A data entry error in the City of Montrose’s 2026 budget has left a more-than-$238,000 discrepancy in funding allocated for DART economic development and beautification programs, setting up a discussion next week on how City Council should address the issue.
The matter centers on a Development and Revitalization Team (DART) budget line for professional and contract services. According to the city, the line item was inadvertently entered as $4,200 during budget preparation rather than the intended $242,640. The budget ultimately adopted by City Council reflects the lower amount.
City Council is scheduled to discuss the discrepancy during a work session at 10 a.m. Monday, June 15, at City Hall, 107 S. Cascade Ave.
The affected budget category supports a range of economic development and community enhancement initiatives, including façade improvement grants, mural projects, public art programs, artist stipends, emergency restaurant repair grants, downtown flower baskets, event musicians and carriage rides.
DART Coordinator Michelle Wingfield said the funding category primarily supports professional contracts and services tied to the organization’s grant and beautification programs.
“At its core, DART is meant to be supporting small business,” Wingfield said.
Claire Kurucz | MBT
The programs are funded through the city’s Retail Sales Enhancement Fund, which is dedicated to economic development and related initiatives.
Wingfield said DART’s façade improvement program has had a visible impact on downtown Montrose over the past several years.
“When you stand at the corner of Main and Cascade, there are numerous buildings that you can see that actually were recipients of the façade improvement grant,” she said.
Among the projects she cited as grant recipients are new restaurants Persimmon and Eatery 66, as well as the building occupied by Pruf Pizza and Ray’s Corner Cafe.
Wingfield said the grants are intended to improve buildings and public spaces in ways that continue benefiting the community after individual businesses change ownership or tenants.
“We’re not necessarily investing in a specific business, but we are providing the infrastructure for them to be able to operate successfully and attract customers,” she said.
The discussion before council is not only about the dollar amount but also could include how future spending decisions would be made.
(Claire Kurucz | Montrose Business Times)
Wingfield said council could choose to fix the budget error so business can be conducted as originally intended. Council could also choose other routes, such as requiring city staff to bring individual expenditures forward for approval, but she argued doing so would duplicate an existing community-engagement process already conducted through DART and slow the implementation of projects.
“If City Council did choose to ask City staff to bring forward projects one by one to be presented at council in order to get that additional funding, that is their choice and that can be done,” Wingfield said.
She said if such a review process were the way the city decided to move forward, it could create delays, particularly for programs such as emergency restaurant repair grants that are designed to respond quickly to unexpected situations.
“It would not be the most efficient use of time, and I think we can all agree that we want government to be efficient,” she said.
Wingfield said DART plans to continue gathering public input regardless of the council’s decision and views the June 15 work session as an opportunity for residents, artists, business owners and other community members to share their perspectives on the programs.
“I do think we’ll see more and more engagement moving forward,” she said. “We want to hear from all perspectives because all those perspectives make Montrose what it is.”
She added that feedback received through DART has helped shape the organization’s priorities and that she believes the programs enjoy support within the community.
“I do feel very confident we have community support in this,” Wingfield said. “If we didn’t think we had support, and especially business owner support, then I think we would pivot.”
According to DART’s public notice, City Council intended to approve the full $242,640 amount during the 2026 budget process, but the adopted budget reflects the lower figure because of the entry error.
Wingfield likewise characterized the discrepancy as an inadvertent mistake rather than a policy decision by council.
“Last year, they were in full support of funding DART in the way that it has been for years and have been very excited and supportive for the direction of DART,” she said.
The discussion comes before a council that has experienced significant turnover since the 2026 budget was adopted.
Council could amend the budget to reflect the originally intended amount, allowing the funding category to function as initially planned. Alternatively, members could leave the budget unchanged and require future expenditures within the category to receive individual council approval.
Public comment will be accepted during the June 15 work session.
Justin Tubbs is the Montrose Business Times editor. He can be reached by email at justin@montrosebusinesstimes.com or by phone at 970-765-0915 or mobile at 254-246-2260.
