Aspen’s proposed 2025 budget discussed, includes adding 9 full-time positions

Aspen City Council held a work session Monday to discuss the proposed 2025 city budget proposed by staff.

The proposed 2025 Aspen City budget reflects a 13.7% increase from the originally adopted 2024 budget, bringing the total request to $175.3 million. 

This jump is largely driven by a significant rise in capital spending, which is set to grow by 25%. The increase in capital investment stems from two main factors: post-pandemic construction inflation, which has pushed material and labor costs up by 30% to over 60%, and the inclusion of several large-scale projects.

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Key capital expenditures for 2025 include additional funding for the affordable housing site at the Lumberyard, continued work on resolving issues with the aging Castle Creek Bridge, major improvements to water treatment and electrical facilities, and the remodeling of the Armory into a community space.

City Finance Director Pete Strecker said that $6.5 million has been requested for Castle Creek Bridge for 2025 and is a new appropriation to be added to the $2 million that has already been approved to date.  

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“It is important to note that the aggregate $8.5 million was originally a placeholder estimate that was developed over a year ago and was meant to provide appropriations within the budget to advance a solution for the bridge,” he said. “We are adjusting the uses of the placeholder funding to match Council’s policy direction.”

Of that previously approved $2 million for Castle Creek Bridge, $915,000 has been spent on the Jacobs Engineering report and community outreach.

NEW STAFFING

Beyond capital investments, the 2025 budget introduces $5.86 million in new resource requests, along with the addition of nine full-time equivalent positions. 

City Councilmember Sam Rose wanted to know about the new staffing and how that relates to housing.

“I am concerned about new positions being added and how we plan on mitigating the housing needs for these new positions,” he said. “That feels like what growth is here. Sometimes it’s necessary, and sometimes we need these positions for improvements. But I’m worried about how we are mitigating these new positions.”

Rose and the rest of City Council advocated for hiring from within, whenever possible. 

These full-time employee changes are intended to enhance city services, particularly in areas like customer service, public art, mental health support, and environmental protection, through initiatives like the next phase of the Building IQ program, according to staff.

Among the nine new full-time positions proposed are roles designed to support the City’s arts programs at the Wheeler Opera House and Red Brick Center for the Arts, as well as roles in development review services and construction mitigation enforcement. 

The latter represents a shift from seasonal part-time positions to a full-time role. A new, one-year position is also requested within the Climate Action Team to support environmental protection efforts. 

Two additional positions are aimed at strengthening oversight and providing more resources for the City’s long-term initiatives, including the reinstatement of a second Deputy City Manager position focused on overseeing built-environment services.

City Manager Sara Ott said that there has been a lot of growth over the past five years and that two new full-time assistant city manager positions are needed. 

“The rationale for adding this deputy city manager has a lot to do with our environment and town. A lot is going on, both with the city’s projects and private projects,” she said. “I currently do not have the level of supervision needed that I think they will require.”

Ott said that while projects like the Armory and Lift One are happening, there are talks about a potential design phase for a bridge and work beginning on the Lumberyard at the same time. 

X GAMES FUNDING

Ott also recommended that council look at removing funding for the X Games.

City Councilmember Bill Guth said that this past X Games appeared to be a made-for-TV moment and had little offsite experience.

“The elimination of the concerts was disappointing,” he said. “I’d love for X Games and SkiCo to hear that and get back to us so we can support this financially.”

All of City Council appeared to agree with Guth on the subject. Torre suggested that Aspen look at sponsoring an event to get more people into town and to help support local businesses and restaurants during the event.

NEW TECHNOLOGY

Notably, the budget also reflects rising costs in technology, particularly information technology (IT) solutions, driven by the need to replace aging infrastructure, enhance existing systems, and invest in new software to manage future IT needs.

Software used by the city, called Salesforce, brought up a point of contention with City Council. Aspen Mayor Torre saw troubles with costs as staff recommended that Salesforce receive another $350,000 and an additional $200,000 a year for code updates and maintenance.

“I have had trouble with this software, along with the previous software we have used, and I think we should still keep our eyes open for a future without salesforce,” he said. “I do not see this trending in the right direction.”

City Council will discuss the other half of the budget at an Oct. 14 work session. The first reading for the finalized budget resolution is scheduled for Nov. 12.