Friends, a new year stands before us, and it’s brimming with possibilities. The New Year is a time to reflect on the past year, acknowledge accomplishments, and lessons learned, set new goals, and look forward to what the future holds.

In the short six months since becoming the 42nd Mayor of the great City of Colorado Springs, together we have accomplished much. The best news? Greater things are still yet to come.

Our community stands poised to build upon our recent successes and ready to seize the opportunities in front of us. This includes opportunities to address our city’s enduring challenges, together.

As I reflect on 2023, I have come to realize what we accomplished in the May election was big. While I didn’t understand it fully in the moment, I’ve learned my win has brought hope to many at a time when a majority have lost faith in political leadership.

When I was sworn in on June 6, and as I stood there surrounded by residents supportive of my vision and ready to get to work to create an inclusive, culturally rich, economically prosperous, safe and vibrant world-class American city on a hill that shines brightly, I promised we would hit the ground running, and we have. This year, the City signed a record nine economic development agreements, six of which are local small businesses expanding. These high-paying jobs mean greater opportunity for residents.

Mountain Metro achieved its highest-ever bus ridership thanks to a state grant supporting free fares this summer. More than 1 million people rode the bus during that period. The Colorado Springs Airport also continues to hit historic highs. More than 2.4 million passengers are expected to travel through the COS airport in 2023.

When it comes to public safety – our top priority – I’m very pleased that we have a pathway to achieving our authorized strength of 818 police officers by the end of 2024. Thanks to a new system, we will have four training academies next year, and we expect to reach full bench strength for the first time since 2019. This is great news!

I’m also happy to report that our crime numbers are trending in the right direction. Year-over-year numbers for burglary, murder and robbery are all down.

While we didn’t achieve the funding requested through Ballot Issue 2A this November, I don’t believe that reflects our community’s support of our Police Department. The fact remains, we need a new facility for our Police Training Academy. Over the next few months, we expect to share information regarding the now completed needs assessment and location strategy.

We’ve also begun to simplify a comprehensive and regional strategy around wildfire safety and evacuation readiness. This important work will continue in 2024.

The number of people experiencing homelessness in our community is decreasing as shown in the Pikes Peak Continuum of Care’s 2023 Point in Time Survey. This survey offers both hope and valuable insights to our continued work to end homelessness.

Much of the work the City executes for residents is the building and maintenance of public infrastructure. Historic rainfall this spring proved that investing in our stormwater system is critical.

Investing in the maintenance of our roads through 2C is also critical. Since the 2C-road improvement program began in 2015, we’ve repaved enough lane miles to stretch from here to Athens, Georgia. To repave all the roadway in our city – including the many miles of neighborhood roads that haven’t been repaved in 30+ years – we need to keep paving all the way to Athens, Greece. We must continue to invest, and 2C has proved itself as the best solution.

Also in 2023, voters extended the Trails, Open Space and Parks sales tax, known as TOPS. We are committed to being good stewards of our public land and ensuring it is accessible to everyone.

Finally, democracy is best served when residents engage in the decisions that affect them. We successfully engaged thousands of residents, City employees, and other community leaders who shared feedback with me and my team since June.

Colorado Springs, I see you, I hear you, and I thank you for your valuable insights. Listening is a critical part of effective leadership, and it will continue to be a strategy moving forward.

In 2024, expect to see the City deliver for you in improving public safety, infrastructure, housing attainability, economic vitality, and mental health. We will use a process called Strategic Doing, which moves ideas and plans into action-oriented collaborations resulting in measurable outcomes. Expect more to come on this in January.

Friends, it’s an incredible time to live in Colorado Springs. I am honored for the opportunity to serve you and excited for the journey ahead. My sincere wishes for a joyous, healthy and blessed holiday season!

Onward and Upward!

Yemi Mobolade is the 42nd Mayor of the City of Colorado Springs.

Yemi Mobolade