Pueblo City Council facing a more than $3 million pit for 2015 budget

The City of Pueblo has its shovel out and it is trying to figure out how to fill a more than $3 million hole for the 2015 budget.

The city’s 2015 preliminary budget came out and it shows that Pueblo City Council has to figure out how to make up more than $3 million.

The city expects to bring in $76.5 million for 2015. The city also expects to spend about $80 million.

“If every year we are looking at an upside down budget, how do we address this for the future sustainability for the city,” Pueblo City Council President Sandy Daff said.

Daff said the reason why the city is in the red for this much money is because people are not spending their cash in the city.

“If your sales tax hasn’t kept up with the cost of running a city that’s when you are upside down,” she said.

The council president said one of council’s biggest priorities is helping emergency services.

“Public safety is definitely a priority; the police are down a number of positions,” Daff said.

Daff said Pueblo City Council will be meeting with each department to figure out where cuts need to be made to make up the more than $3 million.

The Pueblo City-County Health Department asked for $885,000 for their budget next year, that’s more than $100,000 than it asked for last year.

“It’s for food service inspections, infectious disease investigations, and clinical services,” Pueblo City-County Health Department Deputy Director Sylvia Proud said.

Daff said the health department’s budget request is a big increase and it will take negotiation and goodwill to come to a more reasonable number.

Proud said the amount the health department is asking for is to serve the population in Pueblo appropriately.

Council has until November to decide on a final budget.

If you want to see the preliminary budget, click here.