County Budget

Exploring Summit County’s Budget

The 2025 General Fund comprises the majority of Summit County Government's spending.

The General Fund is prescribed under State law as the fund created to consist of all revenue except revenue specifically allocated by law for other purposes.

Summit County Government provides statutorily-required services that the state or towns don’t, and in many areas, the County provides municipal-type services for people who don’t reside in cities (or in the unincorporated areas of the county), like roads and law enforcement.

You can access the entire 2025 Summit County Budget document on the Finance Department page.

Government Services

State Government

  • State Highways

  • Corrections and Prisons

  • University System

  • Court System

  • Legislative Body

County Government

  • State Programs (social services, district attorney, public health)

  • County Roads

  • Sheriff & County Jail

  • Elections & Motor Vehicles

  • Open Space and Trails

  • Libraries

  • Land Use: Planning & Zoning

  • Property Values

  • Tax Collection & Distribution

  • Vital Records

  • Autopsies

Revenues

General fund revenues are derived from a variety of sources including property, sales and other taxes, fees charged for services and grant revenue.

Click the image to enlarge the chart.

25 revenue sources

Revenue Highlights

Property taxes comprise the largest funding source, accounting for 45% of general fund revenues.

Expenses

The 2025 budget demonstrates the Board of County Commissioners' commitment to meeting the needs of our community. The budget is primarily focused on investments in public safety, affordable housing, childcare , capital projects, and a fully-staffed County government.

Click to enlarge the chart.

25 budget expenditures

Expense Highlights

In 2025, in 2025, 24% of General Fund expenditures were budgeted for Strong Future Programs.

Additionally, 40% of the Core General Fund expenditures were allocated to public safety.

Town Government

  • Police

  • Town Roads

  • Water & Sewer

  • Parks & Recreation

  • City Court

  • Land Use: Planning & Zoning

Special Districts

  • Public Schools

  • Fire & Ambulance

  • Water & Sanitation

  • Business Improvement

  • Water Conservation

About Strong Future

Strong Future (1A) is a ballot initiative passed by Summit County voters in 2018. Voters approved a mill levy on property taxes dedicated to community needs: early childhood education, mental health, wildfire mitigation and prevention, and recycling and waste reduction. Strong Future funds are separate from the General Fund budget, and specifically allocated for these specific programs.

Learn more about Strong Future

Budget Process

During the fall, the Summit County Government holds public meetings where budgets are discussed. The coming year budget is drafted with projected expenses and revenue.

The draft budget is approved by the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) in October with final budget adoption in December. Between the draft budget presentation and budget adoption, comments are welcomed at BOCC Regular Meetings during public hearings.

The mill levy is set as part of the budget process. The County also invites member of the public to participate in a budget advisory board, which makes recommendations during this process.

Citizen Budget Advisory Committee

In 2021, the Board of County Commissioners established the Citizen Budget Advisory Committee, a group of community stakeholders to help advise the BOCC during the budget process. This small group of Summit County locals meets monthly to review the budget and provide advice and recommendations on how to best use tax dollars to support our community.

TABOR (Taxpayer Bill of Rights)

In 2020, Summit County voters authorized to maintain existing County services, including those recently approved by local voters, by adjusting its mill levies to sustain services that would otherwise be lost due to state-imposed changes in the method of calculating assessed valuation. 

Budget Timeline

Preparing the County Budget is a long process - about six months! Budget deadlines are mandated by state statutute, with specific requirements for approvals. Budgets are also audited annually by a third-party to ensure compliance with state regulations and generally accepted accounting practices.

    • January 31: deadline for County to file final budget with the Colorado Division of Local Affairs

    • Previous year budget amendments posted

    • Preparation for accounting audit

    • March 1: Federal government releases CPI data; this data impacts revenues to counties due to TABOR

    • Quarterly budget amendments presented

    • Mandated audit of previous year financials prepared

    • June 30: Deadline for company to return audit report to the County

  • Here’s where the fun starts!

    • Budget kickoff: elected officials, department heads

    • Set strategic objectives and guidelines

    • Finance Director and County Manager start to meet with each department and elected office to review budget proposals and capital expenditures

    • IT and Facilities requests are submitted

    • July 31: Deadline for County to submit their third-party audit to the Office of the State Auditor

  • The fun continues:

    • All budget proposals (including current year projected spend and next year requested numbers) are entered into our budgeting software system

    • Elected Offices present their budgets to the County Manager and Finance Director

    • Select departments meet with County Manager, Finance Director and other senior staff to review proposals and make revisions

  • Fun intensifies:

    • In public hearings (“work sessions”), Elected Officials present their budgets to the Board of County Commissioners

    • County Manager and Finance Director further review department budget proposals. Together, they make recommendations for the final budget submissions for each department.

  • This is now “Type 2 Fun”:

    • County Manager and Finance Director present the recommended budget for the next year to the Board of County Commissioners

    • Budget “deep dives” take place at public hearings (“work session”) where the BOCC can request more information on any deparment or office’s proposed budget.

    • Summit County residents may comment on the proposed budget at the BOCC “regular meetings,” which take place twice a month

    • October 15: Deadline for County staff to release proposed (or “draft”) budget to the BOCC

    • End of November: public hearing process concludes.

  • This is where fun turns into “funds”:

    • County Manager and Finance Director add final touches and review budget proposal for accuracy

    • December 15: Deadline for approval of any public budets that involve a tax or mill levy. Because Summit County is a taxing entity, the budget must be voted on and approved by the BOCC by this date