Boulder City Council unveils 2026 priorities
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Boulder Mayor Aaron Brockett at a Boulder City Council meeting on May 1, 2025. Photo: Cliff Grassmick/MediaNews Group/Boulder Daily Camera via Getty Images
Boulder City Council has an abbreviated list of priorities for 2026, taking on policies covering wildfire and power resilience, while tabling other concerns like commercial vacancies and snowplowing.
Why it matters: The list of priorities will guide the city staff's time and resources in a shorter-than-usual term expected to be largely overshadowed by preparations for the city's first Sundance Film Festival.
Driving the news: The new Boulder City Council met earlier this month with city staff during a retreat to hammer out priorities for the year, including:
- Wildfire hardening
- Electrical grid improvements
- Bike theft prevention
- Tipped minimum wage
- Updates to the city's sister city policy
- Simplifying the city's land-use code
Zoom in: Issues with Xcel Energy and power outages have been a major talking point since a powerful windstorm in December caused both planned and unplanned outages throughout Boulder County and cost local businesses thousands of dollars.
- The city formally approved a letter last week criticizing the power utility for the outages and for failing to meet its climate goals. On Monday, more than 4,000 customers in Boulder were without power amid freezing temperatures.
Friction point: The most contentious item up for council consideration could be the possible changes to the tipped minimum wage after a new Colorado law put the decision in cities' hands.
- In 2025, three candidates in favor of discussing a tip credit were elected.
Caveat: Past councils have outlined double-digit priorities, but this year, they considered as few as four items before deciding on six.
- That's because the city will spend most of 2026 preparing for Sundance, an event expected to bring thousands of visitors and loads of parking, venue and housing issues for city staff to address.
- "I cannot underscore enough the amount of work we are doing on that," city manager Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde told City Council.
- Because the city is also moving local elections to even years, 2026 marks a transition in which this particular council lineup may only be together for a single year. Five members will be up for election in November, including the mayor.
Behind the scenes: The final priority list doesn't necessarily represent the council's true wishes, but rather the items staff members thought they could reasonably accomplish in the narrowed one-year term.
- For instance, Boulder City Attorney Teresa Tate told council members that working on power grid concerns meant it would be difficult to also address the city's 30% vacancy rate in downtown.
- Other possible priorities like a vacancy fee were not included, but could still come before council as part of its long-term financial plans.