Budget Documents

The 2024 General Fund Budget is due by January 31, 2024.  

The person preparing the documents should send ALL board members a 'draft' of the budget by October 15th. 

2024 Budget Documents (click below or also listed at the end):

• General Fund Budget

• Instructions

• Attachments

General Fund Budget

There are three 2024 General Fund Budget documents available above.  See the detailed Budget Calendar below.

NOTE: The Budget must be submitted to the Division of Local Government (through the e-file system). 

Please note that January 31st is DOLA's budget deadline—that is a firm deadline. **Remember: strict deadlines will be vital to Direct Assistance allocations!

The elected treasurer of the Board of Supervisors is responsible for the preparation of the budget. A Conservation District employee may assist him/her. The treasurer will then be able to present the proposed budget to the Board of Supervisors for their review and approval. Instructions for completing the budget are available above & will be helpful in guiding you through the process. DOLA Local Government and Colorado State Conservation Board staff are also available to assist Conservation Districts with their budgets and to answer any questions.

The General Fund Budget must be available for public review before the Board of Supervisors approves. If the budget (total expenditures) is less than $50,000, the Conservation District may post a notice in three locations within the Conservation District stating that the budget is available for review on a designated date and location. If the budget is over $50,000, the Conservation District must place a legal notice in the newspaper of general circulation in the Conservation District one time prior to the budget review meeting. This review may take place at one of the monthly meetings of the Board of Supervisors.

If your Conservation District has not held an election to de-tabor your budget, the amount the Conservation District can increase budget is based on two factors. The first one is the inflation factor for local government budgets (from the Office of State Planning and Budget 2022 Forecast- September ’23) is 5.0%. More information on the inflation factor is available at the following link: https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dola/inflation-denver-aurora-lakewood-consumer-price-index )

The second is the growth factor, which is calculated by the county assessor for each taxing entity. This figure will not be available for your Conservation District if the Conservation District is not on the assessor's tax rolls and/or computer. You may be able to get a general figure for the entire county, which you can use. The inflation factor and growth factor are combined and multiplied by the total expenditures for 2022 to determine the spending limit for 2023.

The person preparing the documents should send ALL board members a 'draft' of the budget by October 15th. 

The board should approve the final budget documents (and vote on them) by December 31st. 

January 31st is the deadline by which the Budget (and attachments) MUST be submitted to DOLA.

If the budget is greater than $50,000, the Conservation District must publish a notice in a local newspaper ONE time before the final meeting to vote on approval.

If the budget is less than $50,000, the Conservation District must post a notice in THREE (3) public places within its boundaries before the final meeting to vote on approval.

(C.R.S.29-1-106) 

Please use the Letter of Budget Transmittal, available as part of the budget attachments, when uploading the Budget forms to the Division of Local Government, as it includes the mandatory certification signature of a Conservation District official.

Amending the Budget

Click the URL below to be taken directly to DOLA's local government budget page, which has information and instructions on how and when to amend the Budget.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/10qedKpHp-5xbkzSYFjNPA3O15XdEycsF/view