Tag: budget
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Colorado lawmakers cut newer programs to close $1.2 billion budget shortfall
With Colorado facing a budget gap exceeding $1.2 billion, lawmakers are preparing to wind down or sharply reduce a slate of recently-created programs — from teacher training to wildfire mitigation — as they search for for savings across state government. While some of these newer programs will continue with reduced funding, others are being eliminated…
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Colorado legislators drove up cost of Medicaid program
Some of Colorado’s spending woes in Medicaid can be traced to lawmakers who had approved new or expanded programs in the last few years, driving up state costs to the tune of tens of millions of dollars. Just three measures passed in the past five years, for example, would cost the state more than $80…
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Colorado lawmakers hear from chief justice about security needs, new judges
Chief Justice Monica M. Márquez asked members of the legislature’s Joint Budget Committee on Tuesday to stay the course and fund the 10 new trial judgeships that Colorado lawmakers approved last year, and also explained her vision for enhancing judicial branch security. Responding to questions generated by committee members after a hearing last month on…
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No TABOR refunds this year, as Colorado Gov. Polis warns of tight fiscal outlook
Gov. Jared Polis on Friday submitted revised budget requests for the next two fiscal years, calling for new public safety spending, changes to Medicaid growth, and renewed efforts to privatize Pinnacol Assurance. Notably, the governor said Colorado residents won’t get refunds from the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR). “We are focused on protecting the issues…
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Monument closes budget gap, despite flat revenue projections
The town of Monument is finalizing its budget for 2026 after working through what town officials previously described as a financial crisis. The budget offsets stalled sales tax revenue and deficit spending in the town north of Colorado Springs. The latest figures see the town ending 2025 with a 32.73% general fund reserve of about…
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El Paso County avoids cuts in preliminary 2026 budget
El Paso County will not cut positions or services in what Chief Financial Officer Nikki Simmons called a “recession-resistant” preliminary budget for next year. “We have sufficient reserves to weather us through several years of uncertain economic activity,” she said at the first presentation on the budget last week. The budget does not call for…
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El Paso County avoids cuts in preliminary 2026 budget
El Paso County will not cut positions or services in what Chief Financial Officer Nikki Simmons called a “recession-resistant” preliminary budget for next year. “We have sufficient reserves to weather us through several years of uncertain economic activity,” she said at the first presentation on the budget last week. The budget does not call for…
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Mayor Mobolade presents tight 2026 Colorado Springs budget proposal
Colorado Springs is heading into 2026 with an $11 million drop in its general fund and $31 million less in the city budget, a sign of the economic uncertainty and constrictions facing the city. Mayor Yemi Mobolade handed the hundreds of pages of his proposed 2026 budget details over to the Colorado Springs City Council…
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EDITORIAL: Colorado’s next budget crunch
Like slacker students who flunked a course and had to make it up in summer school, Colorado state lawmakers who were summoned back to the Capitol last month — to patch a gaping hole in the current state budget — knew they had gathered under a stigma. Convened by Gov. Jared Polis, they sullenly filed…
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Senator criticizes Judicial Department for seeking budget increase and offering no cuts
A member of the powerful Joint Budget Committee criticized Colorado’s Judicial Department on Tuesday for seeking an increase to its budget without offering suggestions for cuts. “I think some people are misinformed or just don’t truly understand the situation that we’re in,” said Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, R-Brighton, at a joint hearing of the House and…