Funding for the building of a new police academy in Colorado Springs may be decided by the results of a ballot initiative in early November.
Ballot 2A is proposing that the city be allowed to keep nearly $5 million in excess tax revenue; money that could be used to acquire property, as well as plan, design, and ultimately build the new facility for the Colorado Springs Police Department.
The ballot question is not asking voters to approve construction of the police academy itself, but rather to allow the City of Colorado Springs to keep the tax revenue to use for its purposes, contrary to state law.
That law is the Colorado’s controversial Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, popularly known as TABOR, which limits how much revenue any city can keep per year without voter approval.
If voters say yes to Ballot 2A, the city will be able to hold onto the revenue and apply it to the proposed construction of a police academy, which some estimates say could cost as much as $45 million to build.
An alternative proposal to upgrade the police department’s current training facility, located at 725 N. Murray Boulevard, could cost as much as $21 million. That two-story facility was built in 1985 as general public offices and repurposed nearly a decade later as a training academy.
Colorado Springs officials have long said that the Murray Boulevard facility is too small for contemporary training purposes, particularly when it comes to providing space for both current officers as well as recruits.
In a statement, Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade said the new training facility will “help our officers who are asking for better training and will answer the call from our community members who are asking for better training around de-escalation techniques.”
Colorado voters in 1992 approved amending the state constitution to include a Taxpayer Bill of Rights. That amendment has since been used to put a lid on the revenues of all levels of government in the state, while also prohibiting the raising of tax rates without voter approval.
By Garry Boulard
