COLORADO SPRINGS — During his eight years in office, Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers made some changes to the city's budget. Now that he has hit his term limit we're diving deeper into where tax dollars were spent since 2016.
Sixty percent of the city's general fund is made up of sales and use taxes. Charae McDaniel, the Colorado Springs Chief Financial Officer, said the city has the most discretion over the general fund, making it important to prioritize it to the city's needs.
Over the past eight years, the general fund has consistently shown a high priority for public safety. The Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) has seen a 48% increase in general funds since Mayor Suthers took office in 2016. McDaniel said the police department has added over 160 sworn police positions and over 100 positions for the Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD). Suthers also used a portion of general funds and grant funds to implement CSPD's Body Worn Camera Program in 2016. Using $400,000 from the general fund in 2016, the city completely replaced the Sand Creek Police Substation.
Another high priority under Mayor Suthers was keeping the city clean. Suthers implemented the Keep It Clean COS program in 2022, adding positions to operate
street sweepers to clear trash around the city.
Here is a breakdown of some of the high-priority items on the city's general fund budget over the past eight years:
- $814,000 in increased funding for the Mountain Metro Transit
- $400,000 allocated to replace Sand Creek Police Substation to provide services to southeast part of the city
- $840,000 in general funds and grant funds to implement CSPD's Body Worn Camera Program
- $577,000 in increased funding for Mountain Metro Transit
- $995,000 to fund 12 additional firefighting staff for Fire Station #22
- $1 million increased funding for the stormwater control program
- $3.2 million increased funding for sworn employee and civilian employee pay increases
- $1.7 million increase to fund 20 new CSPD officer positions and 10 new CSFD positions
- $900,000 in increased funding for park maintenance, recreational and cultural service needs
- $1.2 million in increased funding for city fleet replacement
- $750,000 contribution to the I-25/Cimarron landscaping project
- $480,000 increased funding to Mountain Metro Transit
- $4.5 million increased funding for 53 new CSPD officer and 8 new sworn CSFD positions
- $950,000 increased funding for park maintenance, recreational and cultural service needs, including a new Forestry crew
- $1.1 million increased funding for city fleet replacement
- $209,000 increased funding to Mountain Metro Transit
- $9.9 million to bring police and fire sworn position compensation to the market average
- $4.4 million of increased funding for 20 new sworn CSPD positions and 8 new CSFD positions and equipment
- $400,000 of increased funding for park maintenance, recreational and cultural service needs
- $550,000 of increased funding for city fleet replacement
- $500,000 of funding to support shelter bed operations for the homeless population
- $300,000 increased funding to Mountain Metro Transit
- $9.65 million to keep police and fire sworn compensation at the market average
- $1 million one-time increased funding for a CSFD aerial ladder truck
- $2 million of increased funding for 10 new sworn CSPD positions and 8 new sworn CSFD positions and equipment
- $600,000 of increased funding for park maintenance, tree planting, and initiation of the street tree inventory
- $2 million of increased funding for city fleet and equipment replacement
- $500,000 of continued funding to support shelter bed operations for the homeless population
- $760,000 increased funding to Mountain Metro Transit, including a route to the Airport and Amazon Distribution Center
- $1.1 million increased operating and capital funding for snow/ice removal operations
- $3.4 million for facility maintenance, including police and fire stations, parks facilities, public works facilities, and fuel infrastructure
- $10.5 million for public safety infrastructure and fleet, including construction of Fire Station #24 in northeast Colorado Springs
- $700,000 of increased funding for 17 new sworn CSPD positions
- 4 new civilian CSFD positions and the establishment of 2 Alternate Response Teams (ARTs) within the Community Response Team (CRT) Program
- $1.7 million of increased funding for city fleet and equipment replacement
- $500,000 of continued funding to support shelter bed operations for the homeless population
- $934,000 additional funding to Mountain Metro Transit
- $9.1 million for market salary increases for all civilian and sworn employees
- $5.4 million reinstated budget due to the economic shutdown and revenue loss as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic
- $2.2 million for facility maintenance of police and fire headquarters, parks facilities, public works facilities, fuel island infrastructure, and the Robert Isaac municipal courthouse
- $926,000 increased funding for 15 new sworn CSPD positions and vehicles
- $1.63 million of increased funding for 32 new sworn CSFD positions for 2 new fire stations scheduled to become operational in early 2024
- Continued funding of $928,000 for the 11 new positions that were added as part of the Keep It Clean COS campaign
- $3.1 million for increased staffing across several city departments, including two positions for Garden of the Gods park and four rangers for urban park and trail safety
- $500,000 of continued funding to support shelter bed operations for the homeless population
- $1.2 million additional funding to Mountain Metro Transit
- $11.3 million for market salary increases for all civilian and sworn employees
- $10.1 million to fund increased rates for insurance premiums, fuel, and utility services, as well as contractual increases, including animal law enforcement services and election costs
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