(COLORADO SPRINGS) — For the first time in his tenure as Mayor, Yemi Mobolade saying no to city council as he announced he is rejecting Ordinance 25-59 which would have given city council the authority to look for and review programs to fund before sending them to the mayor for consideration. Both sides appear to be at odds as to how the city should go about allocating marijuana sales tax dollars.
“It’s this is just the beginning of a long series of conversations about where our dollars are going to come from for all the services required in our city,” said Councilmember Nancy Henjum.
City Council passed the resolution during their last regular meeting on July 8th. In a 6-3 vote, council members voted to have a say in who can get the money.
“An ordinance like this gives council an opportunity to focus dollars on a specific problem and not have it get lost in the broader, broader picture,” said Councilmember Tom Bailey.
Mayor Mobolade disagrees, saying in a statement that the change would undermine the current process of creating the city’s budget by “creating an unnecessary and unauthorized level of bureaucracy.”
In a joint statement, city council responded to the mayor’s comments, saying, “any attempt to frame this as City Council ‘usurping’ authority is political theater.”
But not all council members agree, despite passing the resolution. Councilmember Dave Donelson spoke out and said the process should not change for allocating money, but that part of the solution is in enforcing laws to address some issues being brought up in the city.
“I think a big part of this solution is going to have to be simply the willingness to lock people up for breaking our laws,” Donelson said. “Is that great? Is that ideal? No. But in the world we are in, that’s part of the solution.
Mayor Mobolade also believes investments should primarily go toward public safety, while the council says funds can also be used for mental health and PTSD programs.
Either way, the council and Mayor Mobolade will have more time to talk about allocating money, as Mobolade says there is currently $1.4 million in the city’s marijuana sales tax fund.
