Boulder County programs and services that will see reductions as the county grapples with a budget deficit include historic preservation, floodplain planning, Head Start, workforce and the Area Agency on Aging.
Boulder County announced Monday that it has eliminated about 90 positions, including laying off 31 employees and cutting about 60 vacant positions. The Boulder County Housing Authority and Boulder County Public Health also plan to eliminate an as-yet-to-be determined number of positions, according to the county.
Commissioner Claire Levy said at a Tuesday budget presentation that staff reductions weren’t based on the performance of the employees or the quality of the programs.
“We’re really grateful for the programs and services that these staff have delivered to Boulder County residents,” she said.
The Boulder County commissioners will hear from departments on their specific budgets next week, including any requests to add employees. The presentations are set for 9:30 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday, while a public hearing on the recommended budget is set for 1 p.m. Oct. 14. The commissioners are scheduled to adopt the budget on Dec. 9.
Community members are invited to share written comments and feedback with the commissioners through an online form or speak at the Oct. 14 public hearing. For more information and to access budget documents, go to bouldercounty.gov/government/budget-and-finance/county-budget/.
Next year’s recommended budget cuts the general fund by $13.2 million. About 70% of the county’s general fund budget goes to employee salaries and benefits, according to the county. Beyond staffing cuts, the county also expects to cut about $4 million in general fund operating expenses.
According to a budget memo, all departments and elected offices were expected to participate in reduction planning. No new requests to hire employees will be considered, including grant funded positions, according to the memo. But the county does plan to support previous staffing commitments for the Boulder County Jail’s new alternative sentencing facility and planned jail expansion.
Current projections show that county spending will soon outpace revenue, according to a news release. To address this structural deficit in the county’s general fund, the county will need to identify $30 million to $40 million in savings over the next three years. Uncertainty around federal and state funding continues to put pressure on an already challenging economic situation created by rising inflation and uncertainty around future revenue from property taxes and sales and use taxes, according to the release.
For 2026, the county is planning a total general fund budget of about $264 million, an increase of about $1 million from the current year. That includes cuts totaling about $5 million, plus increased spending of about $6 million.
Contributing to the deficit, which has required the county to backfill the budget using reserves, is a 1% dip in 2025’s sales and use tax revenues, which totaled about $104.8 million. That revenue stream is expected to be flat in 2026. For property tax revenues, the county projects an increase from $259 million in 2025 to $277 million in 2026.
Boulder County Budget Officer Emily Beam said at Tuesday’s budget presentation that ​using reserves every year to balance the budget “is not a sustainable approach.
The county also is currently negotiating raises with its employees. Commissioner Ashley Stolzmann said Tuesday that the county remains committed to providing competitive compensation and benefits.
“We want Boulder County staff delivering those services to be able to live in the community that they serve,” she said.
Boulder County spokesperson Gloria Handyside said job reductions were made in multiple areas.
Effective early November, the county is ending the Parents as Teachers program, she said. It’s one of the county’s eight home visitation programs for parents with young children, she said, and families received assistance in finding alternative services.
Boulder County also will move the High Fidelity Wraparound program to a partner organization by Nov. 3. She said the move follows guidance by the state that county human services departments should no longer act as the wraparound program providers. Last year, 32 children and teens were served through the program, which provides intensive, individualized care for children in the social services system with complex emotional and behavioral needs.
Other positions were eliminated when Boulder County ended the foster care program in July, she said. Instead of placing children directly into county certified foster homes, the county contracts with third-party foster agencies to place children. Boulder County, Handyside noted, made the change after reducing the number of children in out-of-home care from 151 in 2021 to 80 this year, while also expanding the kinship care program.
Layoffs in Community Planning and Permitting will result in reduced services for historic preservation, floodplain planning, on-call planning and records scanning, she said.
In Community Services, a combination of layoffs and vacant position eliminations will result in some service delays to clients of the Area Agency on Aging and a switch to private providers for clients in the multiple DUI-offender program, she said. Reduced staffing is planned at the Juvenile Assessment Center because of the lower number of children needing that type of supervision. The Head Start, Strategic Initiatives and Workforce Divisions also will experience reductions, she said.
Internally, she said, they eliminated some vacant IT and human resources positions, while many departments will stop most out-of-state travel by employees through 2027.