Arapahoe County officials presented a proposed 2026 budget of $670 million to commissioners on Tuesday, a significant increase from the previous year during which the county faced and recovered from a budget shortfall.

Officials invited the public to weight in on the budget in two public comment sessions before commissioners vote to adopt the 2026 budget in early December.

The proposed budget covers essential services and comes with additional property tax revenue from a ballot measure passed by voters last November to fill a significant shortfall.

Ballot measure 1A allowed the county to “de-Bruce” under the Colorado Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights — that is, permit county officials to eliminate TABOR’s revenue limit and use all the taxes it has collected for spending priorities. The phrase references the constitutional amendment’s author, Douglas Bruce.

This year, the county’s budget is $670 million, which is a 17.4% increase from the 2025 budget of $571 million. Of the total, the general fund will see a $29 million increase to $316 million.

County revenue is increasing BY 8.5%, from $620 million in 2025 to $672.8 million in 2026, according to Budget Manager Jessica Savko.

The county’s general fund grew from under $250 million in 2024 to more than $300 million in 2025 — thanks to the passage of ballot measure 1A, Savko said during Tuesday’s presentation to commissioners.

Currently, there is a budget surplus of $34 million. The surplus helps the county ensure it has a set-aside for future years, Savko said. Property tax is projected to decrease in 2027 by $2.5 million and there is still uncertainty around federal and state funding in the future, she noted.

The county got $65 million in budget requests, of which the budget team is recommending that $54 million be funded.

Highlights of the county’s general fund included the following:

• An increase to the sheriff’s office budget of about $10 million, from $124 million in 2025 to $134 million in 2026.
• An increase of $927,000 for the District Attorney’s Office to support the transition of domestic violence cases out of Aurora Municipal Court. The DA’s office has proposed a budget of almost $27 million in 2026.
• A $4 million increase, from $12 million in 2025 to $16 million, for facilities and fleet management.
• A decrease in the administrative services’ budget of $300,000 to just under $39 million.
• Investment of $1.2 million for ongoing rental assistance.
• Investment of $4 million to support affordable housing.

A public hearing on the budget is set for Tuesday. A final review of the budget is scheduled for Nov. 18 and the board of commissioners will adopt a final budget on Dec. 9, during which there will be another public hearing.

The full proposed 2026 budget is available on the county’s website.