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Dolores County adopts 2026 budget, sets property tax totals and several fund transfers
Summary
The Dolores County Board of County Commissioners adopted the 2026 budget and related resolutions Dec. 8, approving a property tax revenue transmittal of $2,782,377 (assessed value about $99.3 million) and multiple grant-to-general-fund transfers; staff will correct a clerical salary error noted in the draft.
The Dolores County Board of County Commissioners voted Dec. 8 to adopt the county27s 2026 budget, approve appropriations and set related tax and transfer resolutions after a public budget hearing and line-item review.
The board approved the letter of budget transmittal and adopted Resolution 12-25-02 formally adopting the 2026 budget, followed by Resolution 12-25-03 to appropriate sums for general and special funds. Commissioners also adopted Resolution 12-25-04 (setting property tax revenue at $2,782,377) and Resolution 12-25-05 (setting levies for tax abatements). The meeting record shows the board approved the motions by voice vote with all present voting in favor.
Why it matters: the adopted figures define the county27s spending authority for next year and establish the property-tax revenues used to fund general operations, roads, social services, the library and other county programs. At the Dec. 8 hearing staff and commissioners discussed grant accounting, salary lines and year-end transfers that affect the county27s final bottom line.
Board and staff discussion focused on transparency of grant funding and payroll coding. Commissioners asked that any grants that contribute to salary (for example, EMPG funds that help pay emergency management staff) be shown on the relevant departmental pages so the budget reflects which positions are supported by grant dollars. County finance staff agreed to break out those grants where they affect salaries and to correct coding inconsistencies.
A clerical discrepancy in the salary columns also surfaced during the review. County finance staff acknowledged an error in transposing figures and said it will be corrected in the final published budget materials. "I transposed the number ... I made a clerical error," finance staff said on the record and confirmed the figure will be fixed for the 2026 package.
The board also approved a set of grant reimbursement transfers moving grant balances back to the general fund (see "Votes at a glance" below) and a small $500 distribution from the Clara Homeston fund. Several departmental and IT line items (including Microsoft 365 and other maintenance contracts) were flagged for follow-up to ensure the county is not double-billing licensing across departmental budgets.
Votes at a glance - Adopt 2026 budget: Resolution 12-25-02 — approved by voice vote (motion moved and seconded). (see provenance: topicintro SEG 2240, topfinish SEG 2440) - Appropriate sums: Resolution 12-25-03 — approved by voice vote. (SEG 2369-2376) - Set property tax transmittal ($2,782,377) and assessed value cited (~$99,324,611): Resolution 12-25-04 — approved by voice vote. (SEG 2416-2430) - Set levies for tax abatements: Resolution 12-25-05 — approved by voice vote. (SEG 2429-2439) - Transfers from EMPG and other grants into general fund (Res. 12-25-06, 12-25-07, 12-25-08): approved by voice votes (see actions[] entries). (SEG 3402-3426) - Clara Homeston fund distribution: Resolution 12-25-09 ($500) — approved by voice vote. (SEG 3506-3517)
What happens next: staff said they will finalize clerical corrections and journal entries, verify that software and maintenance licenses are charged to the correct accounts, and prepare the final published budget documents and transmittal to the assessor.
Sources: meeting transcript of the Dolores County Board of County Commissioners workshop and budget hearing, Dec. 8, 2025.
