Pitkin County takes first step toward 2026 budget adoption

Pitkin County approved their proposed 2026 budget on first reading in a 3 -1 vote at the Wednesday Board of County Commissioners regular session. 

The budget still requires second reading before it is fully approved, but commissioners appear poised to give their $312 million budget full approval. 

The proposed 2026 budget represents a 34% increase over the 2025 $232 million budget, with much of that increase brought on by major construction and capital improvement projects. The largest single contributor to the budget’s size is the Airport Modernization Project, which is expected to cost the county around $110 million in 2026, representing 35% of the county’s projected expenditures. 

The airport is projected, however, to bring revenue in 2026 to the county to balance out the cost — the county projects that the airport will generate 40% of its revenue in 2026. According to county documents, county revenue is projected to be around $301 million, meaning the airport will be responsible for roughly $120 million of that. 

The county is pursuing other large capital improvement projects next year, as well, like a landfill expansion, a new emergency dispatch center, wastewater infrastructure updates, health and human services building electrification, redstone bridge replacement, and more. Those projects will be funded in part with savings from the 2025 budget, according to county staff. 

The dissent on the budget amongst the board has largely focused on concerns that the 2026 General Fund may not be able to respond to federal crises in the current form. 

“I am very protective of the General Fund dollars, not knowing what we may have to come up with to provide food on people’s tables and health care for people within our community,” said Commissioner Patti Clapper. 

The second largest single expense for the county in 2026 is expected to be the General Fund at $62 million, or 20% of the county’s overall 2026 budget. The General Fund provides funding for several Pitkin County departments including public safety, internal services, and community development. The 2026 fund will be a 12% increase over 2025’s fund expenditures. 

The General Fund can also provide funding for unplanned expenditures, like emergencies. In November, following the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, Pitkin County was able to offer assistance to beneficiaries of SNAP in the county due to concerns that the program would stop receiving funding as a result of the shutdown. 

Additionally, county commissioners have braced for potential federal cuts to various funding programs throughout the latter half of 2025, noting on multiple occasions that unpredictability from the federal government should be a cause for caution when planning new projects. 

Commissioners have discussed at prior meetings the possibility of decreasing the General Fund expenditures by declining some vehicle fleet improvement requests and new staffing requests, but they ultimately decided to move forward with new vehicle costs and staff costs in the budget. 

While Clapper was the lone dissenter on Wednesday’s vote, Board Chair Kelly McNicholas Kury noted that she agrees with some of Clapper’s concerns and acknowledged some work they had done in prior sessions.