Group of blue flax, a Colorado native wildflower.

County Budget

Annual Budget

Boulder County government assumes a variety of roles and carries out core responsibilities in order to help foster a vibrant, healthy, and active community.

Our annual budget process allows for the careful allocation of tax dollars to help with important county functions such as maintaining our well-traveled roads, conducting law and public safety services, providing housing counseling and nutrition assistance for our youngest and oldest residents, and working together to create visionary open space and land use policies.

Budget Process

Developing Boulder County’s annual budget is a process that starts in May each year and involves hundreds of hours of work from county staff, elected officials, and the community.

The 2026 Budget development and adoption process concluded on Dec. 9, 2025.

Adoption Resolutions are now available:

The full 2026 Budget Book will be released in March.

View the adoption news release at Boulder County Adopts $745 Million Budget for 2026.

Future Meetings and Hearings

Public Hearing on Proposed 2025 Quarter 4 Budget Amendment Requests

Follows the regular Business Meeting at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 3

Visit Virtual Attendee Link for Commissioners’ Feb. 3 Morning Session to attend online. To attend by phone, call 1-833-568-8864 and use Webinar ID 160 259 4099.

View the 2025 Quarter 4 Budget Amendment Requests documentation.

Comments can be received at the Public Hearing.

Note for in-person attendance: Registration is required to comment. Please ensure you are registered through the In-Person Comment Registration for Commissioners’ Feb. 3 Morning Session.

Public Hearings: Quarterly 2026 Budget Amendment Requests

Quarter 1 amendments: Thursday Mar. 26
Quarter 2 amendments: Thursday June 25
Quarter 3 amendments: Thursday Sept. 24
Quarter 4 amendments: Thursday Jan. 14, 2027

Additional 2025 and 2026 Budget materials and presentations are available from the Past Meetings and Hearings section.

2027 Budget Process

No meetings or hearings are currently scheduled for the 2027 Budget Process, which is expected to begin in May 2026.

Both public meetings and hearings are available to attend in-person (3rd floor, 1325 Pearl St., Boulder), online through Zoom, or by phone.

Public hearings provide an opportunity for public comment. More details, including access to previous meeting videos and documentation, are available through the Public Meetings, Hearings, Records and Video Archives page.

Sign up for the Commissioners’ Advance Agenda to receive the most up to date two-week agenda, including final dates for all meetings and hearings.

Meeting dates are subject to change.

Past Meetings and Hearings

Public Meeting: 2026 Budget Adoption

View the video of the Dec. 9 Budget Adoption Public Meeting.
- Visit Boulder County Adopts $745 Million Budget for 2026 for a summary of the 2026 adopted budget.
- View the adoption presentation document.

Additional events relating to the 2026 Budget

Events relating to the 2025 Budget

Starting in 2025, all Budget Amendments are being approved by the Board of County Commissioners on a quarterly basis.

Public Hearing: Proposed 2025 Off-Cycle Budget Amendment Requests

View the video of the Dec. 9 Public Hearing for proposed 2025 off-cycle budget amendment requests.
- View the Human Resource Department’s off-cycle request documentation.

Public Hearings: Quarterly 2025 Budget Amendment Requests

More details, including access to previous meeting videos and documentation, are available through the Public Meetings, Hearings, Records and Video Archives page.

Revenue

Property Taxes

The Treasurer’s Office collects taxes for all taxing districts in the county, including Boulder County government, school districts, cities, fire districts, water and sanitation districts, and other special districts, and distributes the monies to those districts.

In 2025, taxing entities receiving portions of property tax revenues include:

- - School districts: 54%
  - Boulder County Government: 24%
  - Cities and Towns: 11%
  - All others combined: 11%

Sales and Use Taxes

Consult Boulder County’s Sales and Use taxes page for all details.

More Information

Interested in learning more about Financial Reporting for Boulder County? Visit our Financial Reporting page.

Current Documentation

All 2026 Budget documentation will be listed upon publication, during the first quarter of 2026.

Online Budget Book – Expenses by Fund

This interactive report provided through the OpenGov portal details expenses by fund up to and including the current Budget year.

Hover over any part of the graph to display contextual information for a slice.

Mill Levy and Property Tax

The 2026 Mill Levies were formally approved during the Budget Adoption public meeting of the Board of County Commissioners on Dec. 9, 2025: view the meeting section concerning the Resolution Levying Property Taxes.. Boulder County will levy 24.046 mills for fiscal year 2026, with a temporary mill levy credit of -0.932. This reflects a 5.5% growth limitation in the entirety of the county’s General Use fund, and most of the county voter-approved property tax funds.

More information about Property Tax will be provided in the 2026 Budget Summary. This document is scheduled for publication during the first quarter of 2026.

The Boulder County Treasurer’s Office calculates property tax using the mill levies from all taxing entities. Property tax notices are scheduled to be sent in January 2026. Find out more about how tax is calculated.

Previous Years’ Information

Budget Books

Budget Summaries

- - 2024 Budget Summary – OpenGov
  - 2024 Boulder County Budget Summary – Printable PDF
    - Resumen del presupuesto 2024 – PDF para imprimir
  - 2023 Budget Summary
  - 2022 Budget Summary
  - 2021 Budget Summary

Accessibility Notice

Boulder County aims to ensure all digital content and documents are accessible for the benefit of everyone’s use of our programs, activities and services. While efforts have been made to maximize accessibility, some types of content have inherent technical limitations.

To request an Americans with Disability (ADA) accommodation, please contact us no later than 2 business days before an event, through the following channels:

- - Submit an ADA Web Accommodation Request Form
  - Email our ADA coordinator: ada@bouldercounty.gov
  - Or call 303-441-1386

View Boulder County’s accessibility statement.