Pitkin County $186M Airport Plan Leaves Sheriff's Office Unfunded

Gunnison —The wind off the Roaring Fork River carries a chill that cuts through jackets even in late spring, a reminder that the valley’s weather is as unpredictable as its politics. On Tuesday, inside the glass-walled conference rooms of the Pitkin County administration building, that tension was palpable, not just in the air conditioning hum, but in the silence between the commissioners’ questions. The $70.8 million Livable and Supportive Community budget, representing just 12% of the county’s total, became a proxy for much larger anxieties about where public money goes when the biggest ticket item dwarfs everything else.

The dominant force in the 2027 fiscal picture is the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport. With $186 million allocated for modernization — including runway reconstruction and terminal preparations — countywide capital spending is projected to jump 96% from the original 2026 figures. Budget Director Connie Baker emphasized the strategy to “hold steady” across other funds to absorb this massive infrastructure surge. The stakes are high because the airport is slated to close entirely from April 4 through November 19, 2027, a disruption that will ripple through the local economy and daily commutes for months.

Yet, while the airport commands the headlines, the human cost of balancing the books is landing on the shoulders of public safety. Sheriff Michael Buglione stood before the Board of County Commissioners to deliver a stark assessment of his department’s capacity. He described a sheriff’s office operating at a "bare minimum," relying heavily on overtime to maintain basic coverage. The strain is visible in the operational details: training requests are being denied, and vacation days are going unfilled because there simply aren’t enough hands to cover the shifts. For 2027, the department requested seven full-time positions, two patrol corporals, four patrol deputies, and one court security officer. None were granted.

Undersheriff Levi Borst contextualized the request, noting it stems from a 2024 assessment that recommended 17 additional positions. The immediate lack of funding creates a gap that affects the entire county, particularly in rural areas like Redstone and the Crystal River Valley, where proactive patrols are already limited. The detention division is facing similar pressures, with Chief Dan Fellin advocating for a full-time counselor and program specialist to bring behavioral health services in-house. Currently, these services are contracted out, but Fellin argued that a dedicated county employee could better connect inmates with resources and follow up regularly, aiming for the ultimate goal that "people don't come back to jail."

Commissioners are exploring alternative revenue streams to bridge these gaps. Commissioner Patti Clapper proposed a dedicated property tax for public safety, while Chair Jeffrey Woodruff suggested a surcharge on traffic tickets to offset the costs of body-worn camera transcription and staff review. This follows a recent move to add a surcharge specifically to support Tipsy Taxi, the county’s service for drivers too impaired to head home. Beyond public safety, the housing budget is under pressure from the Phillips Mobile Home Park infrastructure project, where nearly $12 million in 2027 funds will be spent on replacing aging water and wastewater systems, improving fire protection, and bolstering road access.

As the commissioners weighed these options, the contrast between the grand scale of the airport project and the granular struggles of individual departments remained sharp. The decision on whether to fund the sheriff’s request or pursue new taxes will shape the daily reality of safety and service delivery well into the next fiscal year. Outside the conference room, the valley continued its quiet rhythm, unaware of the financial currents shifting beneath the surface, currents that will determine how comfortably - and how safely; the community navigates the coming year.