Public safety and city cleanup are among the priorities in Colorado Springs Mayor Mobolade's proposed budget.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – More police officers and continued funding for homeless outreach programs were among items in Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade’s proposed city budget presented to the City Council on Monday.

A video of this presentation can be viewed at the top of this page.

Mobolade’s office said public safety, cleaning up the city and addressing homelessness issues were the mayor’s top priorities.

“Today, we are presenting to council a balanced municipal budget for 2025 that prioritizes the needs and values of the community, including hiring additional police officers and providing additional staff to clean up homeless encampments,” Mobolade said in a media statement released immediately after the presentation. “Across all departments and functions, we have an obligation to our residents and visitors to continue to provide excellent services. And we are guided by our organizational values: transparency, accessibility and proactivity. That’s why our budget exemplifies good governance by prioritizing evidence-based decision-making, reorganizing operations and resources to create efficiencies, and moving toward upstream solutions to address the root causes of the city’s main challenges.

Highlights include:

The addition of 20 police officers to increase the authorized force and keep pace with the city’s growth.
The addition of three civilian positions within the police department in the areas of photo enforcement, training academy support and the body-worn camera program.
Ongoing funding for the replacement of police emergency vehicles and fire apparatus.
Continued funding of the Fire Department’s Homeless Outreach Program (HOP); This program provides resources and navigation to access health care, housing, and mental and behavioral health resources.
Continued funding for the police department’s Homeless Awareness Team (HOT).
Pay increases by 2 percent for all sworn police and fire employees and by an average of 2 percent for performance increases for civilian employees.
An additional Quality of Life team in the Neighborhood Services Division, added by reallocating vacant positions and associated funding from other areas of the organization.
A maintenance technician at Parks, Recreation and Culture Services to take care of neighborhood parks, including the new Gray Hawk Park.
Transfer four vacant positions to Housing Services, replacing positions previously funded by grants.
Continued funding of $500,000 for the operation of shelter beds for homeless people.
Transfer the Neighborhood Services Division to Public Works Operation and Maintenance, to increase efficiency in equipment use and work assignment.

“The proposed 2025 General Fund budget of $440,037,344 represents a 2.7 percent increase over the previous year. Although sales tax revenue is expected to increase by 3.5 percent next year, the increase in revenue is not expected to fully cover the increased costs of providing key services to residents. To ensure a balanced budget and responsible use of taxpayer dollars, Mayor Yemi is maintaining last year’s budget cuts, rebudgeting savings from 2024 to 2025, and using $6.5 million in earmarked funds. The reserve fund balance would remain at 17 percent, which is higher than the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) recommended target of 16.7 percent,” Mobolade’s office said.

For those interested in learning more, click here to view more budget information on the city’s website.