Pueblo dips into emergency fund to pay for more officers

Pueblo city government wants to dip into its emergency funding to get more officers.

During an investigative report about Pueblo police resources, KRDO NewsChannel 13 reported the city hadn’t changed staffing levels since 1974 but calls for help from the public have jumped to record levels.

City Manager Sam Azad originally budgeted for two police officers next year.

Pueblo City Council wants to add five more and use reserve money to pay for them, bringing the total of new officers to seven next year.

Council has close to $8 million in its reserve funding. It is using $500,000 to pay for the positions.

Azad said this is necessary for officer safety.

“Right now, in many occasions, when our officers are dispatched to a call and they call for back up, there really is no back up to help back them up in those critical calls,” he said.

Council has until Nov. 23 to finalize a budget.