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El Paso County CFO lays out $502 million preliminary revenue plan, warns of TABOR limits and reliance on sales tax
Summary
Chief Financial Officer Nikki Simmons told Citizen College attendees that the countyis proposing a $502 million revenue budget for 2026, a $531 million expenditure plan, and that sales-tax volatility and TABOR constraints shape spending choices.
Nikki Simmons, El Paso County chief financial officer, told attendees at the countyCitizen College that the countyis working from a preliminary revenue budget of $502,000,000 and an expenditure plan of $531,000,000 for 2026.
Simmons said the revenue mix is led by sales tax, which represents roughly 42% of total revenues, and property tax, which she said is about $92,000,000 (roughly 18%). She described El Paso County as "mostly reliant on sales tax, which we know is more volatile with economic trends." She said locally collected taxes and fees break down to about 60% sales tax, 30% property tax and 10% other fees and charges.
Simmons told the classroom that the county expects to return a TABOR refund stemming from higher-than-allowed 2024 revenues; she described that amount as "just shy of $5,000,000" that will be refunded on 2025 tax bills payable in 2026.
Why it matters: Simmons said public safety is the single largest share of county spending. "A $179,000,000 of that goes into public safety," she said,…
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