Anna, the Ouray County district attorney, submitted a request for additional county funding to cover pay and staffing changes tied to recent state legislative requirements for district attorneys’ offices. Commissioners discussed the request at the Sept. 29 budget work session and agreed to include an interim, partial increase in the proposed 2026 budget while seeking confirmation of the state funding promised under the legislation.

Why it matters: The district attorney’s office handles prosecution and public‑safety legal work for the county. Commissioners said they want to support prosecution capacity while ensuring the county is not left carrying costs that state legislation intended to partially fund.

Key points: Anna’s submission included scenarios with differing percentage increases; staff shared a lower (≈25%) and a higher (≈35–36%) scenario from earlier communications. Commissioners sought to balance the DA’s request with county fiscal constraints and decided to fund a middle, partial increase for publication: roughly half the amount between the 2025 baseline and the 25% scenario, producing an approximate 13% increase that equals an added $23,255 (resulting county allocation of roughly $206,081 in 2026 in the board’s agreed publication draft).

Board members and staff noted concerns about whether promised state backfill for some salary components has actually been received; commissioners asked the DA and county staff to follow up with state counterparts and with peer counties in the judicial district to clarify whether the state has begun disbursing the funding created by the recent legislation. The board also asked finance staff to monitor whether other counties in the judicial district adopt similar interim approaches.

Directions: Finance staff will publish the DA allocation at the partial increase (the ~13% figure) in the proposed budget and the board asked the DA and county management to pursue confirmation from the state on the promised backfill and communicate results to the board. Commissioners said they will revisit the DA allocation if the state provides clarified funding information from judicial district peers and DOLA communications.

The board did not take any final, binding appropriation beyond the published proposed budget; the group signaled willingness to adjust the county share later if the state funding picture changes.