📆 Happy Tuesday! September is here, but I feel like we never had a proper summer, just had a blazing hot July and August where we couldn't go outside.

• 🎵 Sounds like: "September Morn" by Neil Diamond

🌧️ Today's weather: Highs in the 80s with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms.

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Today's newsletter is 742 words — a 3-minute read.

Boulder again proposed layoffs in its 2027 budget as slowing revenues force millions of dollars in cuts.

Why it matters: Hiring freezes and vacancy cuts are no longer enough to balance the city's budget.

Driving the news: City manager Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde's proposed $552.6 million budget calls for laying off 13 employees as Boulder works to close a $6.3 million General Fund gap.

• Another 11 vacant positions would be eliminated, bringing the total reduction to 24 positions.
• Twelve employees in term-limited jobs will exit when their contracts expire this year or in 2027.
• And the city would also keep 8.5 additional vacant positions unfilled through 2028.

State of play: Leaner staffing means residents will see some services scaled back or eliminated, including the photo radar van program and child watch at East Boulder Community Center.

• Scott Carpenter Pool would see reduced hours.
• Spruce Pool would remain open in 2027 using one-time money, but funding as of now runs out for 2028.

Follow the money: Boulder is turning to new and higher fees and taxes as traditional revenue sources flatten.

• The city will collect its new Transportation Maintenance Fee from property owners in 2027, generating up to $6.4 million annually for pavement, bridges, sidewalks and more.
• Boulder's recreational marijuana tax would rise from 3.5% to 5.5%, offsetting revenue it previously received through the state. Marijuana business licensing fees would also increase.

What we're watching: Boulder also has some big-ticket expenses looming.

• The city plans $135.4 million in capital spending in 2027, up nearly 20% from 2026, on projects including a new Fire Station 2, East Boulder Community Center renovations and the South Boulder Creek flood project.
• Longer-term infrastructure costs are even higher: Boulder is asking voters this November to authorize up to $400 million in debt for recreation centers, fire stations, a new public safety building and other aging city facilities.

Go deeper

If your teenager thinks they're the smartest person in the room, now's their moment to prove it.

State of play: Gov. Polis is offering one seventh- or eighth-grader in Colorado the chance to be "governor for a day."

• The contest is open to students who're passionate about state government.
• The winner will shadow Polis at the state Capitol and get a behind-the-scenes look at a day in his life — meetings and all.

What he's saying: "Colorado's next generation of leaders is already in our classrooms, and I'm excited to give one of them a special opportunity to serve alongside me for a day," Polis said in a statement.

The fine print: To enter, students must complete a form and submit a video between 30 seconds and two minutes explaining why they want the job.

• The deadline to enter is Sept. 7, and the governor's office will announce its winner Sept. 14.

Pass it along between classes

🗳️ A total of 19 candidates have qualified for Boulder's 2026 municipal ballot: six running for mayor and 13 seeking five council seats. (Boulder Reporting Lab)

⚖️ The ACLU and attorneys representing immigrants say ICE agents in Colorado are regularly violating Constitutional protections of people taken into custody. (CPR)

💰 Boulder's Office of Arts and Culture has awarded $30,000 to eight resident-led projects to bring new art and performances into neighborhoods across the city. (Daily Camera 🔑)

🚨 Daily search operations have been suspended for Andrew Lord, a 42-year-old local man who went missing Aug. 21 from the Winiger Ridge Campground. (Daily Camera 🔑)

Colorado's Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory crowned Dawn its inaugural Fat Marmot Week winner.

State of play: The male marmot beat out seven others from a bracket filled with chunky rodents beefing up for hibernation.

• Dawn gained 4.5 pounds, finishing a hefty 13 pounds, NPR reports.

Between the lines: The competition helped call attention to research funding cuts at a laboratory near Crested Butte, which has hosted ongoing marmot research since 1962.

🐾 Mitchell would rather win Fat Marmot of the Week than Governor for a Day. Less paperwork, more food.

Thanks to Gigi Sukin for editing.