Jefferson County 2020 Adopted Budget
Jefferson County's 2020 Budget Goals
Financial Realities
Jefferson County has a reputation as a wonderful place to live, visit, and conduct business. However, the quality services the county provides to residents and local businesses come at a cost. Taxpayer dollars allow the county to deliver vital services but continued increasing demand for services has created a significant financial challenge. Learn more here.
Who Jefferson County Serves
Jefferson County is the 4th largest county in Colorado, serving people in 12 incorporated areas and extensive unincorporated areas. Here are a few quick facts about our county:
Jefferson County Funds
Jefferson County operates out of 33 separate and distinct funds - most of which can be used only for specific purposes based on the sources of their funding. Each fund has a different purpose and its own dedicated resources. Allocation of resources in all funds help the county achieve the overall mission, vision, values and goals as set forth by the Board of County Commissioners.
Click here to view expenses by fund.
Where Does the Money Go?
The county is comprised of 20 departments. The largest county expenditure is public safety.
Clicking on the chart at right will open a window allowing you to navigate this data in OpenGov:
- To view departments broken by division, click that department in the pie chart.
- To view categories of expenditures within those departments or divisions, click on Filters on the left-hand side of your window and in the "Broken Down By" field, select "Expense Type."
Where Do My Property Taxes Go?
Property tax rates (mill levies) are set by each taxing entity. These rates are used to generate revenue to cover annual expenses for local area services.
Your total combined tax rate depends on where you live within Jefferson County. Entities that provide tax-supported services to you are listed on your tax notice, and may include, Jefferson County, school districts, cities, and special districts. The pie chart above displays the distribution of property tax revenue assessed by each taxing authority.
Calculating Property Taxes
This example shows how your property taxes are calculated, taking into consideration the residential and non-residential assessment rates, the county mill levy and the actual value.
This is not an actual tax bill. It is a sample calculation for demonstration purposes only.
You can view your tax bill by entering in your address in the Property Records searches on the Assessor's Office website or Treasurer's Office website.
Where Does the County Get its Money?
The 2020 Budget includes $592 million in countywide revenue.* The largest portion of countywide revenue is property, sales, auto ownership and fuel taxes.
*Note: Approximately $12.9 million in Use of Fund Balance (across all county funds) is budgeted for 2020.
The 2020 General Fund Budget includes $225 million in revenue.* Taxes and special assessments make up the largest portion of General Fund revenue. General Fund revenues also include licenses, permits and fees, and revenues received from grants. A significant part of the General Fund revenue is used to maintain and operate the general government; however, a portion is also used to support other fund functions.
*Note: General Fund revenues includes sub-fund revenue for reporting purposes.
Infrastructure
Infrastructure projects have non-recurring high cost investments ($50k or more) and are expected to be used for more than one year. It excludes low cost recurring expenditures associated with maintaining an asset. Those costs are planned on an annual basis and are included in the operating budget of the responsible department.
If you'd like to request the full 2020 Adopted Budget Book, please submit a request here.