County manager: Larimer County faces about $6 million revenue gap; officials hunting efficiencies to avoid layoffs

County Manager Lorinda Volker told the Larimer County Board of County Commissioners on Feb. 18 that a budget workshop with department leaders and elected officials identified "about a $6,000,000 gap we need to close over the next 2, 2 and a half years." The presentation said the county is operating under a revenue limit described in the session as "10 and a half percent over 2 years for county revenue."

Volker said the county convened leaders to brainstorm efficiency measures and that, at this time, staff are not prioritizing layoffs or early retirement as primary solutions. Instead, she said, the county aims to work with the people who perform services to surface operational efficiencies: "The best way to do that is by getting the people who do the work to get in a room and think about efficiencies and ways that they can avoid cost." Staff identified additional work to be carried through the budget process.

Commissioner Jody Shattuck McNally praised the collaborative approach, noting county staff "have worked, tirelessly to look at our efficiencies and innovation" and commending the leadership team for inviting frontline staff into the process rather than issuing top-down directives. Commissioners thanked the budget team and facilitator Josh Fudge by name for organizing the workshop.

Volker said the process produced many ideas and that not all proposals have been vetted; she told the board that more work will occur over the coming weeks and through the formal budget process before specific actions are proposed for adoption.

No formal budget decisions were taken at the Feb. 18 administrative matters meeting; the item was presented as an update and planning step in the county's multi-year budget process.