With the first City Council vote on the 2026 municipal budget just a few weeks away, the city of Loveland is inviting residents to learn more about the city’s financial health at its second “Funds in Focus” event.
The hour-long presentation Thursday will walk attendees through the fundamentals of municipal financing, plus offer a glimpse into the decision-making process behind the 2026 city budget.
Attendees will also have the opportunity to ask questions directly to representatives from the city finance office.
Attendees of the first “Funds in Focus” session in July definitely had questions. At that event, which drew more than 100 people, city CFO Brian Waldes explained how city operations are funded, the difference between the general fund and enterprise funds and why Loveland’s low tax rates make providing a wide range of services to residents a tricky balancing act.
The crowd also heard from acting Public Works Director Jodi Lessman, who spoke about recent spending cuts for capital projects and how those could come back to haunt the city in the future.
Afterwards, attendees pressed staff about the rationale behind reductions made in the 2025 budget that affected many of the city’s public-facing services, like the library, parks and events. Others questioned the budgetary impact of the city’s economic development incentives, which often share future sales tax revenues with developers. Answers to those questions can be found at the city’s Budget Watch website (letstalkloveland.org/budget).
At Thursday’s session, the 2026 budget will get more of the spotlight. At a budget workshop in August, City Manager Jim Thompson and city Chief Financial Officer Brian Waldes told the City Council that the short-term financial outlook for Loveland is “stable” and no further service reductions are anticipated. In fact, some of the items cut in 2025 will be restored, including the annual Fourth of July celebration.
However, the capital budget remains underfunded, Thompson and Waldes said, and failing to get caught up in the coming years could put even more budgetary pressure on Loveland, as the impacts of deferred maintenance, aging infrastructure and rising material costs accumulate.
“Funds in Focus” will be held in the Devereaux Room at the Rialto Theater (228 E. Fourth St.) from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., as well as remotely by Zoom. Online attendees are encouraged to register by noon on Thursday at go.lovgov.org/2025-Funds-Event-Revisit, to receive an email with information about joining the Zoom webinar.
Future “Funds in Focus” events are planned for October and November, covering other financial topics.
For more information about Loveland’s budget, visit letstalkloveland.org/budget.
