~ Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade presented a balanced 2025 City budget to the City Council today, with a focus on public safety, city cleanup, and addressing issues surrounding homelessness. The proposed budget of $440,037,344 is a 2.7% increase from the previous year.

In his address to the council, Mayor Yemi emphasized the importance of prioritizing the needs and values of the community. He stated that the budget includes hiring additional police officers and providing more staff for cleaning up homelessness encampments. The mayor also highlighted the city's obligation to provide excellent services to residents and visitors, guided by their organizational values of transparency, approachability, and proactivity.

The proposed budget reflects good governance by prioritizing evidence-based decision-making and finding efficiencies in operations and resources. Mayor Yemi also stressed the importance of addressing root causes rather than just treating symptoms when it comes to tackling key challenges facing the city.

While sales tax revenue is expected to increase by 3.5% next year, it will not be enough to cover all the increased costs of providing essential services. To ensure a balanced budget and responsible use of taxpayer dollars, Mayor Yemi announced that budget reductions from last year will remain in place, savings from 2024 will be rebudgeted for 2025, and $6.5 million from reserved funds will be utilized. This will keep the reserve fund balance at 17%, which is higher than the recommended target of 16.7% by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA).

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Mayor Yemi acknowledged that just like residents and businesses have seen cost increases, so has the city in providing basic services. He stated that tough but responsible choices have been made to ensure a balanced budget that meets the growing needs of the community.

The City will also continue its efforts to provide relief to residents from increased property taxes by capping its 2025 property tax rate.

Some of the highlights of the proposed 2025 General Fund budget include the addition of 20 police officers to keep pace with the city's growth, three civilian positions in the Police Department for photo enforcement, Training Academy support, and the body-worn camera program. The budget also includes funding for replacement of emergency vehicles for the Police and Fire Departments and continued funding for the Homeless Outreach Program (HOP) in the Fire Department.

The Police Department's Homeless Outreach Team (HOT) will also receive continued funding, which Mayor Yemi sees as an investment in improving access to housing and overall quality of life in the community. The proposed budget also includes compensation increases for all Police and Fire sworn employees and a pay-for-performance increase for civilian employees.

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Other notable additions to the budget include an additional Quality of Life Team in Neighborhood Services, a Maintenance Technician in Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services to address neighborhood parks, and four vacant positions being transferred to housing services. The budget also includes $500,000 for shelter bed operations for people experiencing homelessness.

In an effort to increase efficiency, the Neighborhood Services division will be transferred to Public Works Operations and Maintenance.

Mayor Yemi's letter to Council on the budget can be viewed at ColoradoSprings.gov/Budget along with the complete proposed 2025 City budget. With a focus on meeting community needs while being fiscally responsible, Mayor Yemi's proposed budget aims to continue providing excellent services to residents and visitors of Colorado Springs.

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