UPDATE (9:30 p.m.): The El Paso County Commissioner’s Court voted 5-0 to adopt the budget for Fiscal Year 2026-2027.<\/p>\n
The County adopted the No-New-Revenue tax rate, a move Precinct 2 Commissioner David Stout said required difficult financial decisions in the previous budget year.<\/p>\n
Commissioner David Stout said the county was only able to reach the lower rate because commissioners made difficult choices last year, including a minimal tax-rate increase.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have seen in the past people push hard to add items to the budget,\u201d Stout said. \u201cThey celebrate when they are included. They take credit for delivering them and then walk away when the bill comes due.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stout said the county’s decision last year helped make the current tax rate possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were only able to go down to the no-new-revenue rate this year because of the difficult decision some of us took last year to increase the tax rate minimally,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Under the new rate, homeowners whose property values have remained unchanged would pay about $17 less per year, according to the budget presentation. <\/p>\n
The 2026 tax rate was at $0.451133, while the tax rate for Fiscal Year 2027 is $0.4477.<\/p>\n
According to the county’s taxpayer impact statement, the median homeowner could see their annual property tax bill increase by nearly $70, despite the lower tax rate.<\/p>\n
Public safety was another major focus of the budget discussion. It makes up the biggest portion of the budget at $171.8 million, or 36%. <\/p>\n
More than $6 million was added to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office budget. The increase comes as the Sheriff’s Office faces a deficit of more than $4 million this year.<\/p>\n
Overtime expenses are a significant part of that shortfall.<\/p>\n
During the budget discussion, commissioners questioned why overtime costs have increased so substantially this year.<\/p>\n
The Sheriff’s Office said staffing shortages are one factor.<\/p>\n
Deputy Gailey told commissioners that a number of employees have left the department for other employment opportunities, increasing the need to bring in additional personnel.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have seen a number of people leave the department for other opportunities or employment,\u201d Gailey said. \u201cSo that’s impacting the requirement we’re having to bring in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Commissioners said they will ask Sheriff Ugarte to attend their next meeting in person to provide a more detailed explanation of the Sheriff’s Office’s overtime costs.<\/p>\n