Adams County commissioners unanimously adopted the 2026 county budget Tuesday, setting the county up to spend almost $900 million next year.

The county’s budget is set at more than $876.5 million, a $45 million increase from the county’s 2025 budget, and budget officials expressed concerns about revenue reductions starting in 2027.

This year’s adopted budget took future concerns into account, commissioners said in a public hearing Tuesday.

Of the budget appropriations, about $236.3 million is going to public safety, $75.8 million is going to cultural and recreational services, $191.5 million is going to infrastructure and transportation, almost $203 million is going to human services and another $160.6 million is going to general government needs, according to the county’s budget presentation.

Project highlights include:

• $1 million for homelessness reduction initiatives like rental assistance.

• $3 million for parks and open space projects like the Riverdale Bluffs project and land acquisition projects.

• $10 million for detention facility maintenance.

• $2 million for fiber optic expansion to get high-speed internet to underserved areas.

• $1.7 million for economic incentives to companies to retain and grow jobs in the county.

• $8.7 million for road and bridge projects.

Adams County is in a “period of remarkable growth,” County Commissioner Lynn Baca said in a news release about the budget.

“Our annual budget reflects that growth, and it makes our job as stewards of taxpayer dollars even more important,” Baca said in the release. “Crafting a fiscally responsible budget is one of the Board’s most important functions, and every year, we make sure to be thoughtful and deliberate to make sure we live up to the task to continue to earn the trust of our residents.”

The county has revenue decreases coming in future years, commissioners said, so they had to make some hard decisions on the budget. Specifically, officials pointed to HB 24B-1001, which introduces statewide caps on property tax revenue growth for local governments and school districts.

For Adams County, this could “severely” limit the ability to keep up with service demands, budget officials said.

Additionally, the federal government is entering a period of cutbacks, which include cuts to programs that support local governments like Medicaid, SNAP and housing assistance programs, budget officials said. Cuts also include public health and community development grants.

Commissioner Julie Duran Mullica said it was “really hard” to make budget decisions because the county got more requests than they were able to fund.

“This is a year when we have to say no to some of the great projects from our city staff,” she said. “It was a difficult conversation at times, but I think we settled on a great place.”

Commissioner Emma Pinter called many of the decisions they had to make to balance the budget “heartbreaking.”

“It’s incredibly disappointing that the most we were able to accomplish is that we did not do layoffs like many of our neighbors are doing,” Pinter said. “I am both so proud of the difficult work that has been done and completely heartbroken after years of being able to say yes to almost every problem that needed to be solved at a time when we know that folks are going without paychecks in our community.”