Following The Money - Part One: The Breakdown

Have you heard about the elves printing press at City Hall?

Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash

In a secret room in the basement of City Hall, there is a magical printing press. Nah, no one will fall for that. But when I think of my “what’s going on in this city” beginnings, I remember I knew nothing about how the bills were paid or where the money came from. I am guessing, though perhaps wrongly, that many of you are in the same boat. If you are, here’s my plan.

I thought it might be useful to begin a series of reports about money along the lines of my water reports. Some folks have told me they appreciate those small bites of that complicated topic, so I’m going to take another strand of the web that is Lafayette city government and write about some money-related topics.

I may be a tree hugger, but I am also what some might kindly call frugal (and not so kindly, cheap!). So when I look at city-related issues I always have the finances in mind. “They’re spending how much?” “This costs what?” “Yikes!” And so on.

If you have an inquiring mind and like me find those books for dummies never have enough information you can dig way deeper into this topic in the 186-page 2024 budget book which I am using to write this report and others to come.

Let’s jump in by looking at the breakdown of the city’s financial accounts. Did you think there was only one? Ah, no dear readers it can’t be that simple.

THE GENERAL FUND - THE ALMOST ALL-PURPOSE BANK ACCOUNT

This is the big kahuna. Maybe you have a checking account for all your ongoing expenses and some other savings accounts for vacation, a new car, your mortgage, etc. The General Fund is basically the city’s version of your checking account. It’s where the money comes from to pay city staff salaries and benefits, fund the library and arts programs, police and fire (a bit more on that later), an array of services by public works, planning and building, economic development, communications, parks and recreation (a bit more on that later too) and all those plans that we’ve seen come on board over the last few years. There’s more but you get the picture. It’s a lot.

THE “YOU CAN ONLY USE THIS MONEY FOR” FUNDS

We have some dedicated funds that are earmarked for specific uses. While you might have a vacation savings account, if you hit a giant pothole and blow out the axle on your car you could dip into the Trip To Europe account to fix it. However, this group of earmarked funds not only can’t be accessed for other uses but the city can’t add more cash to them either. Called Enterprise Funds, we have five, three are water-related, one is for the golf course and one is for waste management. I wrote about the water funds in one of my Diving Into Water reports.

My go-to explainer about this type of fund is the golf course. It must be run like a business. Need new golf carts? The money must come from user fees in the golf fund, not the General Fund. The waste management fund is for trash, compost, and recycling pickup currently operated by Republic Services. We pay for this in our water bill and the city uses those funds to pay Republic for the service. Likewise, the money in the water funds must come from the users, and the city can’t put a big chunk of money in the funds because we need to build a new water-related facility. Hence the fee increases and my continuing series of water reports to try and explain what’s happening.

SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS - SOME GOOD STUFF HERE

Ten funds fall under this category but I’m not going to hit them all. Do I hear you cheering? I don’t blame you.

Here are the funds you should know about.

Conservation Trust Fund -

Colorado Lottery funds. Established in 1992, when you play the lottery and don’t win, the excess funds go to Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), Conservation Trust Fund, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife (with some funds from GOCO going to the Building Excellent Schools Today [BEST] fund.)

Conservation Trust Funds are distributed to any county, municipality, or special district that created a conservation trust fund. Distribution amounts are based on population.

In Lafayette these funds are used for maintenance and improvements to recreation facilities, including the Bob Burger Recreation Center and Great Outdoors Waterpark.

Parks, Open Space, and Trails Fund -

The POST tax

This is a .25% sales tax in perpetuity, paid when you or visitors shop in Lafayette and you shop online. Approved by voters in the 1990s. The city council placed this tax on the ballot after an outcry by residents over the massive growth Lafayette was experiencing at the time. It is earmarked for the purchase, acquisition, and maintenance of open space, land, and parks throughout the City. It’s used for operations and maintenance of parks and open space facilities, including personnel, equipment, materials, and supplies needed for those activities.

Legacy Open Space Fund -

The Legacy Tax

This is a .25% sales tax paid when you or visitors shop in Lafayette and you shop online. In 2002 the Lafayette Open Space Committee (LOSAC) realized that the POST tax was being divided between too many uses and successfully lobbied the city council to ask the voters for another sales tax, this one specifically for open space related purposes. The voters approved it for a ten-year period, approved it again for another ten years, and finally voted in favor of making it a tax in perpetuity. It is used for purchase, acquisition, operations, and maintenance of open space and trails throughout the City.

Human Services Fund -

This is funded by a .10% sales tax approved by the voters in 2021 and paid when you or visitors shop in Lafayette and you shop online. It provides grant funding for nonprofits providing mental health and human services to Lafayette residents. You can learn more about this fund here.

Public Safety Fund -

This is funded by a .27% sales tax approved by the voters in 2021 paid when you or visitors shop in Lafayette and you shop online. These funds are dedicated to public safety in both Fire/EMS and law enforcement. You can learn more about this fund here.

There are a few other funds, Capital Projects, Cemetery Endowment and Debt Service. There are also some internal funds for staff insurance, replacement of city vehicles, and so on but luckily for me and you, I’ll pass on explainers for them.

I hope this gives you an overview of how the money is handled, next I’ll tell you where it comes from. I am sure you will be waiting with bated breath!