PUEBLO, Colo. (KOAA) — Pueblo Mayor Heather Graham delivered her State of the City address Tuesday evening. She noted progress on providing year-round shelter for Pueblo's unhoused population, and thanked the police department, highlighting the homicide rate this past year is the lowest since 2019.
As of now, the police department has 27 vacancies, but the mayor hopes it will be fully staffed sometime this year.
Looking forward in 2026, the mayor says the city still needs to improve the budget.
"The future is bright in the City of Pueblo," said Mayor Graham. "I know that we're facing... significant budget shortfalls, but we hope to do what we can with what we have. We hope to generate more tax revenue. We hope to bring new businesses to the community."
The mayor says a top priority of hers is to get funding to revitalize Bessemer.
After that, she plans to turn her attention to the east side.
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The City Kicked Them Out of a Park. This Church Says 'We Will Make Sure' It Continues
For years, a Church in Pueblo has provided care and clean-up services for sex workers in an event hosted traditionally at Ray Aguilera Park. Now the City of Pueblo says that it can no longer happen.
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