Jefferson County staff briefed commissioners Aug. 5 on Non-County Agency and Program (NCAP) funding requests for 2026 and asked for direction to plug a placeholder amount into the county budget decision package.

Deputy County Manager Kate Newman presented three budget options showing different totals depending on whether existing agency requests and new applicants are funded; she noted the required contracts and some mandated increases would be constant across options while discretionary agencies vary. Newman said the county's 2025 NCAP total had been about $2.4 million and that one-time transfers in 2024 required the county to "right-size" budget assumptions for 2026.

Newman summarized agency requests (examples): increases for Jefferson Center for Mental Health; requests from the Jefferson County Economic Development Corporation; senior and family-support nonprofits seeking increases; and a $200,000 request tied to ECHO (shelter partner) among newer applicants. Newman said the total discretionary requests (if fully funded as requested) would be approximately $506,000 beyond required contracts.

Commissioners asked staff to research specific items before final decisions: whether the Regional Air Quality Council (RAC) request for $50,000 (the executive director had separately asked counties for $10,000) reflected other counties' contributions; whether the D'Angelis Foundation aligns with sheriff operations; and whether Mount Evans Hospice or similar hospice providers were an appropriate NCAP recipient given multiple hospice providers in the county. Commissioners also flagged the Jeffco Library Foundation and a new "Nurturing Newborns" applicant for follow-up on eligibility and prior county grant history.

Given the number of unknowns, commissioners directed staff to use a higher planning placeholder (Newman described it as "option C") for the budget decision package and to return with legal analysis on eligibility and staff recommendations for each application. Newman said staff will remove or reduce agencies that legal review finds incompatible with NCAP rules and will bring formal recommendations as the budget process continues.

No NCAP contracts were approved Aug. 5; commissioners asked staff to prepare a draft budget package using the higher placeholder so it can be refined as staff completes eligibility and nexus analysis.