On Nov. 12, Gov. Jared Polis released his proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year. What we have in front of us is not a truly balanced budget. It is a crisis of priorities, and Colorado families who rely on essential services will pay the price.

The proposal cuts more than $500 million from Medicaid, including nearly $30 million from rates that support children with autism and another $6 million from maternal health care. In a state where 25 counties are already maternal health deserts, these are not minor adjustments. These are brutal cuts aimed squarely at the families who can afford it the least.

Behind every one of these reductions is a real person: a mom driving hours just to deliver her baby; a child losing therapy that helps them learn and grow; a rural nurse or pediatric therapist who has stayed loyal to their community despite years of low pay and burnout. This budget sends a clear message their work and the people they serve matters less than growing government.

We were told this is a “responsible” budget. I disagree. What I see is the state government walking away from its basic responsibilities. And the simple truth is this: the budget is not balanced.

Year after year, when there’s a budget shortfall, this administration turns to temporary tricks and gimmicks instead of fixing the problem. That creative accounting has run us into a dead end: the people who write the checks never feel the consequences, but the families who rely on these services pay the price.

At the same time essential programs are being cut, the administration wants to add more than 350 new full-time state employees, on top of the roughly 7,000 positions created since this governor took office. Not one department was asked to make meaningful reductions. Families across Colorado are being told to tighten their belts while the state government refuses to tighten its own.

One of the clearest examples of misplaced priorities is the refusal to pause the wolf reintroduction program, despite clear requirements in the long bill. Instead, the program is growing, creating confusion and added costs in rural Colorado, where ranchers and landowners are already stretched thin. This administration seems more interested in funding new mandates and pet projects than in stabilizing the basic services families depend on to live, work and raise their kids here.

This is not about partisanship. It is about priorities.

For years, this administration tried to make the numbers work by shorting K–12 education. The only reason there are no education cuts in this year’s governor proposal is because I created the Kids Matter Fund, which forced the state to meet its constitutional obligation to fully fund our public schools. When the administration would not protect students, I stepped in.

Now we are watching the same pattern play out with Medicaid. Instead of tackling structural problems or exercising real spending discipline, this budget shifts the burden onto Coloradans who rely on Medicaid just to see a doctor, have a baby, or get their child the care they need.

If you are a parent living in a maternal health desert, you are taking the cuts.

If you are caring for a child with autism, you are taking the cuts.

If you are a provider already working at a loss to keep your doors open, you are taking the cuts.

But if you are part of the administrative bureaucracy, you are getting more staff, more money and more growth. That is the choice the governor’s budget proposal makes.

The governor’s office has suggested I “can’t have it both ways” or that I am ignoring federal impacts. What I am doing is reading the numbers his own administration gave us. The facts are straightforward: this proposal cuts more than half-a-billion dollars from Medicaid while expanding the government payroll. That is not protecting families. That is choosing bureaucracy over people.

I think about the parents who care for adult children with severe disabilities. These families provide round-the-clock care. They get up in the middle of the night. They lift, bathe and feed their loved ones. And they lie awake, wondering what will happen when they are no longer able to do it. This budget doesn’t give them peace of mind. It gives them more uncertainty.

Colorado families deserve better than broken promises, budget gimmicks and growing bureaucracy. As we look to the future we cannot afford four more years of the same failed approach. Colorado simply cannot afford a third Polis term that treats families like an afterthought. It is time for a change in direction and a change in leadership.

Once again, the administration has handed the hard work to the Joint Budget Committee. As a member of that committee, I intend to fight for a budget that reflects the needs of everyday Coloradans, from the eastern plains to the western slope, from our small towns to our biggest cities, and one that is transparent, responsible, and truly balanced.

The proposal before us does not meet that standard. It does not reflect our values, and it does not serve our communities. Colorado families deserve a governor that puts them ahead of bureaucrats and gimmicks.

Colorado deserves better.

Barb Kirkmeyer is a state senator and member of the Joint Budget Committee currently running for governor. She is also a former Weld County commissioner.