Craig Council Approves 2027 Budget With Utility Rate Hikes

Steamboat Springs —The Craig City Council chamber on October 27 was less a place of celebration and more a room where math was being done out loud. The obvious take is that Craig is tightening its belt. But that’s the part everyone skips past. The real story isn’t that Craig is saving money; it’s that the city is borrowing against its future to pay for the present.

Finance Director Mindy Elliott stood before the council and laid out the proposed 2027 budget. She explained that staff had overcome an initially significant projected deficit by postponing capital projects and adjusting expenditures. After discussions with department heads and council members, the city developed a balanced budget without drawing from reserves. The council unanimously approved the budget ordinance on first reading. It sounds clean. It sounds responsible. But “postponing capital projects” is just a polite way of saying the administration is letting its infrastructure age while it waits for the next cycle of grants.

And that matters because the utility rates are rising to keep the lights on. Elliott reported that sales tax collections remained relatively stable, with combined revenue approximately $44,000 ahead of budget. Yet the council approved a 5% increase in water rates and a 7% increase in wastewater rates for 2027. Elliott said these increases were necessary to maintain adequate enterprise fund balances while addressing aging infrastructure and anticipated regulatory requirements. State mandates for wastewater improvements loom large, threatening further expenditures that the current rate hike barely touches.

Then there is the refuse fee. A 2% increase, roughly 25 cents for most residential customers, passed first reading. Councilman Randy Looper opposed it. He questioned the necessity of increasing fees when existing reserves could cover projected capital expenditures. He is not wrong. But the solid waste fund needs stability, and reserves are not a permanent home for operating costs.

The biggest check, however, went toward the Meadows Apartments. Council approved Resolution No. 34, authorizing agreements for approximately $2.4 million in federal and state grant funding for infrastructure associated with the development. City Manager KC Hume explained that this includes approximately $479,000 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and $1.93 million from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs. This money supports utilities and transportation-related facilities, not the city’s general fund. Hume noted that the developer provided financial guarantees to protect public grant funds. It is a smart move. It brings housing to Craig without draining the city’s coffers. But it relies on the developer keeping their promise.

The council also approved a $195,000 contract with SE Group to update the city’s long-term planning documents. This is the kind of work that doesn’t show up on a billboard. It happens in a conference room, over spreadsheets and zoning maps. It shapes what Craig looks like in ten years.

Stand there long enough and you see the pattern. The administration is balancing its books by deferring maintenance, raising utility rates, and relying on external grants for major projects. It is not a failure. It is a strategy. But it requires trust. Trust that the deferred projects won’t become emergencies. Trust that the utility rate hikes will hold off the next spike. Trust that the developer will honor their financial guarantees.

The meeting ended, as these things do, with handshakes and a rush of coats. The council members filed out into the cold October night, their breath visible in the air. The budget was passed. The rates were set. The contracts were signed. The work was done. But the bill for Craig’s future was still unpaid. It was just moved to the next month.