COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — Station 24 hasn’t even opened its doors yet, but the new fire station on the north end of town could already be facing operational struggles as the City of Colorado Springs stares down an $11.5 million budget shortfall.
In Mayor Yemi Mobolade’s monthly press briefing on Wednesday, he focused on the city’s deficit and the challenges all departments are likely to face in the near future.
Station 24, which is being built near the burgeoning Interquest Parkway and Powers Boulevard area, would provide closer first responders and firefighters to the flourishing area.
Construction started up in May 2024, and as Mayor Mobolade mentioned in his Wednesday remarks, “It's about ready to be open.”
But with a tight budget forecast due to lower sales tax revenue, the fire station might not get its first call for service for some time.
“We haven't made any decisions yet around that, but, I mean, that's certainly one of the things on the table,” said Mayor Mobolade Wednesday, answering reporter questions. “I'm also pushing back to say that's something that we need to keep open at all costs, if we can. We haven't made any decisions around Fire Station 24; but again, we are monitoring. All of these decisions are just going to be based off of the data.”
The Interquest Parkway and Powers Boulevard area continues to grow, which means a growing demand for emergency services, too.
“That has an impact on our overall response time,” said Colorado Springs Fire Chief Randy Royal in a previous News5 report last year. “So, we have to try to keep up on making sure we're building stations in a timely manner.”
The goal for every call in the city is an eight minute or less response time.
“Even adding this station right here, doesn't mean the overall response time is going to slash, but the response time to this area is going to be way better,” said Chief Royal last year.
The mayor noted that the Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD) is currently “pretty much at full staff” and won’t be hiring next year. He added, though, that they plan to continue with next year’s police academy.
Without new staffing, it throws the future of Fire Station 24 into limbo.
“Like many departments, we are currently facing a budget shortfall. We are carefully evaluating all possible options, everything is on the table,” said CSFD Chief Randy Royal in an email to KOAA.
“At this time no final decisions have been made. This is an ongoing process as we work through the budget with the city. We want to reassure you that once any decisions are finalized, we will communicate them with our community. Our top priority is to maintain the level of service and coverage we have today.”
It could be telling that Chief Royal focused on the level of service CSFD can provide at the present, rather than with a newly staffed and operating fire station in the future.
Mayor Mobolade said the city’s leaders would be working through the budget this week.
“I've asked departments to slow spending,” said Mayor Mobolade in Wednesday’s briefing. “You see many departments are holding vacant positions, meaning some roles would not be filled right away.”
The Mayor said the departmental decisions are being made based on operational needs. He also said the city is reducing discretionary spending, including training and replacing aging equipment and vehicles.
Throughout his remarks, the mayor stressed public safety would be the last area to face any cutbacks or funding issues, but couldn’t commit to saying there would be none.
“The departments that we hope have the least amount of impact is police and fire,” said Mayor Mobolade.
The budget shortfall is due to lower sales tax revenue and cities around the nation are facing similar challenges, Mayor Mobolade noted.
June’s sales tax figures could come in better than anticipated, especially due to the U.S. Senior Open golf tournament at The Broadmoor last month, which could limit some “levers” the city would need to pull, he said.
Erosion concerns along a busy Colorado highway
A News5 viewer reached out concerned about erosion along Highway 24.
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