Englewood's Future

Flooding and Stormwater Management

In 2018, the city experienced a tragic and costly flood event which resulted in the loss of a life.  Numerous homes and businesses were flooded during a heavy downpour. At the same time, a sinkhole at Oxford and Santa Fe opened causing a significant backup of stormwater and damaging assets in the City of Sheridan. While it's appropriate to investigate the causes of these incidents, I do not believe that it's productive to lay blame on past leaders.

The failure of infrastructure such as storm water has a number of causes including the weather. However, in the past, Englewood balanced its budget by making sacrifices to keep expenditures in line with revenues. Some folks may believe in good faith that such a budgetary plan is financially sound. Unfortunately, from 2016 to 2020, we harvested the rotten fruits of that plan. If a city fails to invest in infrastructure maintenance and replacement for 20 years, eventually those unmaintained assets will begin to crumble.

Today, District 4 is vastly safer because of the millions of dollars the city invested in stormwater improvements. We surveyed the system. We built detention ponds off Oxford and Navajo. We repaired failing underground pipes. We rebuilt gutters and drains to ensure that they were properly sized and could be maintained in the future. All of these investments were costly, but they all improved District 4's protection from flooding. Additional projects in other parts of the city are ongoing. In the next four years, we will continue to invest in projects that improve public safety.

Parks and Open Space

Englewood's parks are one of our best amenities. In 2024, our voters approved a bond to update our parks and replace aging infrastructure such as irrigation systems. In the upcoming four years, the city will execute the projects it promised voters it would do with their bond money. Unlike other cities, Englewood manages its own parks. Some nearby municipalities such as Centennial use a special district (South Suburban Parks and Recreation District) to maintain their parks, recreation centers, and open spaces. Englewood's approach is frugal and ensures local control of our parks and recreation facilities.

I'm proud of the work that Council and city staff have done to improve our parks and recreation facilities. I look forward to continuing that work in the coming term.

Capital asset maintenance [roads and buildings]

In 2022, voters approved a new sales tax to provide funding for road maintenance. Since the approval of that measure, the city repaved south Broadway, and road conditions have improved citywide. In previous decades, city leadership failed to invest in our city's infrastructure. Since I was elected in 2021, the city's leadership has focused on making infrastructure improvements and working with our boards and commissions to prioritize our annual capital spending.

We've improved roads such as Broadway, and we are preparing to embark on further improvements to enhance the safety of all travelers throughout Englewood, whether they travel by car, bus, bicycle, or on foot.

Vulnerability to Economic Downturn

Our city depends on sales and use taxes for the vast majority of its operations. Our budget is healthy and "structurally balanced." In some years, revenues exceed expenditures. In lean economic times such as what we are experiencing currently, the city may spend more money than it takes in. We can do this because we maintain a level of reserves.

The city council is not in agreement about when we should spend money from reserves and when we should make cuts. I believe that the most important question when making decisions about the budget is why we collect the money in the first place. A government's budget is different from a household budget. Government collects money with the sole purpose of spending it for the collective good. With your tax dollars, Englewood provides police protection, fire department services, parks, a library, roads, snow plowing, and even regular community gatherings and events. 

It is wise for Englewood to maintain a substantial level of reserves, but it is unwise to fear using it to stabilize the city's ability to provide services during lean times. We are entering a budget cycle where city council will be asked to make difficult decisions such as deferring capital maintenance, reducing staff, or even canceling some services in order to balance the budget. To ease the shock of declining services and job instability, the next city council will need to decide how much to draw from reserves and how low the council is willing to allow the reserves to go. It's a difficult process that requires thoughtful leadership and a high level of familiarity with how the city's budget works now. My past experience with the Budget Advisory Committee makes me uniquely positioned to provide useful feedback throughout that process and to guide my peers on council through difficult financial decisions.

Call or Text: 303-900-8811 Email: WardforEnglewood@gmail.com