2024 City of Fruita Budget

Read the full 2024 City of Fruita Budget document. 

During the regular City Council meeting on Tuesday, December 19, 2023, the Fruita City Council formally adopted the 2024 Municipal Budget. The budget includes $27.3 million in projected revenues (excluding transfers from other funds and other financing sources), and $33.8 million in proposed expenditures between all funds. 

The City of Fruita focuses on improving the quality of place, lifestyle, and economic health of Fruita while providing excellent core services to the community. To implement this mission, the City of Fruita has multiple guiding documents, including the comprehensive plan, master plans, community surveys, and the strategic plan. Each annual budget is built off these guiding principles to help meet the goals and priorities of the Fruita community.

Highlights from the 2024 budget include continued investments in Fruita’s infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and sidewalks, downtown improvements, trails, parks, and more. In 2024, the city has $6 million budgeted to expand 19 Road, which includes widening and adding a through turn-lane, a pedestrian path, drainage improvements, and more. Other projects for street infrastructure include road overlays, chip sealing, street striping, and sidewalk safety improvements. Fruita’s downtown is the heart of the community, with many local events, shopping, and restaurants. Improvements to the downtown core will include the installation of a self-cleaning bathroom to provide additional options during special events and throughout the year, additional parking, improvements to S. Mesa Street between Circle Park and Highway 6&50, and installation of artwork in the Mulberry Plaza. In 2024, Fruita residents will have access to symmetrical gigabyte internet service after completing the Broadband Middle Mile project. Lastly, continued investment in Fruita’s trails, parks, and overall beauty is certainly a priority for the community. Visitors of the Snooks Bottom Open Space will see new vault toilets, the Fruita Bark Park (dog park) is slated for more amenities, design work for the Colorado Riverfront Trail Underpass at Highway 340 and the Colorado River will occur in 2024, and more finances have been invested for property cleanup and resources to help keep Fruita clean and beautiful.

“The annual budget is one of the most important documents for the Fruita community. It is the guiding document for Fruita City Council and staff to help implement the priorities the community has showcased through the various community-led planning documents we utilize daily. We take pride in accomplishing these community priorities, and the 2024 budget takes us one step closer to implementation.” – Mike Bennett, City Manager.

The 2024 Adopted Budget reflects the commitment of the City Council and staff to achieve a balance of a conservative fiscal policy while also allocating time, talent, and resources to defined areas of Fruita’s Economic Health, Quality of Place, and Lifestyle.

In 2023, the City of Fruita was recognized by the Government Finance Officers Association and awarded the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award. The award recognizes entities that have achieved the highest standards of clarity, accountability, and fiscal responsibility in public budgeting. 

Read the full 2024 City of Fruita Budget document. 

Reading the 2024 City of Fruita Budget

The 2023 City of Fruita Budget contains a detailed description of how the city plans to invest and spend available resources to achieve outcomes identified in the Strategic Plan and maintain a high level of core service delivery and city operations. The 2023 Proposed Budget has the five main parts:

1. City Manager’s Budget Message and Introduction

The City Manager’s Budget Message is a transmittal letter to the Fruita City Council and the Fruita community and summarizes the contents of the 2023 Budget. The transmittal letter includes highlights of the 2023 Budget, a year in review and highlight of accomplishments of 2022, and a financial overview of the City. Following the transmittal letter, the introduction includes information on elected and appointed officials for Fruita, detailed information on the Fruita community, and demographic data.

2. Policies and Procedures

The policies and procedures chapter of the budget includes an overview of the budget process, fund types, budget policies, information on city goals and core services, and an overview of the City of Fruita’s Pay Plan.

3. Budget Overview

This section includes summaries of all funds for the 2023 Budget, sources of revenues, types of expenditures and costs by department and fund. For comparison, 2020 and 2021 actual amounts are provided, as well as the 2022 Adopted Budget, and 2022 actual estimated amounts. The % change indicates the percentage change between the 2023 Budget and 2022 estimated actuals. This section also includes a summary of all capital equipment and capital projects included in the budget.

4. Fund and Departmental Overviews

Fund and Departmental Overviews describe the city’s operational structure and function, accomplishments from 2022, budget highlights for 2023, and performance measures for each department. It also includes details on significant changes between the 2022 and 2023 operating budgets, as well as the detailed program budget for each department and program.

5. Appendix

The Appendix section contains supplemental information to the 2023 Budget.