Voters in Colorado Springs have approved the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights-related Measure 2A with nearly 60 percent of the vote. The measure centers around economic resilience as the city deals with the impacts of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
With the voter's blessing, the city can retain nearly $2 million in revenue to help fund public safety, rather than refund it to taxpayers. The measure also will allow the city to keep budget limitations at 2019 fiscal levels instead of pandemic-influenced 2020 levels.
Mayor John Suthers was in favor of the ballot issue, stating in his September State of the City address that the city's economy might take three or four years to return to pre-pandemic revenue levels without these moves.
In a statement Tuesday evening, Suthers said the passage of 2A "will considerably speed up our city's economic recovery and return to us the trajectory of positive growth that we were experiencing prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The voters' support means that we can move more quickly to a full economic recovery without compromising vital city services."
