At the 5:45 p.m. special meeting, the council adopted Resolution 2026-091, authorizing the City Manager to sign the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) grant agreement, on a 7-0 vote with no staff presentation and no public comment1. This action was the separate authorization needed to sign the grant agreement, as the council had already appropriated the BEAD funds. Following the special meeting, the council held a 6 p.m. work session, which took no formal action. During the work session, staff provided a 2026-2027 council priority update and a 2027-2028 budget update, framing the coming budget as a "realignment budget" due to Fort Collins' declining share of countywide taxable sales and depleted one-time funding1. As part of the budget update, departments were asked to propose 8% reductions, and staff discussed the quarter-cent capital tax programming for 2027-2028, which generates about $12 million per year, with roughly half being appropriated. Additionally, a possible natural-gas franchise fee increase from approximately 1% to 3% was mentioned, estimated to generate around $1.2 million1. The City Manager's recommended budget is set to be published on September 3, with deliberations continuing through the fall1.
Council Unanimously Approves BEAD Grant Agreement, Receives Budget Updates
Updated Jul 15, 7:36 PM