Over the last three years, since 2022, the City of Boulder worked to implement a citywide approach to budgeting with focus on understanding the outcomes of our investments as aligned with the City’s Sustainability, Equity, and Resilience Framework. This shift in approach toward outcome-based budgeting, also known as Budgeting for Resilience and Equity, is reflected in this dashboard, which serves as an inventory of the outcomes, measures, and targets developed during this process. This approach enables the City of Boulder to perform enhanced data-driven decision-making to understand the impact of our funding choices and the allocation of resources in support of community and citywide goals. This data is visible and embedded within the 2025 Budget online budget book.

Outcome

Time bound statements of what we are trying to achieve by operating a given program, (Short, Medium, Long-Term).

Measure

A calculation used to describe inputs, outputs, and outcomes. Measures help to compare, or assess various aspects of a situation, program, project, or activity.

Target

Each measure will have a yearly target, or benchmark, and actuals will be updated on a yearly basis.

Actuals

Reported data submitted by departments; this data can be used to evaluate against the established target level of the program outcome.

This data was collected from all city departments by Finance and Innovation & Technology. Departments identified three outcomes and measures per program area. Focused on continuous improvement of this effort, the city will iterate, evaluate, and refine outcomes, measures, and targets on an annual basis as part of the budget process.

Instructions

In the dashboard below, please select the department you are interested in viewing, and then select the program. The table will update based on your selection.

2026 Recommended Budget Book

The total 2026 Recommended Budget is $521.0 million across all funds, including a 2026 Operating Budget of $407.7 million and 2026 Capital Budget of $113.3 million.

Developed during a time of slowing economic growth, flattening of major revenue sources, and recent state legislation impacting city revenues, the 2026 Recommended Budget represents a balanced approach in uplifting community priorities, such as affordable housing investments, wildfire response and prevention efforts, and behavioral health response, while maintaining investments in core city services and advancing the Citywide Strategic Plan.

See the City Manager’s 2026 Budget Message.

Budgeting for Resilience and Equity

Since 2022, the City of Boulder worked to implement a citywide approach to budgeting with focus on understanding the outcomes of our investments as aligned with the City’s Sustainability, Equity, and Resilience Framework. This shift in approach toward outcome-based budgeting, also known as Budgeting for Resilience and Equity, is reflected in this dashboard, which serves as an inventory of the outcomes, measures, and targets developed during this process. This approach enables the City of Boulder to perform enhanced data-driven decision-making to understand the impact of our funding choices and the allocation of resources in support of community and citywide goals.