
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.
Government Summary
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.
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. 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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- 82.4% of adults in the Colorado Springs MSA were registered to vote in 2020.
- 69.2% of adults in the Colorado Springs MSA voted in the 2020 general election (turnout rate of 84.0% of those registered to vote).
- El Paso County total general fund expenditures per capita were $492 in 2020 and Teller County’s were $736.
- In 2020, Colorado Springs ranked 2nd of 6 communities for lowest local government debt.
- Since 2015 El Paso County has had a credit rating of Aa1 – Obligations are of high quality and subject to very low credit risk.
- In 2022, Colorado residents are estimated to pay $6,699 per capita in state and local taxes.
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 board meets weekly on Tuesdays at 9 a.m. at Centennial Hall, 200 S. Cascade 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.2
More than half of the metropolitan area residents live in 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 quadrants 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.
Click on an indicator to learn more about it! Be sure to use the interactive graphs for the full experience.
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, 84.0% of registered voters took part in the 2020 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 2020 for the largest county in each peer community. Due to COVID-19, many governments scaled back non-essential services, which lowered spending and reduced budgeting ratios to lower than 100%. El Paso and Teller counties’ ratios were closer to balanced (100%) than all but one peer community.
21 County Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports
El Paso County total general fund expenditures per capita were $492 in 2020 and Teller County’s were $736.22
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. Per capita local debt in each community is less than 35% of the most recent available national average of $6,058 (2019).
23 City of Colorado Springs Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports, U.S. Census Bureau
24 City of Fountain Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports, U.S. Census Bureau
25 City of Woodland Park Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports, U.S. Census Bureau
26 City Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports, U.S. Census Bureau
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 are used. In 2020, Colorado Springs ranked 2nd of 6 communities for lowest local government debt.
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’ local government debt in 2020 was 3.9%, which also ranked 2nd 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 assigned the City of Colorado Springs a rating of Aa2. Since 2015 El Paso County has had a rating of Aa1. The following table explains the investment-grade Moody’s ratings tiers and how local governments compares to peers.

39 Moody’s Investor Service
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.40 This includes sales tax paid by tourists, property tax on vacation homes, and severance tax on oil and mineral extraction.41
In 2022, Colorado residents are projected to pay $6,699 per capita in state and local taxes. As a percentage of economic output, the Colorado state-and-local tax burden is 9.7%, which is less than the U.S. average of 11.2% and ranks as the 19th lowest of 50 states.42
43 Tax Foundation
46 Tax Foundation
Compared to the nation as a whole, Colorado and each of the peer-community states have a lower-than-average tax burden. Albuquerque and Boise, as the only large metropolitan areas in their respective states, have local tax rates that are very close to the state average. The effective property tax rate of Austin and its suburbs ranges from 0.5% to 1.0% higher than the state average.47
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References
1 El Paso County website, https://bocc.elpasoco.com/#1510677560407-ff8cfff5-69b2; map, https://bocc.elpasoco.com/#1518019269958-b15cd39a-1cb9 accessed May 31, 2022.
2 Teller County website, https://www.co.teller.co.us/tellercountyhistory.aspx, https://www.co.teller.co.us/BOCC/default.aspx, accessed May 31, 2022.
3 City of Colorado Springs website, https://coloradosprings.gov/mayors-office/page/mayor-council-form-government, accessed May 31, 2022.
4 Population age 18+ from U.S. Census Bureau (see note 5); Registered voters from El Paso County Clerk, https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Wlmgm-BhDqHKaL7agNnrj9kNpsB2fchn and https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wa-7fFKxYP6CyvPr8OLHoIlFOBdoArY5/edit#gid=1301826200 (2012-2018); also from Teller County Clerk & Recorder, https://www.co.teller.co.us/cr/Election2020/2020%20General%20Election%20Results.pdf (2020) and https://www.co.teller.co.us/CR/ElectionPastResults.aspx (2012-2018), all accessed May 30, 2022. Colorado state data (https://www.coloradosos.gov/pubs/elections/Results/Archives.html) records slightly fewer registered voters for Colorado Springs year over year (and therefore slightly higher turnout percentages); that data is not used in this report.
5 While not everyone in the U.S. 18+ population is eligible to vote (non-citizens and incarcerated people among them), the adult population provides a proxy that is available and comparable across MSAs. U.S. Census Bureau estimates by county and year from https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/technical-documentation/research/evaluation-estimates/2020-evaluation-estimates/2010s-county-detail.html , accessed May 30, 2022.
6 Population age 18+ from U.S. Census Bureau (see note 5); Registered voters from Idaho Secretary of State, https://canvass.sos.idaho.gov/eng/voter_stats/view/5912/ accessed May 30, 2022.
7 Registered voters from Texas Secretary of State, https://www.sos.texas.gov/elections/historical/nov2020.shtml; accessed May 30, 2022; population age 18+ from U.S. Census Bureau (see note 5).
8 Population age 18+ from U.S. Census Bureau (see note 5); Registered voters from New Mexico Secretary of State, https://electionresults.sos.state.nm.us/Default.aspx?eid=2782, accessed May 30, 2022.
9 Population age 18+ from U.S. Census Bureau (see note 5); Registered voters from Boulder County Clerk, https://election.boco.solutions/CR_WebReporting/VoterReg., accessed May 30, 2022.
10 Population age 18+ from U.S. Census Bureau (see note 5); Larimer County Clerk https://www.larimer.org/clerk/elections/records-data/registration-counts, accessed May 30, 2022.
11 2020 turnout statistics at county level aggregated to produce MSA-level data. Colorado Secretary of State https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/CO/105975/web.276603/#/reporting; El Paso County Clerk & Recorder https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Wlmgm-BhDqHKaL7agNnrj9kNpsB2fchn; https://coloradosprings.gov/accounting/page/annual-comprehensive-financial-report-acfr; Idaho Secretary of State https://canvass.sos.idaho.gov/eng/voter_stats/view/5912/; New Mexico Secretary of State https://electionresults.sos.state.nm.us/Default.aspx?eid=2782; Texas Secretary of State https://results.texas-election.com/county. All sites accessed May 31, 2022.
12 El Paso County, Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports, 2016-2020, p. 41 (2016), 41 (2017), 42 (2018), 42 (2019), 44 (2020), downloaded from https://admin.elpasoco.com/financial-services/budget-finance/comprehensive-annual-financial-reports/, accessed May 31, 2022. Teller County Financial Statements, 2016-2020, p. 8 (all years), downloaded from https://www.co.teller.co.us/Finance/FinancialStatements.aspx, accessed May 31, 2022.
13 City of Colorado Springs, Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports 2016-2020, p. 32 (2016), 31 (2017) 32 (2018), 32 (2019), 34 (2020); from https://coloradosprings.gov/accounting/page/annual-comprehensive-financial-report-acfr; City of Woodland Park, Colorado, Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports, 2016-2020, p. 4 (2016), 18 (2017), 16 (2018), 7 (2019), 7 (2020), from https://city-woodlandpark.org/Archive.aspx; City of Fountain, Colorado, Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports, 2016-2020, p. 5 (2016), 6 (2017), 6 (2018), 5 (2019), 5 (2020), from https://www.fountaincolorado.org/cms/One.aspx?portalId=6004447&pageId=8304434, all accessed May 31, 2022.
14 Boulder County, Colorado, 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, p. 37, https://assets.bouldercounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/comprehensive-annual-financial-report-2020.pdf, accessed May 31, 2022. https://bouldercolorado.gov/media/5735/download?inline, p. 43
15 El Paso County, Comprehensive Annual Financial Report 2020, p. 44, https://assets-admin.elpasoco.com/wp-content/uploads/CAFR/2020-Comprehensive-Annual-Financial-Report.pdf.
16 Teller County, Colorado, Financial Statements for the Year Ending Dec. 31, 2020, p. 8, https://www.co.teller.co.us/finance/2020Financial_Stmt/TellerFinStmt2020YrEnd.pdf, accessed May 31, 2022.
17 Travis County, Texas, Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, year ending Sept. 30, 2020, p. BFS 12, https://financialtransparency.traviscountytx.gov/Content/Docs/FinancialDocuments/fy2020-acfr.pdf, accessed May 31, 2022.
18 Ada County Idaho, Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, year ending Sept. 30, 2020, p. 31, https://adacounty.id.gov/clerk/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/02/2020-Ada-County-CAFR1.pdf, accessed May 31, 2022.
19 Bernalillo County, NM, Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, year ending June 30, 2020, p. 46. From link at https://www.bernco.gov/oeo-sandbox/county-accounting-budget/comprehensive-annual-financial-reports-cafr/, accessed May 31, 2022.
20 Larimer County, Colorado, Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, 2020, p. 26, https://www.larimer.org/sites/default/files/uploads/2021/2020-cafr.pdf/, accessed May 31, 2022.
21 County Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports. See detail in notes 14-20.
22 El Paso County 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, https://assets-admin.elpasoco.com/wp-content/uploads/CAFR/2020-Comprehensive-Annual-Financial-Report.pdf, p. 44, 164. Teller County Financial Statements for the Year Ending Dec. 31, 2020, https://www.co.teller.co.us/finance/2020Financial_Stmt/TellerFinStmt2020YrEnd.pdf, p. 8. Population U.S. Census Bureau 2020 Vintage, https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/technical-documentation/research/evaluation-estimates/2020-evaluation-estimates/2010s-counties-total.html
23 City of Colorado Springs Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports, 2016-2020, pp. 287 (2020), 277 (2019), 275 (2018), 259 (2017), 268 (2016). Downloaded from https://coloradosprings.gov/accounting/page/annual-comprehensive-financial-report-acfr?mlid=9721, accessed May 30, 2022. Population estimates from U.S. Census Bureau 2020 Vintage, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2010-2020/cities/SUB-EST2020_8.csv, accessed May 30, 2022.
24 City of Fountain, Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports, 2016-2020, pp. 92 (2020), 88 (2019), 91 (2018), 90 (2017), 86 (2016). Downloaded from https://www.fountaincolorado.org/cms/one.aspx?pageId=8299166 (2020) and https://www.fountaincolorado.org/cms/One.aspx?portalId=6004447&pageId=8304434 (2016-2019), accessed May 30, 2022. Population estimates from U.S. Census Bureau 2020 Vintage, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2010-2020/cities/SUB-EST2020_8.csv, accessed May 30, 2022.
25 City of Woodland Park Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports, 2016-2020, pp. 61 (2020), 61 (2019), 71 (2018), 73 (2017), 62 (2016). Downloaded from https://city-woodlandpark.org/Archive.aspx, accessed May 30, 2022. Population estimates from U.S. Census Bureau 2020 Vintage, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2010-2020/cities/SUB-EST2020_8.csv, accessed May 30, 2022.
26 City Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports; population estimates from U.S. Census Bureau 2020 Vintage (see notes 23-25).
27 Ada County (ID) 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports for: Ada County (ID), p. 120, https://adacounty.id.gov/clerk/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/02/2020-Ada-County-CAFR1.pdf; Canyon County (ID) 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, p. 109, https://www.canyonco.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Canyon.2020.CAFR_.pdf;. Population estimates from U.S. Census Bureau 2020 Vintage, https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/technical-documentation/research/evaluation-estimates/2020-evaluation-estimates/2010s-counties-total.html.
28 City of Colorado Springs 2020 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, p. 287, https://coloradosprings.gov/sites/default/files/inline-images/2020_acfr_co_springs_0.pdf;. City of Fountain 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, p. 92, from https://www.fountaincolorado.org/cms/one.aspx?pageId=8299166;. City of Woodland Park (CO) Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, p. 61, https://city-woodlandpark.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/205;. Population estimates from U.S. Census Bureau 2020 Vintage, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2010-2020/cities/SUB-EST2020_8.csv, accessed May 30, 2022. All accessed May 30, 2022.
29 Bernalillo County (NM) 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, p. 194, from https://www.bernco.gov/oeo-sandbox/county-accounting-budget/comprehensive-annual-financial-reports-cafr/; Population estimates from U.S. Census Bureau 2020 Vintage, https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/technical-documentation/research/evaluation-estimates/2020-evaluation-estimates/2010s-counties-total.html. All accessed May 30, 2022.
30 City of Fort Collins Comprehensive Annual Financial Report 2020, p. 192, https://www.fcgov.com/finance/files/cafr-2020.pdf; City of Loveland (CO) Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, p. 139, https://www.lovgov.org/home/showpublisheddocument/55266/637594288395030000; . Population estimates from U.S. Census Bureau 2020 Vintage, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2010-2020/cities/SUB-EST2020_8.csv, accessed May 30, 2022. All accessed May 30, 2022.
31 Travis County (TX) Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for FY Ended Sept. 30, 2020, p. ST-41, https://financialtransparency.traviscountytx.gov/Content/Docs/FinancialDocuments/fy2020-acfr.pdf; Williamson County (TX) Comprehensive Annual Financial Report FY 2020, p. 155; from https://wilco.mygovcenter.com/cms/cms?id=82, all accessed May 30, 2022. Population estimates from U.S. Census Bureau 2020 Vintage, https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/technical-documentation/research/evaluation-estimates/2020-evaluation-estimates/2010s-counties-total.html. All accessed May 30, 2022.
32 County and City Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports, U.S. Census Bureau. See detail in notes 27-31.
33 Moody’s Investors Service, Rating Symbols and Definitions, March 2022, p. 6, https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_79004, accessed May 29, 2022.
34 Moody’s Investors Service, https://www.moodys.com/credit-ratings/Fort-Collins-City-of-CO-credit-rating-600001929/reports, accessed May 29, 2022. Registration required.
35 Moody’s Investors Service, https://www.moodys.com/credit-ratings/Larimer-County-of-CO-credit-rating-600028252/reports, accessed May 29, 2022. Registration required.
36 Moody’s Investors Service, https://www.moodys.com/credit-ratings/El-Paso-County-of-CO-credit-rating-600007780/reports, accessed May 29, 2022. Registration required.
37 Moody’s Investors Service, https://www.moodys.com/credit-ratings/Austin-City-of-TX-credit-rating-600026395/reports, accessed May 29, 2022. Registration required.
38 Moody’s Investors Service, https://www.moodys.com/credit-ratings/Boise-City-of-ID-credit-rating- 600028045/reports, accessed May 29, 2022. Registration required.
39 Moody’s Investors Service (See detail in notes 33-39.)
40 Tax Foundation, a non-profit tax policy think tank, defines tax burden as state and local taxes paid by a state’s residents, divided by that state’s share of net national product. https://taxfoundation.org/publications/state-local-tax-burden-rankings/, accessed May 28, 2022. Tourism gives Coloradans a favorable tax-export balance compared to other states.
41 For information on Colorado severance taxes, see the state auditor’s report: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/audits/1928p_severance_taxes.pdf., accessed May 28, 2022.
42 York, Erica, and Jared Walczak, State and Local Tax Burdens, Calendar Year 2022, Tax Foundation, p. 9. https://files.taxfoundation.org/20220407173521/State-and-Local-Tax-Burdens-2022..pdf. For additional detail about Colorado rates and collections, see https://taxfoundation.org/state/colorado; both sites accessed May 28, 2022. An alternate sources that focuses on amounts collected by states and local jurisdictions without accounting for tax exporting include is WalletHub (Colorado 8.52%, ranking 27th nationally) per https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-highest-lowest-tax-burden/20494, accessed May 28, 2022.
43 York, Erica, and Jared Walczak, State and Local Tax Burdens, Calendar Year 2022, Tax Foundation, Table 3, p. 11. https://files.taxfoundation.org/20220407173521/State-and-Local-Tax-Burdens-2022..pdf, accessed May 28, 2022.
44 In 2020, Colorado Springs MSA per capita gross product ($52,404) was 79.55% of the statewide per capita gross product ($65,875). Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2020 Vintage data tables CAGDP2 and SAGDP2N for gross product (https://apps.bea.gov/itable/iTable.cfm?ReqID=70&step=1); U.S. Census Bureau 2020 Vintage mid-year estimates for population (MSA: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/technical-documentation/research/evaluation-estimates/2020-evaluation-estimates/2010s-totals-metro-and-micro-statistical-areas.html; State https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/tables/2010-2020/national/totals/NST-EST2020.xlsx). All accessed May 29, 2022.
45 El Paso County’s property tax rate is 0.72% per https://treasurer.elpasoco.com/county-treasurer/property-tax-statement-explanation/#1522106650600-9ffc5b6c-7c83, but due to senior exemptions and other issues, the effective rate is estimated at 0.47% per http://www.tax-rates.org/colorado/el_paso_county_property_tax, which is less than the state average of 0.54% per https://taxfoundation.org/state/colorado. All links accessed May 28, 2022.
46 York, Erica, and Jared Walczak, State and Local Tax Burdens, Calendar Year 2022, Tax Foundation, Table 3, p. 11. https://files.taxfoundation.org/20220407173521/State-and-Local-Tax-Burdens-2022..pdf, accessed May 28, 2022.
47 Tax Foundation state data queried from https://taxfoundation.org/center/state-tax-policy/, accessed May 28, 2022.
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