Las Animas County warns state mandates strain rural budgets

Las Animas County commissioners heard a blunt warning on June 9: state mandates and shrinking revenues are pushing more costs onto rural counties just as Colorado reshapes its human-services system. Rep. Ty Winter told the board that the state has leaned too hard on one-time federal dollars and that local governments are being asked to carry state programs without enough money to cover the real cost.

The overhaul is not abstract for county offices. Colorado’s public assistance funding model, created under Senate Bill 22-235, will guide Joint Budget Committee appropriations starting in fiscal 2025-26. The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing says the proposed changes pair shared services, including call-center and document-scanning work, with eligibility districts, while state budget materials say the Office of Economic Security already funds all 64 county human services departments for SNAP administration and some smaller programs, plus help for counties with thin tax bases through County Tax Base Relief.

The money picture in Denver has only sharpened the pressure. The Legislature’s March 2026 forecast said the General Fund outlook was based on current law through fiscal 2027-28, and Colorado Public Radio reported lawmakers were looking at $1.5 billion in cuts to balance the next fiscal year. By June, the forecast had turned again, with revenue expected to fall $424.9 million short of the Referendum C cap, a gap that could bring more consequences for fiscal 2026-27 and 2027-28.

For Las Animas County, that statewide math lands in very local places: keeping roads open across a large geographic footprint, maintaining basic public services, supporting human services and administering justice-system operations. Commissioner Tony Hass said the county is already struggling to keep up, and the concern is that unfunded obligations will force slower service, tighter staffing and delays unless state lawmakers change course.

Winter represents House District 47, which includes Las Animas County and several other southeastern counties, making the warning part of a broader rural bloc that has been sounding the same alarm for months. Similar budget-pressure discussions surfaced in July 2025 and again in February 2026, showing how long the strain has been building.