Sheriff in Colorado mountain county goes public over budget disagreement with commissioners

Mounting pressure between Summit County Board of County Commissioners and Sheriff Jaime FitzSimons has erupted over the 2026 county budget. This is regarding a disagreement over how much money the sheriff's office should receive.

Commissioners have reported the county is facing a $5.2 million funding gap heading into 2026. They point to the loss of tax revenue from Keystone's incorporation, new state limits on property tax growth, and the rising cost of nearly everything from health care to road paving. Commissioner Eric Mamula said the board had a responsibility to balance the books and treat all departments fairly.

"If we had unlimited funds, this would probably be a different conversation," Mamula said. "But we don't."

Mamula said the request for cuts isn't about politics; it is about math. He said he has concerns about using county reserves in order to cover payroll costs or department overruns, which would need to happen if cuts aren't made. He said they were set aside for emergencies that such as wildfires or if federal food programs were suddenly cut off (in reference to a loss of SNAP benefits).

The sheriff sees things differently. FitzSimons said the proposed cuts to his office would be detrimental to the community and could wipe out programs that had become cornerstones of local public safety. That included the county's mental health co-responder team, pretrial services and school resource officers. He said losing those programs would roll back years of progress and leave the community less stable, let alone make staffing a serious issue.  

"Retention would suffer, so would recruitment," FitzSimons said. 

FitzSimons also warned that eliminating things like his department's "STEP" pay plan (which provides structured 5% to 7% raises for certain law enforcement positions for their first five years) could drive deputies to leave for neighboring departments that would still offer similar pay structures. In a county already struggling with high housing and child care costs, he said that kind of loss could be devastating. 

"It would be like a meteorite hitting Summit County," FitzSimons said. "You wake up the next day, and you go, 'What happened?' Then it's too late. I mean, we can't call back the people that we've let go."

The sheriff's frustration wasn't limited to the 2026 budget numbers. FitzSimons has already filed two lawsuits against the county over budget issues -- one that was dropped and another still active. He said he is willing to take legal action again if he has to.

Mamula said the county is disappointed by the sheriff's decision to air the dispute on social media. He insisted the current budget asks are fair, and the sheriff's office had already seen far more growth than other departments in recent years, about 85% since 2021, largely due to higher staffing and pay.

Mamula said the county had to look at the big picture to solve the issue, not just one department. Property tax revenue (the largest source of revenue for the county) didn't cover what the sheriff was asking for, and the county still had to fund roads, housing and human services programs that were feeling their own financial pressure, Mamula says. 

The 2026 budget remained in draft form but is required to be submitted and finalized by mid-December.