Chaffee County, Colorado

What Chaffee County, Colorado does

Chaffee County, Colorado is a statutory county government entity headquartered in Salida, Colorado, serving approximately 20,000 permanent residents across 1,015 square miles, of which roughly 83% is public land. The county provides the full spectrum of municipal-county services: public safety (Sheriff's Office, 24/7 Emergency Communications Center with 11 full-time dispatchers and one Communications Manager, Detention Center built in 2003 with 105-inmate capacity across seven housing units); transportation infrastructure (533.58 miles of maintained roads split between paved, chip seal, and gravel); public health (clinical, mental health, substance use, and vital records); and administrative functions including permitting, licensing, taxation, and elections.

The county's operational platform is built on a website-first citizen service architecture (chaffeecounty.org), supplemented by specialized integrations: RapidSOS for 911 caller-location and emergency health data; ClearPath for community-wide GHG inventory dashboards; Eye On Water for Salida utility consumption tracking; Securus Technologies for detention video visitation; and online portals (NextRequest for public records, AllPaid/SmartDeposit for inmate payments). The Co-Response Program and Safety Action Plan are the most recent service additions, the latter funded through the U.S. DOT SS4A program and developed with Fehr & Peers and ECO-resolutions.

Revenue is sourced through a mix of tax and fee instruments: property taxes, a 1.9% county-wide lodging tax (proposed to increase to 4% via Ballot Measure 1A in November 2025, which would yield an additional $3.35-$3.5 million annually), federal SNAP benefits administration for ~1,200 local households, per-inmate housing fees at the Detention Center, and unit-priced service fees for items such as police reports ($5 for first 10 pages), concealed carry permits ($152.50 new / $63.00 renewal), and civil process services. Capital expenditures are supported by federal and state grants (SS4A, CDOT Bustang Outrider expansion, Energy Smart Colorado rebates). The county is governed by three elected Commissioners (Gina Lucrezi, David Armstrong, P.T. Wood) and administered by County Administrator Beth Helmke.

Name

Chaffee County, Colorado

Legal name

Chaffee County, Colorado

Website

https://chaffeecounty.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Chaffee County, Colorado is a statutory county government headquartered in Salida, serving approximately 20,000 residents across 1,015 square miles with public safety, transportation infrastructure, public health, detention, and administrative services funded primarily through property and lodging taxes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

County Government Services

NAICS

Justice, Public Order, and Safety Activities (922), Police Protection (922120), Correctional Institutions (922140), Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support (921), Justice, Public Order, and Safety Activities (9221)

SIC

Services-Detective, Guard & Armored Car Services (7381)

akta.pro primary industry

Local Public Health & Human Services Administration (BPAIACAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

State/Provincial Corrections, Probation & Parole Administration (BPAIABAF), Correctional/Detention Facility Health Departments (HLAJAAAH)

Keywords

• County government services
• Public safety administration
• Emergency communications dispatch
• Transportation infrastructure
• Public health services

Headquarters

HQ city

Salida

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Lodging Tax: County-wide lodging tax (currently 1.9%) paid by people staying in short-term lodging accommodations, supporting tourism marketing, childcare, and affordable housing. Ballot Measure 1A proposes 4% increase.
2. SNAP Benefits Administration: Federal SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits administered to approximately 1,200 local households for food assistance.
3. Inmate Housing Services: Facility houses local offenders and inmates for out-of-county facilities and DOC-bound inmates, generating revenue through per-inmate fees.
4. Property Taxes: County receives property tax revenue as part of standard county government funding structure under Colorado state statute.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Chaffee County, Colorado is a county government entity that administers a broad range of public services to its approximately 20,000 residents and visitors. Core offerings include public safety operations (Sheriff's Office, 911 Emergency Communications Center, Detention Center, search and rescue), road and bridge maintenance of 533+ miles, vital records, public health services, building permits and inspections, public records requests, SNAP benefits administration, and inmate housing for other jurisdictions.

Product overview

Chaffee County, Colorado operates a comprehensive county government website and digital services platform offering citizen-facing government services, public safety operations including detention and emergency communications, and sustainability programs. The core offering is the county government website that serves as the primary portal for all county services, supplemented by specialized services including the Emergency Communications Center (911 dispatch), Detention Center with video visitation capabilities, Co-Response mental health program, RapidSOS emergency health profiles, online permitting and records systems, and environmental sustainability initiatives including GHG inventory tracking, water conservation programs, and Energy Smart Colorado energy efficiency services. The county also manages transportation safety through its SS4A Safety Action Plan and EV Readiness planning.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Concealed Carry Permit

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced traffic fatalities to zero by 2045 goal
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Fehr & PeerscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 19 February 2026Transportation consulting firm hired to manage the Safety Action Plan project. Has significant experience with Safety Action Plans in high country, having completed Gunnison County's Comprehensive Safety Action Plan which led to a $15 million implementation award in 2024.
• ECO-resolutionscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 19 February 2026Salida-based transportation ecology firm selected to assist with wildlife-vehicle collision mitigation aspects of the Safety Action Plan. Has led planning efforts for Colorado's highest-profile wildlife-vehicle collision mitigation projects including SH 9 near Kremmling and I-25 South near Castle Rock.
• RapidSOScoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2021World's first emergency response data platform partnered with American Heart Association, American Red Cross, and Direct Relief. Chaffee County Emergency Communication Center became RapidSOS Ready in 2021, securely linking life-saving data from over 350M connected devices to over 4,800 Emergency Communication Centers nationwide.
• Colorado Green Business Network (CGBN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFree and voluntary program encouraging, supporting and rewarding organizations for operational sustainability. Sustainable Chaffee is the local CGBN regional partner providing on-site technical assistance and application support for businesses of all sectors and sizes.
• Energy Smart ColoradocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Chaffee County, City of Salida, Sangre de Cristo Energy Association, Atmos Energy, and Xcel Energy to offer cash-back rebates, on-bill repayment programs, and financial assistance for energy-efficient buildings. Local Energy Smart analyst Madelyne Felsch provides direct support.
• Solvista Health Regional Assessment CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner24/7/365 crisis services provider located at 7166 CR 154 Salida, CO 81201. Serves as primary regional assessment center for mental health and substance use crisis intervention.
• Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBustang Outrider program expansion to serve Chaffee County via Crested Butte-Denver line and Alamosa to Pueblo line passing through Buena Vista and Salida respectively.
• Drive Clean ColoradominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to support adoption of clean transportation options in Colorado. Includes rural routes EV charging economic impact report for Salida.
• Colorado Department of Public Health and EnvironmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState health agency providing programs and guidance for public health services including immunizations, disease prevention, environmental health, and vital records.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Lake County, Colorado: Neighboring small Colorado mountain county with similar demographics, public lands composition, and rural service delivery model including detention operations and emergency communications.
• Gunnison County, Colorado: Similar rural Colorado mountain county of comparable population scale. Gunnison successfully obtained a $15M SS4A implementation grant in 2024, making it the closest comparable for Chaffee's Safety Action Plan trajectory and federal funding strategy.
• Fremont County, Colorado: Comparable Colorado county with similar mid-sized population, detention center operations, public safety structure, and rural infrastructure footprint across public lands.
• Park County, Colorado: Adjacent rural Colorado county with similar population scale (~18,000 residents), high percentage of public lands, wildlife-vehicle collision challenges, and mountain tourism economy.
• Custer County, Colorado: Small rural Colorado mountain county with comparable population scale, public lands composition, and challenges delivering county government services across a dispersed geographic footprint.
• Pitkin County, Colorado: Similar small-population Colorado county with high tourism exposure, sustainability leadership (renewable energy programs), and comparable public safety/detention infrastructure serving a mountain recreation economy.
• Eagle County, Colorado: Comparable mountain resort county with similar governance structure, sustainability initiatives (including GHG inventories), and reliance on tourism/lodging tax revenue to fund public services and infrastructure.
• San Miguel County, Colorado: Similar Colorado mountain county with comparable tourism/lodging tax structure, sustainability programs, and small-government service delivery model in a high recreation-traffic geography.
• Summit County, Colorado: Adjacent Colorado mountain county with similar tourism-driven economy, public lands composition, and small-population base. Operates comparable public safety, sustainability, and lodging-tax-funded programs serving both residents and visitors.
• Teller County, Colorado: Comparable small-to-mid-sized Colorado mountain county with similar mix of tourism, public lands, public safety operations, and infrastructure management responsibilities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/intent/tweet?url=http://chaffeecounty.org
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ChaffeeCountyGov
• Facebookfacebook.com/ChaffeeCountyGov
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/chaffee-county-colorado
• Instagraminstagram.com/chaffeecounty

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Chaffee County, Colorado