COS Mayor and Police Chief provide new details on plan to use TABOR refunds for new police training academy
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade is providing new details on his plan to use your Tabor Refund towards a new police training academy.
RELATED: Colorado Springs Mayor, Police Chief suggest using TABOR money to train new police officers
The Mayor, Police Chief Adrian Vasquez, and the city's chief financial officer presented a more fleshed-out proposal to the city council this week.
Despite further explanation, the plan is still controversial at City Hall, where the council will still need to vote on whether to pass this proposal along to Colorado Springs voters on August 22nd. The funds would total around $4.75 million, a fraction of what the overall project would cost. This would take $22 dollars out of every citizen's pocket which usually comes in the form of a utility bill discount.
As of now, there are multiple forms of what the construction of the project could look like. It depends on the acquisition of property, according to members of the City Council.
Police Chief Vasquez hopes this project will address the chronic understaffing that's resulting in longer response times. He also relayed that the current police force needed updated training to meet the needs of the current population.
"We are responding to a variety of calls that weren’t as common in the past, like calls where a citizen is in mental health crisis, or where life-saving medical intervention is necessary. Providing the best training possible for our officers is critical for our community."
-Email statement from CSPD, received August 8th
To end the meeting, Mayor Yemi relayed a story from a friend who called the cops for an incident at his home and waited four hours for someone to show up to illustrate the need for increased funding towards the police department.
“Four hours later our law enforcement officers showed up. It's just -- It is what it is. I'm not proud of it, but I will solve it,” Mayor Mobolade said.
