2020
POPULAR ANNUAL
FINANCIAL REPORT FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2020
YOUR EL PASO COMMUNITY . COMMITMENT . COLLABORATION
CONTENTS
PAGE 2
03
LETTER TO RESIDENTS
04
EL PASO COUNTY DESCRIPTION
06
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
07
COUNTY ORGANIZATIONAL CHART
08
EL PASO COUNTY METRICS
10
GENERAL FUND SUMMARY
12
REVENUES
13
EXPENDITURES
14
CARES ACT FUNDING SUMMARY
16
2021 EL PASO COUNTY BUDGET
18
EL PASO COUNTY RECOGNITION
20
CONNECT WITH YOUR EL PASO
AMY FOLSOM COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
SHERRI CASSIDY CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Residents of El Paso County, It is our honor to serve you, the citizens, as stewards of El Paso County. This County belongs to the citizens and we are thankful to uphold your vision and values for this great region. The year 2020 challenged us all in many ways. It was also a year of unprecedented county-wide growth and collaboration. Budgets and population expanded even as the COVID-19 crisis galvanized community partners around the region to collaborate as never before. El Paso County’s over 2,500 employees acted swiftly, decisively and creatively to make sure necessary services to citizens were uninterrupted. It was a year that underscored the grit and resiliency of our employees and the great citizens of El Paso County. We present you with this overview of the County’s financials which have been audited by RubinBrown, an independent auditing firm and certified by your Board of County Commissioners. Looking forward, we are committed to continued collaboration with state and regional partners, leading innovation in service and enhancing the citizen experience with government. It is with pride and relief that we navigated the trials and tribulations of 2020 successfully together. We look forward to the future now with unprecedented hope, optimism and confidence that this region will continue to thrive. Thank you,
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EL PASO COUNTY El Paso County lies in east central Colorado and encompasses more than 2,158 square miles – slightly more than twice the land area of the state of Rhode Island. While the western portion of El Paso County is extremely mountainous, the eastern part is prairie land where dairy cows and beef cattle are the main source of ranchers’ income. The altitude ranges from about 5,095 feet (1,569 m) on the southern border at Black Squirrel Creek to 14,110 feet (4,301 m) on the summit of Pikes Peak, near the western boundary. The county seat is located in Colorado Springs. El Paso County became a territorial county in 1861 before Colorado became a state in 1876. The natural physical beauty of the area, situated at the base of Pikes Peak and with an uninterrupted view of the Front Range, can be enjoyed by all. The magnificent scenery inspired Katharine Lee Bates to write the poem “America the Beautiful” after her visit here. The mild climate, on average, supplies 285 days of sunshine, 15 inches of rain, 35 inches of snow, and very low levels of humidity.
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El Paso County has received national recognition for outstanding achievement in Popular Annual Financial Reporting for every year a report has been created. Note: no report was created for 2019.
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2020 E L PASO COUNTY BOA RD OF COUNTY COMMIS S IONE RS
HOLLY WILLIAMS - DISTRICT 1, MARK WALLER - DISTRICT 2, LONGINOS GONZALEZ, JR. - DISTRICT 3, CAMI BREMER - DISTRICT 4, AND STAN VANDERWERF - DISTRICT 5
COMMISSIONERS El Paso County is a statutory county, meaning that it is a service arm of the State. Its elected official structure, powers, and responsibilities come from State laws. The State grants to the County such powers as are required for the health, welfare, and safety of our residents. Subsequently, the County is required to provide many mandated services, which are directed by the State and Federal Governments. El Paso County is governed by five County Commissioners representing the five geographic commissioner districts which are equal in population. El Paso County Commissioners are elected by the citizens within their respective districts and serve staggered four-year terms. Commissioners are termlimited, serving a maximum of two consecutive four-year terms. The Board of County Commissioners elects officers and assigns community liaison responsibilities annually. Commissioner district boundaries are revised every two years to ensure equal citizen representation for all five districts.
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The Board of County Commissioners serves as both a policymaking and administrative body for the County. All powers of the County, as a legal entity, are exercised by the Board of County Commissioners and not by its individual members.
C ITIZENS ELEC TED OFFIC IAL S OFFICE OF T HE ASSESSOR OFFICE OF T HE DISTRIC ATTORNEY OFFICE OF T HE TREASURER & PUBLIC TRUSTEE
OFFICE OF T HE CORONER
OFFICE OF T HE CLERK & RECORDER
OFFICE OF T HE SURVEYOR
OFFICE OF T HE SHERIFF
BOARD OF COUN T Y COMMISSIONERS
EL PA S O COUN T Y PUBLIC HEALTH EL PA S O & T EL L ER WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT CONSORTIUM
EL PA S O COUN T Y ADMINI S T R ATOR
EL PA S O COUN T Y ATTORNEY COMMUNI T Y SERVICE S
A S SIS TAN T COUN T Y ADMINI S T R ATOR
ECONOMIC DE VELOPMEN T FACIL I T IE S & S T R AT EGIC INFR A S T RUC T URE MANAGEMEN T
PUBL IC WORK S
FINANCIAL SERVICE S
PIKE S PE AK REGIONAL OFFICE OF EMERGENC Y MANAGEMEN T
HUMAN SERVICE S & RISK MANAGEMEN T
PIKE S PE AK WORKFORCE CEN T ER
HUMAN SERVICE S INFORMAT ION T ECHNOLO GY
YOUR EL PA SO
PL ANNING & COMMUNI T Y DE VELOPMEN T
WORKING TOGETHER, OUR MISSION IS TO
PUBL IC INFORMAT ION
PROVIDE LEADERSHIP, RESOURCES, AND SERVICES TO CARRY OUT THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE OF EL PASO COUNTY.
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EL PASO METRICS FACILITY MAINTENANCE 131 Buildings Maintained Over 3 Million Square Feet ROADS & TRANSPORTATION 1,162 Miles of Paved Road 1,052 Miles of Gravel Road 2,214 Total Miles of Road 283 County Maintained Bridges PARKS & RECREATION 8,000 Acres of Park Land/Open Space 2,460 Acres of Conservation Easements 130 Miles of Trails 2 Nature Centers & 1 Fair & Event Center 9,837 Volunteer Hours HUMAN SERVICES 14,596 Reports of Child Abuse/Neglect 3,531 Reports to Adult Protective Services VETERAN SERVICES 101,506 Veterans in El Paso County in 2019 8,888 Annual Client Visits in 2019 $742M Benefits Paid by the VA to Citizens in 2019 DISTRICT ATTORNEY 32,171 Total Cases Handled 95 Volunteers 10,958 Volunteer Hours $5.6M Restitution for Victims $1.5M Victim Compensation CLERK & RECORDER 624,553 Motor Vehicle Transactions 48,440 Driver’s Licenses Issued 383,204 Election Ballots - November 2020 216,193 Recorded Documents 6,581 Marriage License Applications EL PASO COUNTY JAIL 1,165 Daily Population 35 Days Jail Stay, on Average $88.72/Day per Inmate 74.65% Recidivism June 1, 2020 - June 1, 2021 PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT 480 Major Development Applications 5,866 Minor Development Applications 1,767 Single-Family Dwelling Applications 745 Code Enforcement Calls PAGE 9
GENERAL FUND SUMMARY The Statement of Revenue and Expenditures provides a detailed account of revenue and expenditures for the County’s general fund operations. Revenues represent dollars received and expenditures can be thought of as the costs of providing services to citizens. The three-year history of revenues and expenditures show that both have increased. Revenues increased by $139.8 million from 2019 - 2020, including over $125 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding. Expenditures have increased $103.5 million, in total from 2019 - 2020. General Government expenditures saw the largest increase of $66 million. COVID-19 increased our operating expenses tremendously due to various factors such as providing a large majority of our workforce with technology to enable them to telework, transforming our offices to smart work stations allowing employees to telework, providing plexiglass, purchasing PPE, and many other COVID-19 related expenditures.
2018 REVENUES $210,329,931 EXPENDITURES $197,869,205
2019 REVENUES $225,355,812 EXPENDITURES $218,727,071
2020 REVENUES $365,158,815 EXPENDITURES $322,185,041
TABOR In November 1992, the people of the State of Colorado passed an ammendment to the State’s Constitution known as the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR). TABOR’s intended purpose was to reasonably restrain most of the growth of government by imposing spending and revenue limits on state and local governments. The TABOR calculation has two parts, deterimining a TABOR reserve amount and calculating if there is an excess of the TABOR revenue limits. In 2020, El Paso County’s Tabor reserve amount was $8,368,298 and the County exceeded its fiscal year spending limit by $7,118,793. Currently the County is still considering options regarding a possible refund of the excess or a ballot initiative to retain the funds. PAGE 10
SUMMARY STATEMENT This chart summarizes the data found in the El Paso County Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, Statement of Revenues, Expenditures, and Changes in fund balances for the General Fund.
REVENUES Property Taxes Sales Taxes Specific Ownership Taxes Intergovernmental Fees & Fines Licenses & Permits Charges for Services Investment Earnings Contributions Miscellaneous Sale of Capital Assets Transfers Out
TOTAL REVENUE
2020 $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
$
EXPENDITURES General Government Public Safety Public Works Health & Welfare Culture & Recreation Auxiliary Services Capital Outlay
TOTAL EXPENDITURES
NET CHANGE IN FUND BALANCE
52,012,410 109,854,783 144,737,148 748,294 1,937,380 31,807,135 2,527,617 12,154,778 2,548,205 6,831,065 -
365,158,815
2019 $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
$
2020 $ $ $ $ $ $ $
144,022,422 122,992,296 2,115,872 19,674,566 2,751,464 770,099 29,858,322
51,766,063 94,119,716 3,957,044 25,700,227 722,517 1,818,350 29,370,701 3,461,072 11,322,309 2,885,392 232,421
225,355,812
2018 $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
$
2019 $ $ $ $ $ $ $
77,909,058 113,070,054 11,144,576 2,539,434 704,060 13,359,889
49,992,296 89,417,673 5,063,894 25,586,794 317,179 2,271,233 27,658,412 1,973,936 10,796,328 3,002,393 249,793 (6,000,000)
210,329,931
2018 $ $ $ $ $ $ $
70,313,596 104,589,560 10,759,535 2,474,363 641,598 9,090,553
$
322,185,041
$
218,727,071
$
197,869,205
$
42,973,774
$
6,628,741
$
12,460,726
This Chart is presented on non-GAAP basis. A more detailed GAAP basis financial detail can be found in the El Paso County Comprehensive Annual Financial Report in its entirety, available online at https://admin.elpasoco. com/financial-services/budget-finance/comprehensive-annual-financial-reports/
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REVENUES As the chart shows, Intergovernmental Revenue represents the largest source of revenue for the County in the General Fund in 2020 in the amount of $144.7 million. This includes the $125.7 million we received in CARES Act funding. The second highest portion of this revenue came from Sales tax in the amount of $109.8 million. For comparison, in 2019, Sales tax represented the highest amount of revenue at $94.1 million.
ADDITIONAL REVENUE SOURCES Charges for Services – These are fees charged to County customers. The largest collector of this type of revenue is the County Clerk for the recording of documents, the issuance of motor vehicle registrations/ titles, (for which the State of Colorado pays the County a set rate), in addition to others. The County Treasurer also collects a portion of this revenue through fees charged to other governments for the collection and subsequent distribution of their property taxes. Intergovernmental – The County General Fund received $144,737,148 through various state and federal grant programs in 2020, including $125,704,768 in CARES Act funding. These are funds received from other governments for financing the day-to-day costs of a specific program, with the CARES Act funding aiding in COVID-19 response and recovery. Contributions – Donations and contributions to the County for special projects and Sheriff Office programs. Licenses and Permits – Revenues collected for the issuance of various licenses and permits such as Cable TV franchise fees, etc.
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EXPENDITURES The County General Fund provides a wide range of services that include law enforcement and public safety, planning and zoning, parks and open space, culture and recreation, and other general governmental administrative services.
SPECIFIC EXPENDITURE SOURCES Public Safety – Expenditures for the Sheriff’s department administration, patrol, investigations and detentions, and the Coroner’s office. General Government – Expenditures incurred by administrative departments such as the Board of County Commissioners, Elections, Assessor, Treasurer, Finance, County Attorney, Information Technology, Facilities, etc. Health and Welfare – Expenditures for the Pikes Peak Workforce Center and Environmental Services. Capital Outlay – Expenditures used to acquire or upgrade capital assets. Capital assets include property, buildings, equipment and infrastructure with a cost of $5,000 or more and a useful life of more than one year. Culture and Recreation – Expenditures used for the maintenance and administrative functions of the County’s open space, parks, fairground facilities and the County fair.
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CARES ACT In March 2020, El Paso County experienced a rapid spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) through the County. A stay at home order was issued by the State of Colorado which required all non-essential businesses to cease operations and close for a period of time in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus. El Paso County anticipated a decrease in sales tax revenue as a result of the stay at home order which was later followed by a safer at home order. Despite the stay at home order though, sales tax income increased almost 17% from 2019 as sales of essential items, sanitizing products, and PPE skyrocketed while COVID-19 surged throughout 2020. In addition, El Paso County received an allocation of $125,704,768 of Federal Funds from the CARES Act Relief Fund. All but $9.9 million of the Federal Funds were spent in 2020. The chart below shows how the CARES funding was distributed in 2020.
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2021 BUDGET The overall 2021 El Paso County budget totals $406.6 million, a 2.5% increase over 2020, and addresses over $15.3 million of our critical needs funded primarily with 2020 operational savings. The 2021 budget includes investing $3.9 million for I-25 Gap project and high impact road infrastructure, a 2.0% allocation to human capital which provided $2.75 million to be allocated to all departments and offices, $3.1 million for critical facility and capital needs, $1.9 million for public works and fleet capital needs and $3.6 million for various department operational and staffing needs. In 2021 we are anticipating total revenue of $400 million. Fortunately, our revenues did not decrease in 2020 as much as anticipated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While overall revenue is projected to increase in the 2021 budget, TABOR limitations continue to provide a challenge to the ability to address future critical needs, projects, and infrastructure to keep pace with the County’s steady growth. We do anticipate future TABOR refunds. In the 2021 budget, the County is refunding an overage over the 2019 TABOR limit of $3.1 million. This will be done through a temporary mill levy credit of 0.393 mills, which will be paid from the General Fund. In addition, due to the limitations of TABOR, the total County mill levy of 8.085 mills, certified and payable in 2021, also includes a temporary mill levy reduction of 0.141. This will put a damper on the amount of property tax collected by the County for 2021, which is already the lowest of the ten largest Colorado counties. PAGE 16
2021 BUDGET | GENERAL
PUBLIC SAFETY......................................................... $76.3 MILLION PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT................................... $2.7 MILLION HUMAN RESOURCES & RISK MANAGMENT............ $2.0 MILLION FINANCIAL SERVICES................................................. $1.5 MILLION TREASURER................................................................. $1.4 MILLION COUNTY ATTORNEY................................................... $1.4 MILLION EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.................................... $0.6 MILLION PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE................................. $0.3 MILLION ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT...................................... $0.3 MILLION
2021 BUDGET | ADMINISTRATION IT................................................................................ $14.3 MILLION GENERAL FUND FLEET/ENGINEERING................... $11.5 MILLION RETIREMENT............................................................... $9.6 MILLION FACILITIES................................................................... $9.2 MILLION CLERK AND RECORDER............................................. $8.8 MILLION BOCC/ADMINISTRATION........................................... $6.5 MILLION COMMUNITY SERVICES............................................. $5.0 MILLION HEALTH DEPT SUPPORT............................................ $4.4 MILLION ASSESSOR.................................................................... $4.1 MILLION UTILITIES..................................................................... $3.0 MILLION
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COUNTY RECOGNITION
El Paso County Department of Human Services Executive Director, Julie Krow, is the 2020 winner of the Colorado Human Services Directors Association Director of the Year award. Under her leadership, El Paso County excels across the data measures used by the state of Colorado to monitor and guide human services departments. She has fostered community partnerships, in addition to her work with her peers across Colorado.
Recognizing a need in southern El Paso County, DHS partnered with Peak Vista to open a satellite office on Jetwing Drive.
The El Paso County Department of Human Services received a 2020 C-Stat Distinguished Performance award.
Given the fact El Paso County is twice the size in land area as the state of Rhode Island, having another office gives residents access to lifeimproving services without the barriers of distance or technology.
This award is about more than just metrics; it’s about the people we serve and those who serve them with compassion. El Paso County prides itself on fulfilling our two most important obligations to citizens: protecting our region’s most vulnerable and providing efficient, costeffective services.
EL PASO COUNTY IS PROUD TO BE A RECOGNIZED LEADER IN COLLABORATION AND CITIZEN STEWARDSHIP. PAGE 18
DOING WHAT’S RIGHT
TOP TEN SERVICES PROVIDED BY EL PASO COUNTY THAT NO OTHER ENTITY PROVIDES TO THE REGION. PAGE 19
CONNECT WITH
YOUR EL PASO W WW. E L PA S O CO.CO M
COUNTY ADMINISTRATION................................................... 719.520.7276 COUNTY ATTORNEY................................................................ 7 19.520.6485 COMMUNITY SERVICES.......................................................... 7 19.520.7879 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT................................................... 719.520.6484 FINANCIAL SERVICES. . ............................................................ 719.520.6400 HUMAN RESOURCES. . ............................................................. 7 19.520.7486 HUMAN SERVICES................................................................... 7 19.636.0000 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY............................................... 7 19.520.6355 PLANNING & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT....................... 7 19.520.6300 PUBLIC INFORMATION........................................................... 7 19.520.6540 PUBLIC WORKS........................................................................ 719.520.6460