Administration

C.R.S. tit. 30, art. 25
in effect

C.R.S. § 30-25-101 Budgeting - appropriations - fiscal procedures

30-25-101. Budgeting - appropriations - fiscal procedures. The provisions of part 1 of article 1 of title 29, C.R.S., shall govern budgeting, appropriations, and fiscal procedures of each county in this state.

C.R.S. § 30-25-102 County expenditures limited

30-25-102. County expenditures limited. (Repealed)

C.R.S. § 30-25-103 No liability against county beyond appropriation

30-25-103. No liability against county beyond appropriation. No contract shall be made by the board of county commissioners of any county, and no liability against the county shall be created by any officer of the county, whether the object of the expenditure has been ordered by the board of county commissioners or not, unless an appropriation shall have been previously made concerning such expense. Each member of the board of county commissioners and other officers of the county who undertake to create any liability against the county, except such as they are by statute required to do, shall be personally liable and, together with the sureties upon their official bonds, shall be held for such indebtedness.

C.R.S. § 30-25-104 Judgment against a county, how paid - tax levy

30-25-104. Judgment against a county, how paid - tax levy. (1) When a judgment is given and rendered against a county of this state in the name of its board of county commissioners or against any county officer in an action prosecuted by or against him in his official capacity or name of office, when the judgment is for money and is a lawful county charge, no execution shall issue thereon, but the same may be paid by the levy of a tax upon the taxable property of said county. When the tax is collected by the county treasurer, it shall be paid over, as fast as collected by him, to the judgment creditor, or his assigns, upon the execution and delivery of proper vouchers therefor; but nothing in this section shall operate to prevent the board of county commissioners from paying any such judgment by a warrant drawn by them upon the ordinary county fund in the county treasury. The power conferred to pay such judgment by a special levy of such tax shall be held to be in addition to the taxing power given and granted to such board to levy taxes for other county purposes. The board of county commissioners shall levy under this law such taxes as shall be sufficient to discharge such judgment in the next fiscal year; but in no event shall such annual levy exceed a total of ten mills for one or more judgments exclusive of mill levies for other county purposes. The board of county commissioners shall continue to levy such taxes, not to exceed a total of ten mills annually, exclusive of mill levies for other county purposes, but in no event less than ten mills if such judgment will not be discharged by a lesser levy until such judgment is discharged. (2) Any and all taxes levied to pay the last payment upon or to pay any such judgment shall be valid, whether the sum sought to be raised thereby exceeds the sum due on such judgment, principal and interest or not; but such excess of the sum required shall not exceed a sum equal to ten percent of such required sum, and no sale of real estate made to make such taxes shall be invalid by reason of such excess, if the same is within the above specified limit. All levies to pay judgments shall be made as near as possible to raise a sum equal to that due on the judgment, for which payment the tax is levied; but, nevertheless, any excess levied, if such does not exceed the said ten percent of the sum due and desired to be paid, shall not invalidate any tax levy upon or tax sale of real or personal estate made to raise, make, or collect the said sum due and excess.

C.R.S. § 30-25-105 County general fund

30-25-105. County general fund. A fund to be known as the county general fund is hereby created and established in each of the counties of the state of Colorado. The county general fund shall consist of all county revenue except that specifically allocated by law for other purposes.

C.R.S. § 30-25-106 Fund - purposes

30-25-106. Fund - purposes. (1) The board of county commissioners is authorized to appropriate money from the county general fund for all ordinary county expenses, including the administrative expenditures of elective and appointive offices, library, agricultural extension service, fire protection, fairs, advertising, airports, health, rodent control, water conservation, weed control, pest control, predatory animal control, and all other general county purposes authorized by law, except expenditures for public welfare, roads and bridges, debt service, public hospitals, public works, contingencies, and purposes voted by the electors. (2) The board of county commissioners is authorized to appropriate money from the general fund derived from federal payment in lieu of taxes to public school districts containing lands from which the payment is derived. (3) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, the board of county commissioners is authorized to transfer money from the county general fund to the county road and bridge fund created in section 43-2-202 if the governor declares, by executive order or proclamation, a disaster emergency in the applicable county pursuant to section 24-33.5-704 (4). The board of county commissioners is authorized to make the transfers until eight years after the date of the governor's declaration of an emergency in the county. The eight years begins the day after the date of the governor's final declaration of an emergency for the disaster, including all extensions to the declaration. Any county general fund money transferred into the county road and bridge fund must be used for the purposes of disaster response and recovery in a manner consistent with the permissible uses of money in the county road and bridge fund.

C.R.S. § 30-25-106.5 Infrastructure loans to governmental entities within a county - authorization - limitations

30-25-106.5. Infrastructure loans to governmental entities within a county - authorization - limitations. (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the board of county commissioners of a county, in consultation with the county treasurer, is authorized to make loans to any governmental entity that is created by or located within the county and that undertakes infrastructure projects within the county. The board of county commissioners shall analyze or cause to be analyzed any such loan using the underwriting standards adopted pursuant to subsection (3) of this section before making the loan, and any such loan is also subject to the following requirements: (a) The source of the loan must be legally available money that is not otherwise encumbered or obligated, and the amount loaned must not cause the total outstanding principal balance of all loans made pursuant to this subsection (1) to exceed eight percent of the amount of such money available at the time the loan is made; (b) The loan must have a specified repayment term, and the loan recipient shall agree to pay the county interest on the loan at an initial rate that is equal to or greater than the rate of return earned on all county financial investments for the twelve months preceding the date on which the loan is made; (c) The loan recipient shall use loan proceeds for the sole purpose of funding public infrastructure projects, including but not limited to the construction, operation, maintenance, or repair of transportation and recreational infrastructure; and (d) The board of county commissioners shall make the loan by entering into an intergovernmental agreement with the loan recipient that establishes the terms and conditions of the loan. Before entering into such an intergovernmental agreement: (I) The board of county commissioners shall approve the public infrastructure project to be funded by the loan and the terms and conditions of the loan at a meeting of the board held in accordance with the open meeting requirements of part 4 of article 6 of title 24; and (II) The board of county commissioners or the loan recipient shall pursue private sector options, including but not limited to financial institutions doing business within the county, for funding the public infrastructure project to be funded by the loan and report regarding the options pursued at the board meeting held pursuant to subsection (1)(d)(I) of this section. (2) Because it is required to be repaid, a loan made pursuant to subsection (1) of this section is not an expenditure to which the limitations on expenditures from the county general fund set forth in section 30-25-106 (1) apply. (3) Before making loans as authorized by subsection (1) of this section, the board of county commissioners shall adopt underwriting standards. The underwriting standards must require, at a minimum, that each proposed loan be analyzed with respect to the risks of the loan, market rates, and loan terms.

C.R.S. § 30-25-107 Contingent fund

30-25-107. Contingent fund. The board of county commissioners is authorized to establish a contingent fund to provide for expenditures caused by an act of God, or the public enemy, or some contingency that could not have been reasonably foreseen at the time of adoption of the budget, to redeem outstanding warrants lawfully issued, and shall fix rates of levy annually for such fund.

C.R.S. § 30-25-108 Board to examine county orders

30-25-108. Board to examine county orders. The board of county commissioners, at its January and July sessions of each year, or oftener if necessary, shall carefully examine the county orders returned by the county treasurer by comparing each order with the record of orders in the clerk's office. It shall cause to be entered on said record, opposite to the entry of each order issued, the date when the same was canceled.

C.R.S. § 30-25-109 Allowance of accounts

30-25-109. Allowance of accounts. No account shall be allowed by the board of county commissioners unless the same is made out in separate items, and the nature of each item stated, and where no specified fees are allowed by law the time actually and necessarily devoted to the performance of any service charged in such account shall be specified. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent any such board from disallowing any account, in whole or in part, when so rendered nor from requiring any other or further evidence of the truth and propriety thereof as it may think proper.

C.R.S. § 30-25-110 Claims presented to board - when - how paid

30-25-110. Claims presented to board - when - how paid. (1) Any claim or demand held by any person against a county shall be presented for audit and allowance to the board of county commissioners of the proper county, in due form of law, before an action in any court shall be maintainable thereon, and all claims, when allowed, shall be paid by a county warrant or order, drawn by said board on the county treasury, upon the proper fund in the treasury, for the amount of such claim. It is the duty of the board of county commissioners to ensure that all warrants and orders issued on or after April 2, 1998, are drawn upon the proper fund in the treasury and that there are sufficient moneys in said fund. Such warrant or order shall be signed by the chairperson of the board, permanent or temporary, and attested by the county clerk and recorder, and said warrant or order shall specify the amount and value of the claim or service for which it is issued and be numbered and dated in the order in which it is issued. (2) The general county fund shall be known and designated on the books of the county treasury as the "county general fund", and the general road fund shall be known and carried on the books of said county treasury as the "county road and bridge fund". Such warrants and orders, payable on demand, shall be drawn and issued upon the county treasurer, or against any funds in his hands, only when at the time of drawing and issuing the same there shall be sufficient moneys in the appropriate fund in the treasury to pay such warrants and orders. Whenever there are no moneys in the county treasury of a county to the credit of the proper fund to meet and defray the necessary expenses of the county, it is lawful for the board of county commissioners of such county to provide that county warrants and orders of such county may be drawn and issued against and in anticipation of the collection of taxes already levied for the payment of such expenses to the extent of eighty percent of the total amount of the taxes levied. Warrants and orders so drawn and issued under the provisions of this section shall show upon their faces that they are payable solely from the fund upon which the same are drawn and the taxes levied to form the same when collected and not otherwise. (3) County warrants and orders may be in such form as the board of county commissioners may provide and may be made payable to the order of the payee or to the bearer. The board of county commissioners may direct the treasurer to pay by electronic transfer any written authorization issued by the board for electronic payment of claims against the county. For purposes of this section, "order" means all orders and authorizations issued by the board of county commissioners for the payment of claims against the county. "Order" includes any check issued by the board of county commissioners and any written authorization issued by the board of county commissioners directing the treasurer to make payment of claims against the county by electronic transfer. (4) The person to whom such last-named warrants and orders are allowed and delivered shall be held to have accepted the same in full payment and satisfaction of the claim for which the same were issued; and the obligations of said warrants are limited as stated; and said warrants shall be paid only from the fund drawn upon and the taxes levied, appropriated, collected, or paid into the county treasury to create, constitute, and form said fund. The taxes provided by law therefor shall be credited to said fund until all warrants drawn shall be fully paid, satisfied, and discharged, both principal and interest. Said limited and last-named warrants and orders shall not operate as a debt of said county and shall not be held to add to or increase the debt or indebtedness of said county.

C.R.S. § 30-25-111 Proceedings published - failure - penalty

30-25-111. Proceedings published - failure - penalty. (1) It is the duty of the board of county commissioners of each county to publish in at least one legal newspaper in the county a report of each claim, except salary warrants, and expenditure by it allowed and paid and taxes rebated, disclosing the name of and the amount paid to each individual or firm, a description of the services or material furnished to the county, and, as to other items, the nature of the claim and disclosing the fund charged with each expenditure. Such report shall contain a statement of any contracts for the expenditure of money not paid immediately made by the board of county commissioners, disclosing the nature and purpose of the contract, the parties thereto, and the amounts involved therein. Such reports shall be published at least monthly within thirty days following the end of the period for which made. If no legal newspaper is located in the county, either such reports shall be published in a newspaper of an adjacent county which has general circulation in the county for which the report is made, or the board shall cause such statements to be posted in three conspicuous places in said county, one of which shall be the courthouse door. The county accounting office, if there is one, and otherwise the county clerk and recorder, if he is acting as the accounting agency for the county, shall provide to the board of county commissioners all information necessary for the publication. The published report shall state that it is published under the direction of the board of county commissioners. Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring the board of county commissioners to publish or make public the names of or individual public welfare payments to, or in behalf of, indigent persons receiving assistance from public welfare programs financed, in whole or in part, by federal or state funds, or any combination thereof, when such publication is specifically forbidden by law. (1.5) Salary information for all county employees and officials shall be published twice annually in the manner provided in subsection (1) of this section. The first publication shall be in August and shall include each employee's title and gross monthly salary for the prior June. The second publication shall be in February and shall list each employee by title, along with the total amount of gross salary paid to such employee during the prior calendar year. Each publication of salary information shall be accompanied by the countywide average percentage of salary that is paid in addition to regular wages as fringe benefits, including, but not limited to, insurance, medical care, retirement plans, housing, transportation, or other subsidized employee expenses. (2) It is the duty of the board of county commissioners of each county to publish in some legal newspaper published in the county the semiannual financial statement furnished to the board of county commissioners by the county treasurer which shall include in separate columns the balance at the beginning of the period in each fund kept by the treasurer, the collections to each fund from current taxes, delinquent taxes, miscellaneous collection and transfers, withdrawals from each fund showing cash disbursements, transfers and treasurer's fees, and the balance at the end of the period in each fund. The statement shall be published within sixty days following June thirtieth and December thirty-first each year. If no legal newspaper is located in the county, either such reports shall be published in a newspaper of an adjacent county which has general circulation in the county for which the report is made or the board of county commissioners shall cause such statements to be posted in three conspicuous places in said county, one of which shall be the courthouse door. The county clerk and recorder shall furnish a copy of such proceedings for such publication. such reports shall be published in a newspaper of an adjacent county which has general circulation in the county for which the report is made or the board of county commissioners shall cause such statements to be posted in three conspicuous places in said county, one of which shall be the courthouse door. The county clerk and recorder shall furnish a copy of such proceedings for such publication. (3) Any willful violation of any provision of this section by any county commissioner or by any person acting as clerk or otherwise for the board of county commissioners in connection with such published reports and the statements contained therein is a misdemeanor, and any person convicted of any violation shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars. (4) Failure to publish salary information as provided in subsection (1.5) of this section shall be punishable by a civil penalty of not less than five hundred nor more than one thousand five hundred dollars.

C.R.S. § 30-25-112 Appeal on disallowance of claim

30-25-112. Appeal on disallowance of claim. When any claim of any person against a county is disallowed, in whole or in part, by the board of county commissioners, such person may appeal from the decision of such board to the district court for the same county by causing a written notice of such appeal to be served on the clerk of such board within thirty days after the making of such decision and executing a bond to such county, with sufficient security, to be approved by the clerk of said board, conditioned for the faithful prosecution of such appeal and the payment of all costs that are adjudged against the appellant.

C.R.S. § 30-25-113 Proceedings upon appeal - pleadings

30-25-113. Proceedings upon appeal - pleadings. The clerk of the board, upon such appeal being taken, shall immediately give notice thereof to the chairman of the board of county commissioners, and shall make out a brief return of the proceedings in the case before the board with its decision thereon, and shall file the same, together with the bond and all papers in the case in his possession, with the clerk of the district court. The appeal shall be docketed and tried in a summary manner, and costs shall be awarded as in appeals from county courts to district courts. If the amount involved exceeds the sum of three hundred dollars, the applicant, within ten days after taking such appeal, shall file a complaint as in other cases in the district court, a copy of which shall also be served upon the clerk of the board, and answer shall be made thereto as in other cases. If the county clerk and recorder is an interested party in such claim, the giving of notice shall be made on the chairman of the board of county commissioners, and the bond provided for in section 30-25-112 shall be approved by the chairman of the board of county commissioners.

C.R.S. § 30-25-114 Special taxes not levied - when

30-25-114. Special taxes not levied - when. In all cases where a special district tax is levied against all property in the county, the board of county commissioners is authorized to make an appropriation from the general fund as provided in section 30-25-106, and no special tax shall be levied for such purpose.

C.R.S. § 30-25-201 Tax levy for county fund purposes

30-25-201. Tax levy for county fund purposes. (Repealed)

C.R.S. § 30-25-202 Capital expenditures fund - tax levy - purposes

30-25-202. Capital expenditures fund - tax levy - purposes. (1) For the purpose of providing and accumulating moneys for capital expenditures, the board of county commissioners of each county is authorized to create, by resolution, a capital expenditures fund which shall be used solely for capital expenditures. Moneys from any source may be credited to such fund unless otherwise provided by law; except that no moneys dedicated to the payment of general obligation bonds shall be credited to such fund and except that no moneys restricted to county road and bridge funds pursuant to sections 43-2-202 and 43-2-203, C.R.S., and no moneys required to be expended from such funds pursuant to such sections shall be credited to or expended from a capital expenditures fund. Moneys credited to a capital expenditures fund shall not revert to or be transferred to any other fund. (2) For the purposes of this section, "capital expenditure" means an expenditure made by a county for long-term additions or betterments, which expenditure, under generally accepted accounting principles, is not properly chargeable as an expense of operation and maintenance. The term includes, but is not limited to, expenditures for the acquisition, development, construction, and renovation of capital facilities, capital projects, and capital equipment. (3) In any year, in the course of the preparation and adoption of the county budget pursuant to part 1 of article 1 of title 29, C.R.S., the board of county commissioners may levy a property tax on all taxable real and personal property in the county for the purpose of raising revenue for capital expenditures. Moneys raised from such tax shall be credited to the capital expenditures fund. Nothing in this section shall be construed as preventing the use of any other moneys which are not contained in the capital expenditures fund from being used for capital expenditures. Nothing in this section shall be construed to violate or to exceed the revenue limitation of part 3 of article 1 of title 29, C.R.S. (4) Any county which has any moneys in a public works fund on April 3, 1984, shall establish a capital expenditures fund, shall transfer all moneys in its public works fund to its capital expenditures fund, and shall make appropriations out of such capital expenditures fund to fund projects which otherwise would have been funded from such public works fund.

C.R.S. § 30-25-203 Validation of bonds

30-25-203. Validation of bonds. Any and all negotiable coupon bonds authorized by any county, city, town, or school district in the state of Colorado prior to March 29, 1917, which might be invalid by reason of the debt-limiting or tax-limiting provisions of section 29-1-301, C.R.S., are validated as fully and completely as if said section and the amendments thereof had never been made a part thereof.

C.R.S. § 30-25-204 Levy in excess unlawful

30-25-204. Levy in excess unlawful. Any levy which may be certified to the county assessor in excess of the limitations placed by this part 2 shall be unlawful, and, in any such case, it shall be unlawful for the county assessor of any county within this state to enter upon the tax roll of the county any such excessive levy, and, in case of any such excess in any levy it is the duty of the county assessor to reduce such levy and extend upon the tax roll only such part thereof as will comply with the provisions of this part 2.

C.R.S. § 30-25-205 Levy not limited - when

30-25-205. Levy not limited - when. This part 2 shall in no way limit the amount of any levy necessary to be made for the purpose of paying any bonded indebtedness and interest thereon lawfully incurred, or any judgment against any county, city, town, or school district, or the interest on such judgment, or for special assessments for local improvements, in any county, town, city, or city and county.

C.R.S. § 30-25-206 Violation - penalty

30-25-206. Violation - penalty. Any officer of any taxing district or any county assessor who violates any provision of this part 2 is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars and shall also be liable to removal from office as provided by law.

C.R.S. § 30-25-301 Legislative declaration

30-25-301. Legislative declaration. The general assembly hereby recognizes that withdrawal of lands from county tax rolls for the purpose of wildlife conservation and public recreation may create financial impacts on counties in which such lands are located. The general assembly further recognizes that such withdrawal may necessitate financial support and assistance by the state. It is the intent of the general assembly in enacting this part 3 to provide the means by which the state may provide such necessary assistance through impact assistance grants.

C.R.S. § 30-25-302 Eligibility - determination of impact - procedures - legislative declaration

30-25-302. Eligibility - determination of impact - procedures - legislative declaration. (1) (a) Except as provided in section 33-60-104.5, C.R.S., for real property interests acquired with funds made available from the great outdoors Colorado trust fund, in any county in which the division of parks and wildlife owns property, the board of county commissioners of the county shall certify once a year during the regular tax assessment period, to the parks and wildlife commission, the current dollar amount representing the negative financial impact that the ownership has on the county's finances and the finances of any political subdivision that lies within the county. In calculating the dollar amount, the board of county commissioners shall take into consideration the following factors: (I) The estimated assessment of ad valorem taxes on such land if such land was zoned for agriculture and was privately owned; (II) The cost incurred by the county for services required or provided on such land which would not be required or provided if the land was not owned by said divisions; and (III) The costs incurred by other political subdivisions which provide services on or to such land. (b) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2011, (SB 11-208), ch. 293, p. 1389, § 15, effective July 1, 2011.) (2) The board of county commissioners of any county certifying the current dollar amount pursuant to subsection (1) of this section shall include with such certification an itemized statement of its reasons for determining the amount. (3) The parks and wildlife commission shall review the dollar amounts certified pursuant to subsection (1) of this section and shall certify to the general assembly these dollar amounts. In making its determinations, the parks and wildlife commission shall consider the factors set forth in subsection (1) of this section and may consider any additional relevant factors. All certifications to the general assembly must include an explanation of the grounds upon which the determinations of the certified amounts are based. The parks and wildlife commission shall include an estimate of the amount to be certified for impact assistance grants in their budget requests for each fiscal year. (4) (a) The general assembly may make an appropriation in the form of an impact assistance grant to any county qualifying for such grant upon certification by the parks and wildlife commission of the amount for the grant. Appropriations concerning lands purchased with wildlife cash or other wildlife moneys must be made from the wildlife cash fund. Appropriations concerning lands purchased with general fund or parks and outdoor recreation cash or other parks and outdoor recreation moneys must be made from the general fund or the parks and outdoor recreation cash fund. (b) As soon as possible after receiving an impact assistance grant, the board of county commissioners shall pay to each school district, special district, or other political subdivision located within the county that portion of the impact assistance grant attributable to the amount certified by the county on behalf of the school district, special district, or political subdivision. Prior to making such payment, the total amount of the impact assistance grant shall be reduced by an amount equal to the costs incurred by the treasurer in administering the grants. litical subdivision located within the county that portion of the impact assistance grant attributable to the amount certified by the county on behalf of the school district, special district, or political subdivision. Prior to making such payment, the total amount of the impact assistance grant shall be reduced by an amount equal to the costs incurred by the treasurer in administering the grants. (c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to alter the requirement set forth in section 10 of article XXVII of the state constitution that, for property acquired by a state agency pursuant to article XXVII of the state constitution, payments in lieu of taxes shall be made with moneys made available from the great outdoors Colorado trust fund as provided in section 33-60-104.5, C.R.S. (5) Repealed. (6) The general assembly hereby finds and declares that the acquisition of large amounts of property by the division of parks and wildlife, through the great outdoors Colorado program or otherwise, can have serious financial consequences for the counties and political subdivisions in which the property is located. It is therefore the intent of the general assembly that any plans for acquisition of property by the division of parks and wildlife include provisions for the payment of impact assistance grants pursuant to this section or payments in lieu of taxes pursuant to section 33-60-104.5, C.R.S., whichever is applicable.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-30.docxFetched: 10/6/2026

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