The El Paso County Board of County Commissioners on Oct. 14, 2025 approved the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department’s 2026 budget, maintaining the department’s fees and authorizing the plan presented by Regional Building Official Roger Lovell.

Roger Lovell, identified as the regional building official for Pikes Peak Regional Building, told commissioners the department is self-funded through plan-review, permit and licensing fees and that the 2026 budget does not propose any fee increases. “We haven’t increased fees in 20 years,” Lovell said, adding that the department aims to preserve affordability while maintaining inspection and plan-review services.

Key figures in the presentation: the budget anticipates $22,749,556 in revenue and the same amount in expenses (a roughly 3% increase over the 2025 budget and 6.8% over 2024). The budget maintains 137 full-time positions authorized but noted the department is currently staffed at about 126. As of July 31, 2025, Lovell reported the department had performed about 180,000 inspections, issued permits for 1,814 new single-family homes (a 5% decrease year over year) and recorded approximately $2.1 billion in total construction valuation as of that date.

Lovell said the proposed budget includes a cost-of-living increase “of up to 5%” for staff and budgeted for a potential employer benefits-cost increase of up to 28% in initial insurance renewal projections; he said negotiations were expected to reduce that estimate to roughly 11–12 percent or another single-digit increase. The budget also reflects a 1 percentage-point increase in the employer contribution to the Public Employees’ Retirement Association (PERA), which Lovell said would take effect July 1, 2026.

Commissioners asked questions about compensation trends, inspection turnaround and ongoing use of fund balance. Commissioner Corey Applegate asked whether salary increases were likely to be single-digit; Lovell replied that initial data pointed to about 5% and that final figures would be set later in the year. Commissioner Mason asked whether a large one-time draw from fund balance would be used to cover recurring costs; Lovell said the budget conservatively assumed a worst-case draw of $1,363,584 to offset potential benefit increases but that the department expected to negotiate lower renewal rates and would seek long-term remedies if needed. Chair Carrie Geithner and other commissioners praised the department’s efficiency and customer service, including same-day inspections when requested before 8:30 a.m.

Lovell noted the department’s recent work on digital accessibility, saying the department completed updates to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards on subscription-based services and was continuing to educate staff about accessible documents. He also described initiatives such as the licensing rewards program—eligibility after three years of good standing—that returned roughly $300,000 annually to local contractors through fee waivers at renewal.

A motion to approve the regional building department budget for 2026 was called; the board recorded a unanimous roll call and the motion passed 5-0.

The budget had previously been presented to and recommended by the regional building advisory board and approved by the building commission as part of the department's review process. Lovell said the department will continue to monitor revenue and expenses and that the building commission can adjust modifiers during the year if needed to offset gaps.