Serving Nucla, Naturita, Norwood & Surrounding Areas
MUNICIPAL 

Local towns approve 2025 budgets

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After work sessions and planning, the towns of Nucla, Naturita and Norwood approved their 2025 budgets in December meetings, and local town clerks released those to the San Miguel Basin Forum. Those budgets are detailed and contain breakdowns of revenue and expenditures. 

For 2025, Nucla starts with a beginning fund of $244,650. Taxes for the next year will total $342,787. State-shared revenue is budgeted at $29,500, and interfederal-shared revenue for mineral leases is set at $150. Licenses and permits are projected to be $4,725. Grants are estimated to be $38,686, and fines are projected to be $400. Fees are estimated at $2,025, with miscellaneous revenue projected to be $5,200. 

Total revenue for the Town of Nucla is supposed to be about $423,473, and total resources available are supposed to be about $668,122. 

Town staff salaries total $54,027, and other general expenditures are set to be at $115,662 with total payroll totaling $75,806.

Anyone who’d like a copy of the 2025 budget in detail may access it through Town Clerk Melissa Lampshire.

Nucla’s mill levy is set at 15.253.

For 2025, Naturita starts with a total beginning fund of $4,095,478. Total revenues for next year are projected to be $9,410,401. Expenditures are estimated to be $1,775,124. The total Public Works budget is set at $117,490. Salaries for town staff total $99,414.

A USDA sewer grant though gives $4,424,435 to the sewer revenue for the next year, taking the total sewer budget to $4,839,783 from $513,837 last year. That’s the biggest change in the Town of Naturita’s budget. 

The Forum spoke with Diana Starks about that increase.

“Yes, it would be the sewer plant is why we are high,” she said. “We are still waiting on CDPHE for our permit. We are hoping to get started with bids in February. Right now it is a waiting game on the permit.”

Though, Naturita also uses an “Intra Fi Savings Account,” and that’s held more than $2 million for the last several years. Diana Starks said the town had to open that with at least $100,000 to get started, but the benefits have been great. She agreed it helps the town a lot. 

Naturita’s mill levy is set at 13.936.

For 2025, Norwood starts with a beginning fund of $263,348. Tax revenue is projected to be $591,488; licensing and permits are expected to be $10,200. Intergovernmental revenue is projected to be $303,817, and total revenue should be about $2,332,390. Total administrative salaries are set at $441,190, and the sheriff’s office contract, an agreement upheld the last few years replacing using a local marshal, is set at $106,000.

Public Works budget is currently $403,527.

Norwood’s mill levy is set at 15.129.

Town Clerk Amanda Pierce agreed the Norwood town budget was larger this year. 

“I have a few grants in there for new streets and sidewalks, drainage, and for renovations to the Pocket Park, making it higher then normal,” she told the Forum.

She also agreed it wasn’t necessarily easy to work on.

“There are some larger projects and higher budget items, so it was a little hard to balance out,” she said.