Tag: 2026 Budget
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Cautious optimism for Colorado Springs budget as tax revenue comes in higher than expected
Not all of the financial news for Colorado Springs is rosy, but the city’s sales tax revenue has been stronger than expected heading into the summer. Finance Director Charae McDaniel presented the largest financial update of the year during the Colorado Springs City Council’s work session Monday. While McDaniel had given a similar presentation in…
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Colorado Springs to close 10 park bathrooms due to budget cuts
City officials announced Friday that they will close bathrooms in 10 neighborhood parks and reduce landscaping on municipal property as park facilities feel the pinch from budget cuts this summer. The Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department’s funding from the general fund dropped from $19 million to $17 million in the current budget after the…
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Furlough day in Colorado Springs will close most city departments Feb. 13
For the superstitious, it may be notable that the first widespread furlough for Colorado Springs’ city staff is taking place on Friday the 13th. Next Friday’s closure is the first of five furlough days Colorado Springs has scheduled throughout this year as part of major budget reductions the city instituted to address shortfalls in the…
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Colorado Springs expands plan to fund police and fire departments with marijuana sales tax in 2026 budget
The Colorado Springs City Council laid out plans to cover a swath of needs for the police department, fire department and homeless outreach next year with marijuana sales tax revenue. The proposal advanced during the budget session Wednesday afternoon uses the estimated $4 million collected by the retail marijuana sales tax through the end of…
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Firefighters and Meadows Park supporters press City Council about 2026 budget
Two groups of citizens attended the Colorado Springs City Council’s special public hearing Monday to speak their mind about the city’s proposed 2026 budget. A group of residents who have been pressing the city for weeks about the closure of Meadows Park Community Center told the City Council why they wanted to keep the building…
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Colorado Springs Fire Department celebrates graduation of 21 new firefighters from academy
A new class of 21 trainees for the Colorado Springs Fire Department graduated from the academy on Friday afternoon. They may be the last new class of firefighters for a while. The 2025-1 class of new firefighters was celebrated at a packed ceremony at New Life Church in the far north end of Colorado Springs.…
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El Paso County avoids cuts in preliminary 2026 budget
El Paso County will not cut positions or services in what Chief Financial Officer Nikki Simmons called a “recession-resistant” preliminary budget for next year. “We have sufficient reserves to weather us through several years of uncertain economic activity,” she said at the first presentation on the budget last week. The budget does not call for…
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El Paso County avoids cuts in preliminary 2026 budget
El Paso County will not cut positions or services in what Chief Financial Officer Nikki Simmons called a “recession-resistant” preliminary budget for next year. “We have sufficient reserves to weather us through several years of uncertain economic activity,” she said at the first presentation on the budget last week. The budget does not call for…
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Pikes Peak Regional Building Department sets a stable budget for 2026
While Colorado Springs and many other cities are dealing with tumultuous local budgets, the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department is expecting a fairly stable run into 2026. Building official Roger Lovell presented the department’s proposed budget to the Colorado Springs City Council during a Monday morning work session, which was very similar to its 2025…
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Colorado Springs Fire Department cancels training academy for 2026 to meet budget cuts
The Colorado Springs Fire Department has canceled training academies for new hires in 2026, a move expected to save the city about $1.6 million as officials try to plug a more than $30 million budget hole. “We had some significant cuts we had to make and to do that, we had to find those bigger…