Cheyenne mayor, treasurer present nearly $83 million city budget for fiscal year 2027

CHEYENNE – City officials are preparing to solidify Cheyenne’s fiscal 2027 budget, which Mayor Patrick Collins said focuses on strengthening city services by hiring new employees and ensuring current employees are “properly compensated.”

Collins and City Treasurer Robin Lockman presented an overview of the proposed budget to Cheyenne City Council members during a work session Wednesday. This session is the first of many as all department heads prepare to present their budget proposals in the coming days.

Collins began by telling council members that the city’s proposed general fund revenue for fiscal year 2027 is $82,765,026, which represents an increase of $8 million — or 11 percent — over budgeted revenue for fiscal year 2026.

He said the city’s top revenue categories are sales tax at 33.8 percent; gas and electricity franchise fees at 11.49%; property taxes at 10.63%; direct state distribution at 8.5%; historic horse racing at 4.74%; building permit at 3.63%; federal mining royalties at 3.21%; severance pay at 2.8%; revenue from reserves at 2.51%; and gas taxes at 2.31%.

The city’s biggest expense in the proposed budget is benefits and payroll for city employees, which make up 72.7 percent of the budget.

“We spend our revenue to reflect our publicly stated priority, which is our employees,” Collins said. “…This budget also directs the City Council to help reduce employee health insurance costs by investing $1 million in reserves. This will reduce the increase in health care costs for our employees from a 15% increase to a 5% increase.”

The budget also provides for the addition of a new position to the City’s Recreation and Community Events Department (CRE).

Jason Sanchez, head of the CRE department, asked the city to hire a CRE marketing assistant to improve communications.

Collins said the position would contribute to the “youth exodus,” which refers to people under the age of 30 leaving Wyoming due to a perceived lack of amenities, jobs, quality of life and more.

“Wyoming is the number one or number two state in the Union for exporting our children and young families,” Collins said. “…The numbers show that 67 percent of them will leave the state before age 30, and most will never return. …Our focus on the CRE is an effort to improve amenities and quality of life for our residents, and an effort to change the trajectory of children who leave, at least in Cheyenne.”

Other proposals related to city jobs include hiring a second Municipal Court judge, an arborist and risk manager for the High Plains Arboretum, an additional facilities maintenance position for the BEAST facility and an audio-visual specialist to help manage digital meetings.

Collins said he also has plans for a new digital communications specialist position in the city’s public information office to meet the council’s 2026 goal of improving communication with residents.

Lockman told council members that in 2021, when Collins took office, general fund reserves contained approximately $21.8 million. By the end of 2025, that figure rose to $77.3 million, an increase of about 255 percent, she said.

“This didn’t happen by chance,” Lockman said. “This reflects years of prudent financial management and deliberate decision-making, strengthening the city’s financial position and giving us the flexibility to respond when economic conditions change without disrupting the city’s essential services.”

The goal in 2027, Lockman said, is not only to accumulate more money in reserves, but also to maintain a stable financial situation.

Lockman said if current trends continue over the next three months, she expects to finish fiscal 2026 with about $29.8 million in sales tax revenue. For fiscal year 2027, Lockman said she expects the city to receive $27.97 million in sales tax revenue.

“When you step back and look at the big picture – strong revenues, disciplined budgeting, healthy reserves and low debt – the city remains in a very strong and stable financial position,” Lockman said. “…We have continued to budget conservatively, maintain flexibility and avoid making long-term commitments around short-term revenue strength. This disciplined approach has positioned the city well over the past several years and it continues to provide stability as we approach fiscal year 2027.”

Various city department heads will present their budget requests each weekday until May 15. The council’s committee of the whole will hold two discussions on May 20 and June 2 before the full city council vote to finalize the budget on June 8.

Once approved by council, the budget will take effect July 1.