AURORA | At the 2026 State of Arapahoe County, commissioners touted recent investments across community services, housing, public health and safety, while thanking voters for repealing the county’s revenue cap.

The theme of Tuesday’s address centered around the ways the county has made good on its promises to improve the community and the five commissioners presented on a variety of accomplishments from the last year.

“Making good is not just a theme — it is a responsibility,” said Commissioner Leslie Summey. “It means making good on the trust people place in local government, making good on decisions we make on behalf of taxpayers, and making sure the county is delivering in ways people can see, feel and rely on.”

Summey said voters gave the county “breathing room in the budget” when, in 2024, they repealed the revenue cap imposed by the Taxpayers Bill of Rights. She added that the commissioners took that fiscal responsibility very seriously.

To oversee the new funds, the county created a 10-person Measure 1A Resident Advisory Committee. The committee unanimously approved this year’s investments.

The funding helped provide more than $1.5 million to the county’s Aid to Agencies program, which supports nonprofit organizations that provide food access, housing support, transportation, and mental health services.

“That investment matters because it helps us reach residents sooner, closer to home and it’s done through organizations they already know,” Commissioner Rhonda Fields said.

In 2025, the county approved a $571 million budget, with the largest expenditures in public health, public safety, road improvements and open space preservation.

The county made significant investments in public safety last year to improve the Arapahoe County Detention Facility and spent more than $21.5 million to support the 18th Judicial District, which transitioned to cover only Arapahoe County, with Douglas, Lincoln and Elbert separating into a new district. 

“With this new structure [District Attorney Amy] Padden and her office are focused solely on Arapahoe County and can work more directly on local priorities, including diversion, juvenile justice and mental health and competency reform,” Commissioner Jessica Campbell said.

Some of the more than $10 million in road safety and mobility improvements include safety enhancements along Arapahoe Road and infrastructure improvements to Dry Creek Road and Inverness Drive West.

In addition to investments, the county also worked with developers to bring in new affordable housing options, with two projects approved that will add 246 new income-restricted units and preserve 69 more.

A new $4 million fund will also help support affordable housing developments and Summey said the county plans to add $1 million to the fund annually.

In conjunction with housing investments, the county is expanding homelessness services, such as by making permanent the emergency rental assistance program, which helped 591 households last year.

From 2025 to 2026, the county saw a 35% drop in unsheltered homelessness in its annual Point-in-Time count. 

Other accomplishments that commissioners shared touched on water conservation efforts, open space preservation, the creation of a five-year public health plan and launching a new Veterans Coffee Club with the Littleton Elks Lodge. 

Summey and Commissioner Jessica Campbell are both running for re-election in November, and both face Democratic Party primary challenges June 30. 

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