Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade, the Colorado Springs City Council and more than a dozen city staff members met Thursday morning to kickstart the process to establish the 2026 budget.

City leadership went around a table on the second floor of the Penrose House Conference Center to give their priorities for what a potentially tight budget should focus on. In general, officials agreed that the city needed to focus on public safety and the Colorado Springs Police Department and wanted to shift the discussion away from the sales tax shortfalls affecting this year's budget.

"It reinforces the perception that we can't do it," Councilmember Tom Bailey said. "Stop making excuses for the revenue we have. It's the hand that we were dealt."

Finance Director Charae McDaniel ran through some of

See Full Page