County holds public hearing on proposed 2027 budget; staff proposes $120M plan and keeps tax rate effectively unchanged

Chambers County staff presented the proposed 2027 budget at a public hearing, describing an approximately $120 million plan that includes funding for 24 new positions and an 8.5% increase in employee health insurance. Staff said roughly 36% of budgeted spending would go to judicial and law enforcement functions and that capital obligations include a $6 million lease for the Justice Center and Chambers Parkway project costs.

"Right now, our '27 budget is gonna be about 100 and I'm rounding up a little bit more, dollars 120,000,000, for next year," the budget presenter said, explaining that the biggest increases were new employees and insurance. Staff proposed keeping the county's tax rate effectively the same as the prior year (stated in the packet) and explained the no-new-revenue comparison, the voter-approval rate and options for taxpayers to visualize impacts.

After public comment and questions about debt and capital-outlay assumptions, the court set a public hearing to adopt the tax rate for Sept. 22, 2026 at 10 a.m., and commissioners said they expect to adopt the budget and tax rate at the next court meeting. Staff will circulate final figures once CO schedules and final debt numbers are received.