Grand County commissioners and county staff on Wednesday examined the county’s proposed 2026 budget and departmental requests, with staff saying total revenues were about $97 million and total expenses about $115 million — a gap of roughly $17 million largely tied to the timing of $25 million in certificate of participation (COP) proceeds for EMS Station 1.

County finance staff said the COP proceeds are being spent across 2025 and 2026; roughly half of the $25 million is expected to be used in each year, which creates a large, timing-driven shortfall in the proposed 2026 numbers. Staff said routine adjustments and transfers are normally added when the board adopts the final budget and resolutions in December.

Why it matters: Commissioners will consider final resolutions in December; the COP timing and how capital transfers are shown in the preliminary packet affect the appearance of a large deficit but do not by themselves change the underlying projects.

Key budget items and department requests

Building and planning: county staff asked the board to approve modest increases in professional-services lines to support CloudPermit, the county’s new online permitting platform, and to add a roughly $520 annual connector so Bluebeam plan-measurement files can save directly into CloudPermit. Staff said the connector reduces manual drag-and-drop work and lowers risk of filing errors. Staff also said Granby is negotiating to move its planning and building functions to CloudPermit and is discussing amending an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) so Granby can take over some building and planning reviews in the future.

Human Services: department leadership warned of uncertainty in state allocations and federal guidance that could reduce reimbursements for Medicaid, SNAP and other programs. Staff presented a summary showing estimated program revenues of about $2.75 million and additional county tax revenue of about $203,800; the department said its current estimated shortfall after those and other adjustments is in the low hundreds of thousands. Human Services staff emphasized that the state’s upcoming policy and funding decisions — including changes to Medicaid renewal processes and other legislative items — could materially change allocations and require mid-year adjustments.

Veterans services: the county’s veteran services officer reported a veterans assistance grant and other trust funding are used for utilities, short-term housing support, cremation assistance and transportation. Staff noted an existing IGA with Summit County covering the county’s veteran services officer; that IGA runs through August 2026, and Summit County’s decision about continuing to fund regional services will affect next year’s revenues.

Tabernash/Colorado Sewer enterprise: staff reported the Tabernash lift station near Grand Woodworks requires permitting and upgrades. The district and county said they have not located a separate historical CDPHE permit for that lift station; preliminary design and a pump replacement were estimated at about $40,000, which staff proposed to fund from sewer capital balances (tap-sale proceeds). Staff said permitting requirements remain to be clarified with the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE).

Coroner: Tanya Bailey, Grand County coroner, told commissioners the office has handled 68 calls year to date and may exceed 100 by year end. She said toxicology and autopsy costs have already exceeded the 2025 budgeted amounts and that she will request a supplemental appropriation for professional services (forensic autopsies and toxicology) before year end. Bailey said the office plans more training and is pursuing national certification and fingerprint/forensic-identification capability.

Information technology and GIS: IT staff said a multi-year refresh of the county’s virtual infrastructure and disaster-recovery capability is planned. Staff proposed replacing aging virtualization hardware and deploying a new platform (Nutanix) and a disaster-recovery site at Station 1; they said grant funding that helped pay for endpoint security (CrowdStrike) in prior years will not fully continue, so ongoing licensing will appear in the next budget. GIS staff said they will keep investing in Esri licensing and training to support more county services and public-facing mapping needs.

Airport and other capital projects: staff briefly reviewed federal- and state-funded projects that may roll between 2025 and 2026 (apron rehabilitation, PAPI lighting upgrades, gate installation and access-road work). Road and Bridge and airport staff noted coordination on mobilization and timing to reduce costs.

Next steps and process: county staff reminded commissioners that the packet before them is a proposed budget; staff will prepare the final resolutions and transfers for the formal December adoption. Commissioners and department heads flagged several items for follow-up (clarify CDPHE permitting for the Tabernash lift station; Human Services to monitor state allocation guidance and report mid-year; coroner to submit a supplemental for autopsy/toxicology costs).