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OCN > 2311 > El Paso Board of County Commissioners, Oct. 3, 12, 19, and 24 – County presents its 2024 preliminary balanced budget, approves 21-home development

El Paso Board of County Commissioners, Oct. 3, 12, 19, and 24 – County presents its 2024 preliminary balanced budget, approves 21-home development

By Helen Walklett

During October, the El Paso Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) heard proposals for the 2024 county budget. The commissioners also approved a plan for a 21 single-family subdivision south of the Forest Lakes development.

2024 preliminary balanced budget

The county Financial Services Department presented the preliminary balanced budget at the Oct. 3 BOCC meeting. The approximate $482.9 million budget includes $217 million in unrestricted general fund expenditures and prioritizes investments in road infrastructure and public safety. Roads and Bridges is assigned a one-time $10 million funding increase to address high-priority projects in addition to the base budget of $28 million, and public safety is allocated $97 million, 45% of the total unrestricted general fund. The budget includes a 2.5% cost-of-living pay increase for county employees.

As the county’s revenues exceeded the TABOR cap this year, residents will see a refund of $138 per property via their property tax bill in 2024.

Nikki Simmons, chief financial officer, said: “One of the highest priorities for this budget was to ensure we have a recession-resistant budget.” Commenting on the 22% of revenue earmarked for reserves, Chair Cami Bremer said, “I am incredibly comfortable with that given the number of unknowns we have, and I think we continue to do a great job of conservative budgeting here.”

As part of the budget-setting process, county departments and offices presented their critical needs to the commissioners at the Oct. 19 and 24 meetings. A further budget hearing is scheduled for Nov. 14 when the BOCC will give final direction on budget allocations.

The public is encouraged to participate in the budget-setting process. The preliminary budget and all supporting documents can be viewed on the county website at: https://admin.elpasoco.com/financial-services/budget-finance/county-budget/. Paper copies are also available for inspection in the commissioners’ office at Centennial Hall, 200 S. Cascade Ave., Colorado Springs.

The final budget vote is scheduled to be held at the BOCC meeting on Dec. 5. However, if ballot initiative HH passes, the valuation of properties in the county could change, and budget adoption will not be possible until the first week of January 2024.

Hay Creek 21-home subdivision

At the Oct. 12 BOCC land use meeting, the commissioners approved an application for a preliminary plan for 20 single-family lots to be known as the Hay Creek Valley subdivision. The one residence currently on the property will remain, making a total of 21 lots. The application came to the BOCC from the Sept. 21 El Paso County Planning Commission meeting with a unanimous recommendation for approval.

The 214.62-acre property is zoned RR-5 (residential rural) and located west of Interstate 25, directly north of the U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA), south of the Forest Lakes subdivision, and southwest of Monument. Lots are planned to range from 5.5 to 17 acres. The USAFA has reviewed the plan and stated that an avigation easement (giving the right of overflights in the airspace above or in the vicinity of the property) needs to be recorded with the final plat.

The property is currently gated and will continue to be once it is developed. Access is off Hay Creek Road. Jason Alwine, Matrix Design Group Inc. and representing the owner, said the county is requiring the developer to straighten the junction of the property’s private road and Hay Creek Road to provide better line of sight. Trees will be removed as part of the improvements.

Twenty-one neighbors were notified ahead of the public hearings. Justin Kilgore, planning manager, Planning and Community Development, said that concerns had been raised about the potential impacts on wildlife and traffic at the Planning Commission hearing. No one spoke against the application at the BOCC hearing. One neighbor spoke in support, stating, “As neighbors we would love to have as much open space as possible, but I do think development is inevitable and I think the developer has been very responsible in trying to keep the development” in keeping with the rest of the development in the valley.

Regarding wildlife, Alwine said Colorado Parks and Wildlife had recommended prairie dog and burrowing owl surveys that had shown no evidence of either creature. He said that raptor nesting on the property meant the developer would be limited when construction and wildfire mitigation could take place and they would work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to establish those timeframes. No high fencing was being proposed, and bear-proof containers and inside storage would be used to help eliminate some of the human/wildlife interaction. The extent of wildfire mitigation work would depend on where on the lots houses are built and the developer would work with county staff and the Fire Department on this throughout the construction process.

The vote to approve was unanimous.

Helen Walklett can be reached at helenwalklett@ocn.me.

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