Arapahoe County approves 27 budget changes, including trail underpass funding

The Arapahoe County Board of County Commissioners approved 27 supplemental appropriations for the 2026 budget Sept. 8, including $11.2 million for a High Line Canal Trail underpass and new funding for law-enforcement overtime, election judges, emergency alerts, computer storage and a decarbonization grant.

The board’s recorded action followed an Aug. 10 budget study session. The underpass is planned near East Colfax Avenue and North Laredo Street as a joint project involving federal, county, Aurora and Adams County funding. County staff said Arapahoe County’s $800,000 share had already been budgeted in the Open Spaces Fund.

The adopted supplemental-budget resolution also authorizes:

• $300,000 for law-enforcement overtime: The money comes from the unappropriated balance of the Arapahoe Law Enforcement Authority Fund and goes to the Sheriff’s Office.
• $60,000 for election judges: The General Fund money will pay for additional election-judge hours and a $2-per-hour increase for the general election.
• $70,600 for Rave Alert: The County Attorney’s Office will use the money to implement and annually subscribe to the emergency-alert system.
• $521,838 for computer storage: The Central Services Fund money will pay for disk-storage systems and shelving as the county brings storage capacity back from the cloud, county staff said.
• $898,250 for decarbonization: The amount is being recognized and appropriated as a placeholder for a grant. The resolution does not identify the grantor or the work it will fund.

The package also includes $18,000 to retain a Sheriff’s Office pickup for special-operations use, $7,850 for replacement equipment for the Coroner’s Office and $11,010 for an additional floor scrubber at the detention facility.

The resolution changes the county’s spending authority; it does not show that the money has already been spent.