The Mayor’s Minute from Mayor Patrick Collins – April 10, 2026

Published on April 10, 2026

This was the last week of individual budget meetings with our departments. I have really enjoyed getting to spend an hour with each department and talk about their plans for the next fiscal year and beyond.

The first meeting this week was with the Municipal Court. Since the retirement of Judge Ross, the court has operated with one judge and a couple of magistrates. The volume of cases being handled in the court is heavy and increasing each year. Judge Singleton’s major budget request is to replace the second judge to deal with the increasing case load. A bit of good news: we hired a very experienced attorney to complete our prosecutor team.

The Planning Department was next. They didn’t ask for much this year except to roll over the funding from this budget to update our Comprehensive Plan. Think of the Comp Plan as the foundation for all planning decisions. It reflects our community goals and values. I look forward to the community input that will help our team complete the plan.

One of our more diverse divisions is Compliance. Animal Control, Building Safety, Information Technology, Risk Management, Safety, and Code Enforcement are all under Compliance. Every component of Compliance seems to be getting busier. We have had 400 more calls year to date at Animal Control, building inspections are increasing with data centers and other development, and with the nice weather, our nuisance code calls just don’t stop coming. Funding small equipment, training, and updating vehicles are some of the needs in the department.

The budget challenge comes now that I have met with all the departments. When added up, the requests are almost $3 million more than the revenue projection. I know that the requests are important to each department but making budget cuts to fit revenues while necessary is not fun. Treasurer Lockman and I will be finalizing my budget recommendation to City Council this week and we will present a balanced budget in May.

We had a meeting this week to debrief after the disappointment of last week’s State Loan & Investment Board meeting. The Secretary of State, Superintendent of Public Instruction, and Auditor voted against our requested funding of an affordable housing development, preventing 260 working Cheyenne families from finding their future homes. We are looking for alternative ways of making this project happen.

I admire how small groups of people see a need in the community and choose action to solve it. Cheyenne’s Day of Giving started in 2006 when Greta Morrow led a small group of volunteers to create a single day where the entire community could unite to help people in need. I issued a proclamation declaring May 8 as Cheyenne Day of Giving. It was sad that this was the first year since Greta’s passing, but I’m so proud of her organization’s resiliency. Her team has stepped up and, in her memory, committed to keeping the program going. What I love about the Day of Giving is the community brings needed donations for local nonprofits to the Civic Center, volunteers box them up, and they are delivered the same day to the agencies providing much needed support to our community. Please watch for the announcements and give as you can.

It doesn’t happen as often as I would like, but I got a chance to visit with a constituent in the office this week to go over a list of questions that had been bothering her. Gambling, apartment buildings, and the future of Cheyenne were on her list. Thank you for the visit, Gloria.

Our Municipal Building was completed in the late 1970s. Today, it is over 50 years old and in need of renovation. The HVAC, plumbing, and electrical systems are all in need of an update. We met with the design team this week to look over their renderings for what the renovated building would look like. One aspect of the design I really like is that all the city departments that deal directly with the public are planned to be on the first floor, making it more convenient for our residents. The renovation is one of the projects we have on the upcoming 6th Penny sales tax election scheduled for Aug. 18.

National Public Health Week is celebrated the first full week of April each year. The annual observance highlights the importance of public health and the work being done to improve community well-being. Cheyenne Laramie County Public Health (CLCPH) ensures the safety of our food and water, provides life-saving immunizations and maternal-child support, and helps the community prepare for emergencies. I visited CLCPH on Thursday to thank them for their service to our community and to read a proclamation declaring April 6 to 12 as National Public Health Week.

I was invited by the Kiwanis Club to speak at their luncheon this week. I admire Cheyenne’s Kiwanis Club and their members. They volunteer their time and meet weekly with the goal of giving back and serving children and our community. I shared concerns with our lack of snowpack and the impact on our water supply and information about our 6th Penny sales tax projects, storm water drainage system maintenance, historic horse racing facilities, the Reed Avenue Corridor project, crime rates, the Belvoir Ranch trail system, Depot renovations, and the exciting news about the Hynds Building and downtown Hole project. While service is their mission, it was great to see how much fun they have being together.

The City of Cheyenne is blessed to have a great group of employees who serve our residents. We have some who work for decades and become mentors in their departments. Captain Jared Kesler is one of those, serving in our Police Department for 28 years. He retired on Thursday and a packed house was on hand to wish him well. One of my favorite parts of a police retirement is the stories told by friends and coworkers. They had me rolling. Jared is headed to the school district to help with their emergency management functions. They are getting a great guy and a dedicated professional. Thank you, Captain, for your service to Cheyenne and our residents.

I love this time of year. I don’t know if there is a medical diagnosis for it, but the warm sunshine gives me so much more energy during the day. Getting out and doing yard work is an activity that gives me much joy. With daylight savings time, there is more time to take advantage of the sunshine. Praying for some precipitation so we will have the water this summer to keep our landscaping green and growing.