Mayor Steve Bach on Monday unveiled a $232 million city budget for 2013, calling for adding police officers and firefighters, lighting darkened streetlights and restoring evening bus service.

Bach also called for an “independent and objective review” of Colorado Springs Utilities to look at its “long-range ownership, governance and strategic plan.” He said he wants the review completed by the end of June.

The mayor said he hopes Colorado Springs Utilities, along with other parts of the government, will “re-think the business that it’s in, and why.”

Bach’s proposed budget will be presented to the City Council on Oct. 11 and 12, and the council will have a public hearing on Oct. 18.

City Councilman Tim Leigh applauded the mayor’s focus on Utilities, and said the biggest question facing the city is who will run Utilities in the future, and who will pocket the revenue. “The most interesting question is probably who is going to own it? Are we doing enough with it? Does it have enough resources?” Leigh said.

Bach’s budget would pay to increase the city’s police department by at least 25 officers, bringing the department to its authorized strength of 635 officers. The new police officers would be on the job likely by August.

Bach’s budget also includes opening Fire Station 21, to be paid for by a two-year $2 million federal grant. The station would be staffed with 15 firefighters. They would be hired beginning in February, and the station would be up and running by June, officials said.

The proposed budget represents a little more than a 3 percent spending increase from the current year, to $232 million. The budget would  be balanced, Bach said, by leaving 36 City Hall positions unfilled and from increased revenue, primarily from sales tax.

Bach said his 2013 goals include creating 6,000 jobs per year with the “most business-friendly city of our size in the nation.”

Council President Pro Tem Jan Martin said 6,000 jobs would be great, but that Bach is being unrealistically hopeful.

“Something pretty exciting would have to happen” to create 6,000 jobs in Colorado Springs each year, Martin said. “But we’d always like to see it happen.”

Both Martin and Leigh, along with council President Scott Hente, said the mayor’s push for boosting the police force and fire department was the kind of thing they wanted to see.

“Any step in that direction is the right direction,” said Hente.

Bach also wants to pour more money into other projects that citizens have said they want, such as turning back on 3,500 streetlights, as well as putting $2 million into aging stormwater infrastructure needs.

—Contact John Schroyer: 476-4825Twitter: @JohnschroyerFacebook: Gazette John Schroyer

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