Boulder County is preparing to cut its 2026 general fund budget by $13.2 million, eliminating about 90 positions, a third of them filled, in what officials say is the first round of a yearslong effort to rein in a growing deficit.
The reductions come as the county contends with a structural gap in its general fund, where expenses have consistently outpaced property tax revenues. Officials also cited falling sales and use taxes, inflationary costs and uncertainty around federal and state funding. Budget staff estimate the county will need to find $30 million to $40 million in savings over the next three years.
The recommended 2026 budget is about $667 million, down from $708 million adopted budget in 2025.
Because roughly 70% of the county’s general fund is tied to salaries and benefits, the majority of the cuts — nearly $9 million — will come from staff reductions. In addition to eliminating positions, the county has frozen hiring for full-time employees, including grant-funded roles. It is also offering a voluntary severance package: Full-time employees with at least 15 years of service who leave their jobs by year’s end will receive $2,000 for every year worked, up to $50,000.
“We know that each of these jobs impacts a person,” Commissioner Claire Levy said at a Sept. 30 budget meeting. “It’s not just an FTE count in our personnel system. There’s a person associated with that, and possibly a family, and maybe even a community that is going to feel the loss of those jobs.”
Officials said more reductions are likely in 2027 and 2028. Emily Beam, the county’s budget officer, said the county will limit next year’s increases to one-time expenses and and will review ownership of all its facilities. Earlier this year, the county opted to sell its North Broadway Complex near Iris Fields and consolidate offices to save money.
The proposed cuts come as the City of Boulder also faces flattening sales tax revenue, a projected budget shortfall this year, and plans to scale back some programs in the years ahead. Meanwhile, members of the Boulder City Council have repeatedly urged the county to increase funding for safety-net programs that help homeless and mentally ill people.
Social services hardest hit
Nearly half the general fund cuts — close to $6 million — will come from the county’s social services budget, a move expected to reverberate through programs serving some of the area’s most vulnerable residents.
“This is new territory for many of us after relying on a stable foundation that has served us well,” Robin Bohannan, director of Boulder County Community Services, wrote to staff in an internal email.
The Area Agency on Aging expects delays in providing services that help older adults remain in their homes. Head Start, which supports preschoolers from low-income families, and Strategic Initiatives, which runs the police co-responder program and some behavioral health and homeless services, will also be trimmed. Workforce Boulder County, which provides employment assistance, is also facing cuts.
Funding is also being pulled from criminal justice programs, including a substance use disorder program for repeat DUI offenders, the short-term juvenile detention center and the implementation manager for the new alternative sentencing facility named after former Sheriff Joe Pelle. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the facility is scheduled for Oct. 24, and Beam said prior staffing commitments to the facility will carry weight as cuts are finalized.
Outside of social services, the county’s community planning and permitting department will lose staff, resulting in slower services for historic preservation and floodplain planning.
Several programs will be terminated outright, including the county’s Parents as Teachers program, which provided curriculum and broader education support to disadvantaged parents, and the foster care certification program. Foster care services will now be handled by outside nonprofit placement agencies.
Cuts to IT and hourly/seasonal staff will mean delays in service delivery and fewer “opportunistic projects,” officials said. Roughly $4 million in operating expenses will also be trimmed.
Commissioners said they plan to pay competitive salaries for remaining employees and are currently negotiating with the Boulder County employee union.
Public health faces reductions
Beyond the general fund cuts, other county departments are also bracing for reductions. Boulder County Public Health’s proposed 2026 budget is about $20.6 million, roughly $3.7 million less than this year. The plan calls for reducing or transitioning 30 full-time equivalent positions across the agency. Spending cuts would affect youth mental health programs, harm reduction efforts and other services, according to Board of Health meeting records. The board oversees the agency’s budget.
“This is a significant hit to our budget,” Morgan McMillan, chair of the Board of Health, said during an August meeting. “It hurts the staff and it will most likely impact our services in the community.”
Lexi Nolen, executive director of Boulder County Public Health, said the agency is still finalizing the budget and assessing its impact.
The reductions come as state and federal grants, which fund about a third of the department’s work, face uncertainty, health officials said. Meanwhile, Covid-19 relief money that supported temporary programs has mostly expired.
Housing authority cuts
Separately, the Boulder County Housing Authority is also eliminating positions. A spokeswoman said it does not yet have specific numbers or position details to share.
“What I can share at this point is that BCHA has been staffed at levels above what is typical for similar housing authorities,” Kiran Herbert, a spokeswoman for the Human Services department, wrote in an email to Boulder Reporting Lab. “The decisions ahead are about right-sizing our organization to align more closely with industry standards and ensure long-term sustainability.”
A public hearing on the recommended budget is scheduled for Oct. 14 at 1 p.m. Commissioners are expected to finalize the budget on Dec. 9.
John Herrick contributed reporting for this story.
Dig deeper into BCHA and you’ll find they are committing $700K to a very difficult affordable housing project in Lyons that will yield only 4 AH units. The greatest share of that money will go toward fixing a 2013 flood-damaged embankment that two other developers (Markel and Summit) have passed on.
A google search indicates that for City of Boulder, approximately 60% of the general fund is dedicated to funding. There are 19 departments at City of Boulder. The county website lists more departments and lost of offices under those departments, so 70% doesn’t sound out of line by comparison. What about funding for consultants, though? That also comes out of the general fund and many departments seem to make generous use of consultants for many reasons. Is that considered an operational cost? Is that cost over and above the percentages above?
How about city staff or county staff doing that work unless nexus reports are required for specific projects involving new fees? That should save a few million. Surely with almost 1500 staff at the city, and over 2000 at the county, there should be enough expertise to do that type of research and evaluation. (Maybe a separate office or department, to ensure independence, that can do evaluations for all departments would be cheaper than what we spend now on consultant fees for those studies.)