RTD briefs the Council Wednesday on a 2027 budget that's still $148 million short
The transit agency's proposed budget spends $1.34 billion and counts on $20 million in service cuts it hasn't named yet. RTD's board holds a hearing and can adopt the budget Dec. 1; Denver's Council has no vote.
The Regional Transportation District is on the Denver City Council's Transportation and Infrastructure Committee agenda Wednesday, Nov. 18, for a "Budget and Service Plan Update" (26-1759, meeting). No slides had been posted as of Saturday.
Why it matters: RTD runs the buses and trains Denver relies on, and it's funded mostly by a sales tax Denver shoppers pay. The city doesn't control RTD's budget. Its 15-member board is elected by district, and the Council can only ask questions.
What RTD has proposed
From RTD's announcement of its 2027 proposed budget in October:
- Expenses: $1.34 billion. Total appropriations, including capital and debt service: $2.29 billion.
- Structural deficit: $148 million, down from $282 million in 2024.
- Revenue: $1.19 billion, up 1.9% from the 2026 amended budget, not counting the East Colfax Bus Rapid Transit project.
- Sales and use tax: $940 million, 79% of revenue, up 4.7% from the 2026 projection, based on a September forecast from the University of Colorado's Leeds School of Business.
- Fares: $66 million, up $2 million.
- Grants and other revenue: $185 million, down 10.8%, partly because of the timing of federal payments. A $44 million state Clean Transit Enterprise grant awarded Sept. 29 would go toward more frequent service, longer hours and new or expanded routes.
- Capital: $615 million, including $550 million carried forward for the downtown rail reconstruction and other repair projects.
Denver7 reported that the deficit is down from $242 million in this year's amended budget and that staffing would drop 5%, including 57 vacant positions in RTD's transit police and emergency management department. "That's real progress, but this remains a significant structural deficit," RTD's chief financial officer, Kelly Mackey, told the station.
The budget also counts $20 million in savings from service reductions that the board ordered in July without naming routes (Denverite).
What our records add
Denver's own sales tax is growing at a similar pace. The city's third-quarter report shows its sales and use tax collections 4.9% ahead of last year through August (our story). RTD's tax and the city's are separate, but both depend on the same spending.
Service changes come first. RTD's January 2027 service changes were open for comment this fall (our story).
The city has its own transit projects tied to RTD. Denver has pursued bus rapid transit on Federal Boulevard with a $50 million state grant (our story), and East Colfax BRT's future extension east is still being studied (our story).
What's next
- Wednesday, Nov. 18, 1 p.m.: Transportation and Infrastructure Committee briefing. Waymo is on the same agenda (our story).
- Through Dec. 1: RTD takes public comment on the budget.
- Dec. 1, 5:30 p.m.: RTD board public hearing, then possible adoption. The budget would cover calendar 2027.