El Paso County starts 2021 budget process Tuesday while still trying to spend its CARES Act funding
EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- A day after Colorado Springs began looking ahead to next year's budget, El Paso County did the same; in both cases, the budgets are in better shape than expected despite the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The county expects the 2021 budget to be around $229 million -- 5% higher than the 2020 budget thanks to spending reductions, continued economic growth and receiving federal COVID recovery funding from the CARES Act.
Earlier this year, county officials said they were having difficulty deciding how to spend their allocation -- realizing that any unspent money would be lost after Dec. 31.
"You'd think it's an easy thing to, but it's difficult," said Commissioner Mark Waller. "We even thought about hiring a company to help us decide the best way to fairly distribute the money. But the company wanted so much, we just did it ourselves."
County Controller Nikki Simmons told commissioners Tuesday that she now believes the county is on pace to spend its entire allocation. $74 million of the county's $125 million amount has been spent.
During the weekly meeting, it was revealed that $14 million in CARES funding will be distributed as grants to more than 800 businesses and nonprofits as part of a small business fund for COVID recovery.
"There are grants of up to $20,000 available," said Crystal LaTier, the county's director of economic development. "The important thing is they don't have to pay it back. That'll really help with their economic recovery."
The county also will spend $1.3 million in CARES Act money to provide health-safer work stations at the Department of Transportation and the Department of Human Services.
Commissioner Stan VanderWerf said said the project will provide safer work environments to employees returning gradually from working at home.
"What we need to do is figure out how to configure the county into a permanent environment where we can do a lot more telework just all the time," he said. "We found that there was no drop in productivity at the height of the pandemic when just about everyone was working from home."
Restaurants and hotels have been the slowest to bounce back from the pandemic, Simmons said.
Commissioners also learned that CARES Act money cannot be used after all to repair damage and wear and tear at the popular Paint Mines Park. Several weeks ago, the county said using the money to pay for increased visitation created by the pandemic was an appropriate use of the money.
However, because the park is a historic site, the county must consult with the federal government on doing any work there -- which will lengthen the project's schedule past the CARES Act's end-of-year deadline.
The county, as it originally planned, will pay for the park improvements. The estimated cost is $300,000.
The budget presentations will be available online at the county's website, and public comment is welcomed.
