Arapahoe County recommends $679.9 million budget for 2027

Arapahoe County Finance Director Todd Weaver recommends a 2027 budget totaling $679.9 million across county funds and related entities, with funding for housing, public health, roads and public safety. The proposal is not final; commissioners are scheduled to review it before a planned Dec. 8 adoption vote.

The recommendation is 1.9% above the county’s $667.5 million adopted budget for 2026 and projects $670.8 million in revenue. In the General Fund, the county’s primary operating fund, the proposal projects $325.1 million in revenue and $333.1 million in spending. The county describes the fund as structurally balanced, with a planned $19 million operating surplus set aside for future needs. After one-time expenses, including a $15.5 million transfer to the Capital Expenditure Fund, the plan projects an $8 million net use of General Fund balance.

The spending plan includes $3 million in one-time affordable-housing funding and $2 million in the Public Health Fund to help stabilize Women, Infants and Children (WIC) funding and pay for clinic and vaccine supplies. It also proposes making a grant-funded Housing Stability Program Manager position permanent; the current funding is due to end in mid-2027.

For roads and infrastructure, the budget recommends nearly $11.7 million in projects and aims to provide more than $25 million annually for capital improvements through 2030. That plan includes the proposed $15.5 million transfer from the General Fund. Public-safety investments include 21 additional Sheriff’s Office positions—16 tied to detention medical expansion and five public-safety deputies—and 10 new District Attorney’s Office positions.

Overall, the proposal adds 46.38 full-time-equivalent positions, bringing county staffing to 2,963.95. The recommended additions are estimated to cost about $5.3 million in salaries and benefits.

County property-tax revenue is projected to fall about $6.8 million from 2026 to 2027. Net assessed value is forecast to decline 2.9% to about $16 billion amid state assessment-rate changes. The estimated county mill levy is 15.996 mills, compared with 15.959 in 2026. County officials expect property-tax revenue to remain relatively flat until the 2029 reassessment, with collections expected to rise for the 2030 budget.

The county’s proposed budget schedule calls for review in October and November and adoption on Dec. 8. Budget staff expect to recalculate personnel costs, internal fund allocations and property-tax collections before then, and commissioners may revise the proposal. The county also says uncertainty in state and federal grants could affect services; some requested spending and capital projects remain unfunded or deferred.