El Paso County adopts 2025 budget, certifies 7.315 mill levy and authorizes interfund transfers

The El Paso County Board of County Commissioners on Monday adopted the county's 2025 budget, approved certification of a 7.315 mill levy for 2024 property taxes payable in 2025 and authorized the county treasurer to make transfers as anticipated in the adopted budget. The board voted 5-0 on each of the three resolutions.

Chief Financial Officer Nikki Simmons presented the budget package, saying the document reflects months of internal work by county staff, elected officials and department directors. "This budget is a total revenue sources of $500,000,000," Simmons said, and the presentation also showed $533,000,000 in total expenditures allocated across funds and departments. Simmons told commissioners the budget includes a TABOR refund that will appear on 2024 property tax bills payable in 2025 and that the refund was described during the presentation as about $8,300,000 and allocated as a flat credit to residential real property taxpayers, roughly $36 per household as estimated in staff materials.

The board discussed the budget and several commissioners thanked staff for the multi-step process that reconciles department requests before formal consideration. "The department heads actually get together before they come before the Board of County Commissioners," said Commissioner Vanderwerff, praising the county's collaborative budgeting practice. Commissioner Williams highlighted public safety priorities…