prennemeyer@windsorgov.com
Greetings Windsor Residents,
Can you believe it’s finally here? Fall is just a few days old as you receive this, but kids are back in school and the excitement for the holidays—and the cooler weather—is already in the air.
Hopefully you all had the chance to see me and my family at one of our favorite events of the year, the Windsor Harvest Festival. Always a wonderful way to close out the summer, this year’s festival was extra special, celebrating its 100th year. Walking around Main Park and seeing everyone having a great time just being with one another is all you need to do to know what a special community we have here in Windsor.
It's that sense of community that is top of mind for myself and your Town Board as we head into the peak of budget season over the next couple of months. The annual budget process is how we ensure as an organization we are honoring residents’ priorities for the town, while doing so in a way that is measured and within our means.
The crafting of the annual budget is a delicate balancing act. As our town grows, so does the need for infrastructure, police and so much more. Town staff begin the process of crafting the next year’s budget all the way back in March and it continues through the summer and fall, all the way to final adoption in November. During that time, staff meticulously pour over revenue projections, capital improvement plans and requests from the various service areas, paring down anything that doesn’t meet that responsibility litmus test before presenting a balanced budget to myself and the Town Board for review.
Even though we do it every year, this budget process is so important to the town that I highly encourage residents to be involved, either through watching the various Town Board meetings during the process at windsorgov.com/ MeetingsOnDemand, or when the final budget is presented to the board with public input in November. One of the hallmarks of a strong community is fiscal responsibility and that is just one of the many reasons our community is such a great place to be.
My family and I hope you have a wonderful fall.
Regards, Mayor Paul Rennemeyer
Scott Charpentier
District 1 scharpentier@windsorgov.com
Barry Wilson
District 2 Mayor Pro-Tem bwilson@windsorgov.com
Ken Bennett District 3 kbennett@windsorgov.com
Julie Cline
District 4 jcline@windsorgov.com
Victor Tallon District 5 vtallon@windsorgov.com
Jason Hallett
District 6 jhallett@windsorgov.com
Held the second and fourth Monday of each month at 7 p.m. For more information about meetings, visit windsorgov.com/TownBoard
Shane Hale shale@windsorgov.com 970-674-2419
A Comprehensive Plan is an important municipal planning tool. It provides guidance for the physical development of the community, ties supplemental smaller plans together to ensure they fit objectives, and it is used to identify factors that shape the Windsor’s future.
The current Comprehensive Plan was developed in 2016, but since its adoption, Windsor has seen the population increase dramatically from 25,687 to just over 40,000 residents today—a growth rate more than triple the population that was projected under the existing plan.
The town is using this update to strategically plan for the growth of our community in a responsible and purposeful manner through a connected transportation system, land use policies, open space preservation, services and amenities that reflect the needs of our town, and sustainable resources. To achieve this objective, the public is encouraged to take surveys, participate in planning meetings, and attend open houses. Updates related to this planning effort will be posted to the town’s public engagement portal, Project Connect.
For more information on the effort and to stay up to date with project happenings, visit windsorprojectconnect.com
The annual budget, developed jointly by staff and the Town Board, is arguably the single most important policy document that the town produces each year.
The overriding financial goal of the Town of Windsor is to maintain fiscal stability through the following means:
• Cash Solvency – The ability to pay for current municipal operations.
• Budgetary Solvency – The ability to annually balance the budget.
• Long Term Solvency – The ability to pay for future municipal operations.
• Service Level Solvency – The ability to provide needed and desired municipal services.
• Flexibility – The ability to react and respond to changes in the economy and new service challenges without measurable financial stress.
The budget involves the development of expenditure estimates for service areas in light of available revenues and adherence to the Town of Windsor Strategic Plan.
Budget estimates are submitted to the Windsor Town Board for review and modification, often with citizen input from public meetings. The budget is then approved and adopted.
The final public hearing and adoption of the 2023 budget is set for Monday, Nov. 14, 2022.
The performance of all service areas is monitored and measured throughout the fiscal year. Those indicators are evaluated at the year’s end to guide the budget process for the following year.
The budget is then implemented by service areas throughout the following year.
The annual budget process begins. Service areas begin assessing their requirements for the following year and initial projections are completed for revenue forecasts.
Service areas submit their operational and capital requests to the Town Manager and Finance for further review and discussion. Revenue forecasts are finalized. The presentation of revenue projections is held in mid-August.
The Town Board will hold a public hearing on Monday, Nov. 14, taking public input and any additional comments before adopting the 2023 budget. The final document is published in December.
The Town Board meets with staff over several work sessions to discuss the Town Manager’s recommended budget in detail. On Monday, Oct. 3, staff will have their first work session with the Town Board to discuss the Capital Improvement Plan. On Saturday, Oct. 15, there is a Town Board work session to discuss the operating budget. The Monday, Oct. 17 work session will cover utility rates and fees, and the Monday, Oct. 24 work session will be used as a follow-up budget meeting to ensure all questions have been answered.
For more information about Windsor’s budgeting process and financial practices, visit windsorgov.com/Finance.
Falling leaves add a warm and welcoming touch to the Town of Windsor in the autumn, but when those leaves are left in lawns and swept into the street, it leaves an eyesore no resident or visitor wants to see. Proper leaf collection and disposal maintains a clean and safe environment for everyone by avoiding nutrient loading and pollution in local waterways.
In the Town of Windsor, it is unlawful to deposit litter and landscape materials, sediment, lawn clippings, leaves, branches and other yard debris into the street.
It’s also unlawful to use pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers in excess of manufacturer recommendations.
Water from storm drains head directly into local rivers and streams, carrying pollutants and other materials it might catch along the way. When decomposing leaves enter the storm sewer system, it increases the amount of phosphorus entering into Windsor Lake, the Cache la Poudre River and other local bodies of water. This can lead to excessive algae growth and poor downstream water quality. In perfect conditions, these abundant external factors can fuel algae blooms, contaminating the water and potentially making it unsafe.
Plus, leaves can clog an actively draining street gutter, causing flooding. Excess leaves can account for as much a 56% of phosphorus in stormwater. Not only can this kill local fish and other aquatic wildlife, it can also be toxic to humans and pets.
Leaves, twigs, branches under four inches in diameter and grass clippings can be brought to the Fall Clean-Up Days Friday, Oct. 14 and Saturday, Oct. 15 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Public Services Campus located at 922 N. 15th St. The event is free for Windsor Utility customers with a voucher that can be found at the back of this magazine.
Windsor Utility customers are also eligible to receive a one-time annual reimbursement up to $10 for responsible yard waste recycling valid at any time during the year. For more information about the Yard Waste Rebate Program, visit windsorgov.com/YardWasteRebate
To learn more about Windsor's storm sewer system, visit windsorgov.com/ Stormwater.
As an additional effort to keep roads clean and clear, residents are reminded to keep all trash cans, sports equipment, vehicles and other obstructions out of the streets when sweepers are in the area.
Leaves, twigs, branches, grass clippings, trash or other debris are discouraged from being raked or blown into the street. While street sweepers can easily pick up naturally falling leaves, large piles of debris can clog the machines and result in expensive repairs.
For more information about the Windsor's street sweeping operations, visit windsorgov.com/ StreetSweeping.
Windsor Utility customers are invited to participate in the 2022 Fall Clean-Up event Oct. 14 and 15 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event will be held at the Public Services Campus, 922 N. 15th St, and is no additional cost for utility customers to attend. An original voucher is required to participate and can be found on the back of this magazine. If the voucher is misplaced, residents can bring valid identification such as a driver’s license or copy of their utility bill, provided it has a Windsor address, to the event.
At the event, residents will be able to drive up and drop off their materials at corresponding stations. Residents will be responsible for unloading their own items.
In addition to the fall clean-up event, Windsor Utility customers can receive a one-time annual reimbursement up to $10 for responsible yard waste recycling at any time during the year. Additional details about the town’s yard waste recycling program are available at windsorgov.com/ YardWasteRebate. For more information about the Town of Windsor Utilities visit windsorgov.com/Utilities.
• General household trash
• Organic materials such as yard and garden waste, branches, tree limbs up to four inches in diameter and grass clippings
• Scrap metal
• Small furniture (no mattresses or large couches)
• Indoor appliances such as stoves, ovens, washers, dryers, dishwashers, microwaves
• Grills
• Bicycles
• Vehicle tires without rims
• General household mixed recycling (paper, cardboard etc.)
• Hazardous waste
• Propane tanks and gas cylinders
• Refrigerators or other appliances containing freon
• Construction debris (dirt, cement, pavers)
• Wooden pallets
• Vehicles
• Animal carcasses
• Large copiers
• Laptops, computers, keyboards, cell phones, tablets, servers
• Flat screen TVs and monitors
• CRT TVs
• Projector style TVs
• Small printers and copiers
• Glass
■ Water. Keep one gallon of drinking water, per person, per day in your kit.
■ Food. Keep as much non-perishable food as your family will need to survive a major disaster.
■ Can opener and other food preparation tools for cooking, paper cups, plastic plates and utensils, and paper towels. A camping mess kit is a helpful option.
■ Cash. In an emergency, electricity might not work. Keep enough cash on hand to buy food, fuel, and a few nights in a hotel in case you need to evacuate.
■ or hand-crank and a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) All Hazards Weather Radio tone alert—keep for
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■ Keep several in your kit and fit test each a tight the They are light and small but can keep you
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If you would like to receive emergency alerts on your cell phone or email, sign up for NOCOAlert.
Residents can provide multiple addresses, including home, school, and work, and they can set language preferences by registering with NOCOAlert. Through an intergovernmental agreement, the Windsor Severance Fire Rescue service area is covered for emergency alerts through LETA 911, also known as NoCo Alerts.
Weld County has an alert system called Code Red. To register for Code Red, visit weld911alert.com
On Monday, Aug. 22, the Windsor Town Board referred a 0.25% open space sales tax increase to the November 2022 ballot which would take local sales tax from 3.95% to 4.20% during their regular meeting.
Was input gathered from residents? What were the results?
During the summer of 2019 through the spring of 2020, Windsor Parks, Recreation & Culture staff worked with a team of parks and recreation consultants to research and collect input from residents and stakeholders to help develop a strategic plan. In the plan, staff and residents identified opportunities within the Open Space program.
In 2021, additional public input was collected and a detailed Open Space & Trails Strategic Plan was developed. The Windsor Town Board adopted the plan in March 2022.
In July of 2022, the Town of Windsor conducted a survey that was distributed to a randomized group of registered voters to obtain a sampling of whether the Windsor community would support funding initiatives identified in the Open Space & Trails Strategic Plan. Surveys were collected online and by phone. In the results, 64% of voters said they would support a sales tax to fund open space land acquisition. Survey results were presented to staff in early August.
Following its review of the survey results, the Town Board referred a 0.25% open space sales tax increase to the November 2022 ballot. The increase would take local sales tax from 3.95% to 4.20% and would cost a consumer 2.5 cents on a $10 purchase of taxable items.
Shall Town of Windsor taxes be increased by $1.62 million annually beginning in tax collection year 2023, and by whatever amounts that may be generated thereafter, by increasing the town sales and use tax rate by 0.25% (2.5 cents on a ten-dollar purchase) from the current rate of 3.95% to a new rate of 4.2% on January 1, 2023, with tax revenue to be used for the creation of a dedicated funding source for open space land acquisition, stewardship, operation and maintenance that will:
• Purchase and maintain open space from willing landowners that achieves the following:
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ensuring acquired open space land will remain undeveloped and lessen the impact of residential housing growth, thereby reducing community impacts such as traffic, the cost of maintaining roads, sewer, stormwater and acquiring and treating water
◦ enable the town to develop and maintain open space that will increase public recreation opportunities
◦ obtain, manage and preserve working farms and community separators that will keep Windsor unique from neighboring cities and towns
◦ promote and perpetuate open space that conserves valuable wildlife habitats, protects the environment and creates green spaces and waterfront access to lakes, streams, and the Cache la Poudre River
All revenue from this tax constituting a voter-approved revenue change notwithstanding any revenue or expenditure limitations contained in Article X, Section 20 of the Colorado constitution?
What is the difference between a property tax and a sales tax?
Sales tax is a one-time tax that is collected at the point of sale. Property tax is an annual tax that is assessed on property owned by an individual or other legal entity.
By what means does the Town of Windsor currently acquire open space?
Windsor currently relies on private residential and commercial development dedicating portions of their land to the town as trails and open space. The tax revenue
will provide a dedicated source of funding to purchase open space lands.
How much land could the sales tax help acquire?
At a current estimated cost of $19,000/acre, the Open Space program could acquire about 85 acres of open space per year. The Open Space & Trails Strategic Plan recommended the preservation of approximately 1,300 acres.
For
Saturday, Dec. 3 | 4:30 - 8:30 p.m.
‘Tis the season to sparkle. Windsor will be glistening in lights and Santa is coming to town! Greet Santa as he arrives on the Great Western Railway Train at 4:30 p.m.
After his arrival, Santa and Windsor Mayor Paul Rennemeyer will kick off this year’s event with the annual Tree Lighting ceremony. Watch as the Windsor History Museum transforms into a wonderland of lights, holiday activities and fun!
Be sure to be in line by 7:30 p.m. to get your professional photo captured with Santa.
