Monument is still working through a conundrum: how to bring the town back on financial track after trimming employee positions and spending.

“We’re still coming up short, despite the layoffs, despite the cuts,” said Finance Director Jennifer Phillips at a presentation on Monday.

The town laid off six employees in 2025 and temporarily withheld filling other positions, all in an effort to spend less than its estimated $14 million in annual revenue.

While Monument is closer to shaving off the required spending to spare its reserve fund, Phillips warned the town still had systemic problems that would not go away with austerity this year.

In the latest budget projections, which conservatively estimate no increase in sales tax revenue in 2026, Monument will need to spend down some from its reserve, which is projected to be around 37% at the end of fiscal 2025. Keeping at least a 20% reserve is important for municipalities to prepare for emergencies and match grant opportunities.

Monument mayor Mitch LaKind said the economic downturn the town is experiencing, with an 11% reduction in sales tax revenue, counted as an appropriate use of the reserve.

“The reserves are to deal with the times that are lean,” he said.

The 2026 preliminary budget no longer sees the reserve dipping just below 20%, as it did September.

Phillips warned that the budget for capital improvements and maintenance remains too low to stave off inefficiencies as old equipment and facilities start to cost more to fix.

The solution to the drain will likely be more revenue, and the Monument Town Council discussed some options Monday. The first would be to raise property taxes slightly to the full amount authorized. The council has capped the rate at 5 mills, but it could be raised to 5.78.

The second possibility is reinstituting the water utility’s franchise fee, a charge the town has previously not been collecting.

“We’ve always been allowed to collect it, and they just stopped,” said LaKind.

Another option presented to the council would be to set up paid parking at Monument Lake, which would cover maintenance at the public area. The town is conducting a study to determine whether a parking kiosk would be viable for the location.

Monument still has time to finalize its 2026 budget and any measures to increase revenue. The town will hold a study session on Monday to talk about its strategic objectives.