Government
Local governments provide vital resources to the community. Studying the government is vital in developing communities that are healthy, safe and engaged. Explore this page to learn about the government in the Pikes Peak region.
Report Summary:
Government
Local governments provide vital services to develop communities that are healthy, safe, and vibrant. The Colorado Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is comprised of El Paso and Teller counties.
Key Indicators
The Colorado Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is comprised of El Paso and Teller counties. In Colorado, counties are not independent governmental units but political subdivisions of state government that are authorized to carry out the will of the state. El Paso and Teller counties possess only such powers as are conferred by the state.
El Paso County is the most populous in the state. Colorado counties may have a three or five-member board of commissioners. El Paso County voters chose in 1976 to have a five-member board, with each commissioner representing a district of equal population; district boundaries are adjusted by the board every two years. The most recent adjustment was made in 2023. The board meets weekly on Tuesdays at 9 a.m. at Centennial Hall, 200 S. Cascade Ave., Suite 100, in Colorado Springs.
1 El Paso County
Teller County was created from portions of El Paso and Fremont counties in 1899, at the end of a decade when the gold boom saw the population of the Cripple Creek mining district grow from a few dozen people to more than 50,000. Cripple Creek is the county seat, while Woodland Park is its largest city. Teller County has three commissioners who are elected at large from the members of three geographic districts. They serve up to two four-year terms. Meetings are normally held on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month at the Centennial Building, 112 North A St. in Cripple Creek.2
More than half of the metropolitan area residents live the city of Colorado Springs. Since 2011 the city government has used a mayor-council system. The mayor serves as the chief executive for the city’s government and the city council is the legislative branch. The mayor is not a member of the city council but may participate in city council meetings. The Colorado Springs City Council is made up of nine officials who are elected for four-year terms. Citywide residents elect three council members at-large. Citizens in each of six equally-populated precincts elect an additional council member to represent them.3
This report examines key measures for monitoring local government effectiveness, including voter participation, budget integrity, credit rating, debt load, and tax burden.
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Voter Registration & Participation
An engaged and vibrant community is characterized by a high rate of participation in the democratic process. Voting is a fundamental way to become involved with this process. Combined, El Paso and Teller counties have nearly half a million registered voters.
4 El Paso County Clerk & Recorder, Teller County Clerk & Recorder, U.S. Census Bureau
Between El Paso and Teller Counties, 62.0% of registered voters took part in the 2022 general election. This ranked 3rd among 6 peer communities.
11 Colorado Secretary of State, El Paso County Clerk & Recorder, Idaho Secretary of State, New Mexico Secretary of State, Texas Secretary of State
Budgeting Ratio
As governments collect and spend money on behalf of the public, they must do so responsibly. They should not dramatically overspend, such that the public debt increases, nor should they dramatically underspend, such that public monies are withheld from being spent for the public good.
How well governments achieve this balance is described by the budgeting ratio, which is calculated by dividing the general fund expenditures by general fund revenues. The closer to 100%, the better the balance.
Budgeting ratios were calculated over several years for both Colorado Springs counties as well as three cities in the region, using data from their comprehensive annual financial reports.
12 El Paso County Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports, Teller County Financial Statements
13 City Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports
Budgeting ratios were also calculated for 2023 for the largest county in each peer community. All counties’ revenue exceeded expenses by at least 6%.
21 County Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports
Debt Per Capita
City and county governments, school districts, fire districts, utilities, and other public entities commonly take on long-term debt. This allows the construction cost of buildings and other infrastructure to be paid back over time by those who use or are served by the facilities. Due to jurisdictions overlapping, many cities and counties publish statements of “direct and overlapping debt” to report the share of public debt borne by residents.
In Colorado Springs MSA, three cities provide this calculation in their comprehensive annual financial report. In the city of Colorado Springs, per capita local debt is slightly greater than the most recent available state average of $8,143 (2021). In Fountain and Woodland Park, per capita debt is well below the state average.22
23 City of Colorado Springs Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports, Colorado State Demography Office
24 City of Fountain Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports, U.S. Census Bureau, City Planning Department
25 City of Woodland Park Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports, U.S. Census Bureau, Colorado State Demography Office
A weighted average of those cities, which comprise 69% of the metro population, is used in the following peer comparison chart as an estimate for Colorado Springs MSA. For peer communities, the largest available cities or counties that cited overlapping debt calculations are used. In 2023, Colorado Springs ranked 5th of 6 communities for lowest local government debt. However, if area residents living outside municipal boundaries had been included, total per-capita debt would likely have been lower.
32 2020 City and county Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports, U.S. Census Bureau
Counties with a higher per-capita gross product can sustain a higher level of per-capita debt. As a percentage of per-capita gross product, Colorado Springs MSA’s local government debt in 2023 was 13.0%, which ranked 6th of 6 peer communities.
Credit Rating
As with individuals and companies, the creditworthiness of local governments impacts the rate at which they can borrow, whether by commercial loans or bond issues. Three credit bureaus—Moody’s Investors Service, S&P Global (formerly Standard & Poor’s), and Fitch Ratings— assign ratings to various bond issues and sometimes assign a long-term credit rating to the issuer itself. In 2011, Moody’s upgraded the City of Colorado Springs’ rating from Aa3 to Aa2, a rating that was affirmed in November 2022. El Paso County was issued a rating of Aa1 in 2010, which was affirmed most recently in November 2022. The following table explains the investment-grade Moody’s ratings tiers and how local governments compares to peers.
State & Local Tax Burden
Data on the effective rate of state and local taxes is primarily available at the state level. Tax Foundation’s calculations are favored because they account for “tax exporting,” which adjusts for the portion of taxes—20% nationally—that is paid by out-of-state residents.46 This includes sales tax paid by tourists, property tax on vacation homes, and severance tax on oil and mineral extraction.47
In 2024, Colorado residents are projected to pay $6,387 per capita in state and local taxes. As a percentage of economic output, the Colorado state-and-local tax burden was 9.7% in fiscal 2022, which was less than the U.S. average of 10.3% and ranked as the 17th lowest of 50 states.48
49 Tax Foundation
Compared to the nation as a whole, Colorado and all but one of the peer-community states have a lower-than-average tax burden. Colorado ranks 27th nationally for overall tax climate—7th for corporate tax, 13th for individual income tax, 38th for property tax and 40th for sales tax.53
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