exceptional service levels and allows for investment in infrastructure that will benefit our community for years to come. We take pride in effectively managing public funds, ensuring that every dollar is spent wisely and in the best interest of the community.

How the City Gets Its Revenue

The City receives funds from sources such as sales and use taxes, licenses and permits, charges for services, interest income and more.

  • The General Fund supports services provided by the police, fire rescue, public works, library, parks and recreation, cultural services and more. Sales tax is the largest source of General Fund revenue.
  • The City’s Enterprise Funds support services like water, wastewater, stormwater, power, solid waste and golf. Enterprise Funds are dedicated funds supported through user fees. Just like a business, user fees fund the operation, maintenance and capital projects necessary to provide the service. Only people who pay for these services receive the benefit of these services.
  • Special Revenue Funds are dedicated funds established by federal or state law, or by municipal ordinance or resolution. Each has its own specific revenue source, such as the countywide Open Lands Sales Tax, which can only be used to support that specific service.

Of these three major fund types, both Enterprise and Special Revenue Funds are dedicated funds, which means they cannot be legally used for anything other than their dedicated purpose.

Changes in The City's General Fund Budget

Since 2016, the increases in costs to maintain infrastructure and provide services to the community have outpaced available revenue. In 2024, the City also lost an ongoing multi-million-dollar revenue stream to fund General Fund departments, including public safety (police and fire), transportation, community spaces (parks, library, museum, Rialto Theater, the Chilson Recreation and Senior Center and Winona Pool), infrastructure projects, general government services, and support services for nonprofits, small businesses, and residents in need.

Stay in the Know

Stay tuned to this webpage to learn more about the City’s budget, ask questions and find helpful resources as the City navigates budget options for 2024 and planning for the 2025 Budget.

  • Loveland faced with budget shortfall - City leaders work to identify funding priorities

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    During the Tuesday, March 19, City Council meeting, the City Manager’s Office and Finance Department presented Loveland’s latest Monthly Financial Report and discussed the organization’s plans to address a forecasted multi-million dollar shortfall to the City’s General Fund. City Council also approved a motion to hold a special meeting on Tuesday, April 30, to discuss impacts.

    The February Monthly Revenue Report confirmed that sales tax cash collections were 13.4% less in January 2024 than in January 2023.

    With the repeal of the sales tax on food for home consumption taking effect at the start of the year, City leadership is faced with the difficult task of determining how to balance the 2024 operating budget amid substantial revenue losses, while also preparing for the 2025 operational budget.

    City leaders are currently taking a comprehensive look at programs, services, and functions that the City of Loveland provides in priority order, examining what is mission-critical, and finding reductions. It’s a task that Acting City Manager Rod Wensing is hopeful the team will complete over the next six weeks.

    “With this annual revenue loss to the General Fund, and without any impactful revenue sources expected soon to offset this loss, we must embrace that the City of Loveland can no longer afford to operate as we have in the past,” said Wensing.

    Monthly sales tax returns and payments are due from vendors on the 20th day of the following month. Cash collection for February will be confirmed in the March Monthly Revenue Report to be presented to City Council in April.

    Projections regarding 2024 impacts will continue to fluctuate—particularly as new financial information is confirmed with each month’s sales tax collection. But in general, sales tax collections are fairly consistent from month-to-month and the City of Loveland has begun to see the severe impact of the shortfall.

    The importance of sales tax

    Sales tax collections impact the City’s General Fund and, although the General Fund is only 16% of the City’s total budget, it serves an important role. It funds day-to-day operations and supports local government services such as police and fire protection, facility and road maintenance. It also provides funding for amenities such as the library, parks, recreation and cultural services.

    The remainder of the City’s budget is comprised of dedicated funds such as enterprise and special use funds, which are earmarked for specific purposes and cannot legally be used for other city expenses.

    The City of Loveland’s sales tax rate hasn’t increased since 1984, and the City—which serves a population over 77,000.

    Regional sales tax and population comparison

    City

    Sales tax on non-food items

    Sales tax on food items for home consumption

    Population

    Loveland

    3%

    0%

    77,913

    Wellington

    3%

    0%

    11,624

    Timnath

    3%

    2.25%

    7,917

    Windsor

    3.65%

    3.65%

    38,283

    Greeley

    4.11%

    3.46%

    110,186

    Fort Collins

    4.35%

    2.25%

    171,848

    The importance of property tax

    In addition to sales tax, property tax serves as another important revenue source for the General Fund. The City of Loveland has one of the lowest city property mill levies in Northern Colorado. The City’s mill levy has been 9.564 since 1992.For property taxes collected in Loveland, the City’s share is just 12%.

    Regional property tax mill levy and population comparison

    City

    Mill levy

    Population

    Loveland

    9.564 Mills

    77,913

    Fort Collins

    9.797 Mills

    171,848

    Greeley

    11.274 Mills

    110,186

    Windsor

    12.030 Mills

    38,283

    Wellington

    12.439 Mills

    11,624

    Johnstown

    22.147 Mills

    17,934

    Municipalities rely on tax revenues to fund essential services. A balanced and sustainable budget ensures that these services remain operational and accessible to residents without interruption.

    “Our City of Loveland community loves our programs and services,” said Wensing. “Now we have to figure out what to fund and how to fund it.”

    Learn more and keep up with developing budget news by visiting LetsTalkLoveland.org/Budget.

Page last updated: 22 Feb 2025, 06:55 AM