Arapahoe County budget projects $6.8 million drop in property-tax revenue
The proposed 2027 budget ties the decline to a 2.9% drop in net assessed value; commissioners set an Oct. 27 hearing, with adoption planned for Dec. 8.
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Arapahoe County’s recommended 2027 budget projects property-tax revenue will fall about $6.8 million from 2026 as net assessed value declines 2.9%, according to the county’s budget recommendation. The county attributes the near-term decline largely to changes in state assessment rates and projects collections will remain relatively flat before increasing in 2030, after the 2029 reassessment. At an August budget review, a speaker described a preliminary projection of about a $5 million decline, according to the meeting video.
On Oct. 13, the Board of County Commissioners acknowledged receipt of the recommended budgets and set an Oct. 27 public hearing. The board has not adopted the budget; an adoption vote is planned for Dec. 8, according to the meeting record.
The proposal recommends $679.9 million in spending and $670.8 million in revenue across county funds and related entities. In the General Fund, the county’s main operating fund, it 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 budget projects an $8 million net use of General Fund balance.
The proposal includes $3 million in one-time affordable-housing funding and $2 million for the Public Health Fund to help stabilize Women, Infants and Children (WIC) funding and pay for clinic and vaccine supplies. It would also make permanent a grant-funded Housing Stability Program Manager position whose current funding is due to end in mid-2027.
For roads and infrastructure, the county recommends nearly $11.7 million in projects and aims to provide more than $25 million annually for capital improvements through 2030, including the proposed General Fund transfer. Public-safety staffing additions include 21 Sheriff’s Office positions—16 for expanded detention medical services and five public-safety deputies—and 10 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. The county also says uncertainty in state and federal grants could affect services, and some requested spending and capital projects remain unfunded or deferred.