Aurora lawmakers will return once again to conversations about shifting domestic violence cases out of municipal court in a study session Monday night, hearing a request from county courts to delay the shift until more resources are acquired.

The council will also hold a public hearing for its 2026 budget Monday night, which is expected to see an $11.5 million deficit, and vote on a water master plan covering the next 20 years.

In study session, officials will once again discuss shifting domestic violence cases out of municipal court, this time hearing from staff on a series of concerns about the workload the shift would put on them.

Last year, the council directed City Manager Jason Batchelor, City Attorney Pete Schulte and Presiding Judge Shawn Day to work on a plan to transition domestic violence cases from the Aurora Municipal Court on July 1.

The transition was the result of financial concerns from several city councilmembers, who said the city could be saving money by ending the prosecution of such cases in the municipal court, instead handing them off to county courts.

Staff have worked on the plan, according to council documents, but are hearing concerns from the 17th and 18th judicial districts that the county courts lack the staffing and resources to deal with the influx of cases the shift will bring them.

In the last few weeks, staff were informed that the state did not fund requests from the two judicial districts for the staffing and resources to accommodate the additional workload from Aurora, documents say.

Because of the request denial, Arapahoe County and the 18th Judicial District are requesting that the council consider delaying the transition until July 1, 2026 or consider phasing the transition over time.

The 18th Judicial District currently handles about 859 domestic violence misdemeanor cases every year, according to council documents. The Aurora Municipal Court had 2,404 open domestic violence cases as of July of last year, including 1,304 active warrants.

Shifting those cases to county courts is estimated to add 200 cases each year to the 17th Judicial District and about 1,300 cases each year to the 18th Judicial District, doubling the district’s annual caseload.

Despite resource requests, the Joint Budget Committee voted not to advance funding or additional judicial resources for the 2026-27 fiscal year.

In the council’s regular meeting Monday night, they will hold a public hearing on the 2026 budget. Another public hearing will be held in August for members of the community who want to share their thoughts with councilmembers.

Aurora budget officials have projected an $11.5 million deficit in the 2026 budget, citing sales tax decreases, inflation, new expenses and the elimination of the occupational privilege tax.

Budget Officer Greg Hayes proposed several options for dealing with the deficit in a February workshop, including raising taxes, “de-Brucing” and eliminating tax exemptions. Hayes told councilmembers the city might have to cut services to solve the issue.

The council will also vote on a water use master plan for the city, which was initially approved in the last study session.

The master plan covers the next 20 years, planning for future city growth and the conservation and water infrastructure required to match it.

Future water demand estimates account for a 40% population growth over the next 20 years. Aurora Water uses one acre-foot to serve three households each year and the city as a whole uses between 55,000 and 58,000 acre-feet per year to serve its population of over 400,000, according to a city webpage.

An acre-foot is 325,851 gallons, or the amount of water is takes to cover an acre of land one foot deep.

Monday night’s study session is open to the public via livestream at 4:45 p.m. The public comment session will not be livestreamed, and will be held in the Paul Tauer Aurora City Council Chamber at the Aurora Municipal Center, 15151 E. Alameda Parkway starting at 6 p.m.

The regular meeting of the council will follow starting at 6:45 p.m., also in the Paul Tauer Chamber.

Livestreams are available at auroraTV.org, on Youtube.com/TheAuroraChannel as well as on cable channels 8 and 880.