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• Public outcry grows over bonuses to city leaders Play Video

  April 18, 2013 9:48 PM

  COLORADO SPRINGS - Public outcry is growing over the lavish bonuses awarded to two members of Colorado Springs Mayor Steve Bach's inner circle. Laura Neumann, the mayor's Chief of Staff, and City Attorney Chris Melcher were both given $25,000 bonuses last year on top of their six figure salaries. ... more »

• Mayor defends bonuses for top managers

  April 18, 2013 2:43 PM

  COLORADO SPRINGS - Mayor Steve Bach is defending his decision to award $25,000 bonuses last year to two of his most highly paid employees. Chief of Staff Laura Neumann, who earns a base salary of $165,000, and City Attorney Chris Melcher, who earned $187,529, both received the gifts. A... more »

• Mayor wants to dip into saving to cover flood needs Play Video

  April 17, 2013 8:31 PM

  COLORADO SPRINGS - Mayor Steve Bach is asking the Colorado Springs City Council to take $11,875,000 million dollars out of savings. A majority of the money, $10 million worth, is directly tied to flood and fire mitigation efforts. The rest would be spent on a study to see whether... more »

• Mayor's office seeks $10M for flood mitigation

  April 17, 2013 1:59 PM

  COLORADO SPRINGS - The Mayor's office plans to ask City Council for an additional $10 million this year to pay for flood mitigation work in and down stream from the Waldo Canyon burn area. The money would come from the city's reserves and a majority of it, $8.8 million, would... more »

• Council to vote on police and fire pay raises

  March 15, 2013 8:27 PM

  COLORADO SPRINGS - Police officers and firefighters in Colorado Springs are poised to a get pretty good raise next year. The pay increases were recommended as part of a comprehensive study by the Waters Consulting Group which was hired by the city to evaluate compensation. Mayor Steve Bach says... more »

• Storm water stirs debate at council Play Video

  February 26, 2013 8:57 PM

  COLORADO SPRINGS - Plans to form regional body to upgrade the crumbling storm water system in Colorado Springs and El Paso county have been put on hold. Colorado Springs Council delayed a vote Tuesday on a joint resolution with El Paso County Commissioners on storm water until next month. ... more »

• Your vote could change utilities future Play Video

  January 21, 2013 7:45 PM

  COLORADO SPRINGS - Big changes could be store for Colorado Springs Utilities. City Council is expected to vote on a ballot measure Tuesday that would turnover control of the public utility to a independently elected board of directors. The ballot proposal calls for a 7 member board to be... more »

• Mayor mulls in-sourcing ambulance service Play Video

  January 10, 2013 12:38 AM

  COLORADO SPRINGS - American Medical Response has a government-endorsed monopoly for the ambulance service in Colorado Springs and El Paso County. Their contract is up for renewal at the end of the year and Mayor Steve Bach wants to see if the city's really getting the best deal. "More... more »

• Decision on panhandling ban postponed until next week

  December 13, 2012 7:19 PM

  DENVER - A federal judge will soon decide whether to block the new downtown solicitation ban in Colorado Springs. The American Civil Liberties Union sued the city on behalf of four individuals and four non-profit organizations and on the grounds that the law violates their free speech right. In... more »

• Marijuana DUI a concern, especially after Amendment 64 Play Video

  November 21, 2012 7:48 PM

  Not all is Golden in the Golden State; there are concerning numbers on California drivers under the influence. After Amendment 64 passed in Colorado, local leaders have been sounding off about public safety worries, driving included. Out of 1,300 California drivers who were voluntarily tested by the state... more »

• City leaders talk about future after Amendment 64 Play Video

  November 14, 2012 7:42 PM

  When it comes to Amendment 64 -- legalizing possession of marijuana for anyone over 21 years old - a lot of people say feel the process is going to take a while to work out. Everyone is waiting for a reaction from the federal government, but in the meantime people... more »

• Thoughts on transportation future arent appealing to all Play Video

  October 31, 2012 7:57 PM

  Public transportation is a constantly evolving discussion in Colorado Springs. It was the first topic as Mayor Steve Bach and members of City Council sat down to chat Wednesday morning. It was one of the Mayor's 'Counsel' Meetings; where they don't vote on anything, but the Mayor and council members... more »

• Colorado Springs Utilities budget disagreement

  October 17, 2012 9:00 PM

  Colorado Springs Utilities is working out the details on their 2013 budget at City Hall on Wednesday, but not without disagreements. Mayor Steve Bach spoke with News 5 earlier that morning; he says the proposed utilities budget is flawed. "Number one is that it has no definition on... more »

• Memorial Hospital lease leaves PERA problem pending Play Video

  August 29, 2012 8:44 PM

  A community vote Tuesday night determined Memorial Hospital's fate: an overwhelming 'yes' majority signed on to more forward the hospital's lease to the University of Colorado Health System. Though the change is immediate, it leaves one $185 million dollar question unanswered. More than 76,000 voters weighed in on Memorial... more »

• Tuesdays CSPD funeral procession will cause delays

  July 30, 2012 7:07 PM

  Final preparations are being made for Tuesday's funeral for Colorado Springs Police Officer Matt Tyner who died in the line of duty last week; after the funeral there will be a procession through the city that police say will likely cause traffic delays. The procession is expected to be... more »

• Stormwater showdown: Mayor and utility at odds over paying for improvements Play Video

  June 13, 2012 9:04 PM

  It was a storm that exposed the weaknesses of an aging stormwater system. Dozens of cars were stuck and submerged in several feet of water and hail near the Citadel Mall last week, the result of storm drains overwhelmed by the deluge. The city has a $500 million backlog... more »

• Mayor Bach hires new City Clerk

  May 19, 2012 11:45 AM

  Mayor Steve Bach has hired a new City Clerk for Colorado Springs; Sarah Johnson should join city staff Monday June 4th, following City Council approval May 22nd. According to a release from the Mayor's communications office, Johnson has 18 years of elections experience. Most recently Johnson worked for seven... more »

• City council to review $1M payout for Memorial CEO Play Video

  April 29, 2012 12:34 AM

  More than a million dollars in taxpayer money is set to go into the bank account of the departing Memorial Hospital CEO, Dr. Larry McEvoy. It's part of an exit package that has the Mayor of Colorado Springs calling for action. City Council got an email from Mayor Bach... more »

• Mayor visits Springs Rescue Mission

  March 29, 2012 7:51 PM

  Mayor Steve Bach took a tour of the Springs Rescue Mission Thursday morning to see first hand the work the non-profit agency does in helping the homeless and working poor in our community. The Mission is currently undergoing a million dollar expansion to their facilities that will allow them to... more »

• Citizen volunteers would monitor downtown cameras

  March 13, 2012 2:22 PM

  Colorado Springs City Council will take public comment this afternoon on a proposal to install 10 new video surveillance cameras at various points through downtown. Steve Cox, the chief of staff for Mayor Steve Bach took a limited number of questions about the proposal during the mayor's monthly media briefing... more »

• Carey named Colorado Springs permanent police chief Play Video

  January 24, 2012 4:00 PM

  Interim police chief Peter Cary is now the permanent chief of police for Colorado Springs. Mayor Steve Bach offered the resolution to make Carey permanent chief at today's city council meeting. After words of praise from the mayor and councilman Bernie Herpin and councilwoman Jan Martin, the vote... more »

• Update: Mayor's office releases statement

  January 17, 2012 7:16 PM

  Since our earlier attempt to speak to Mayor Steve Bach about Councilwoman Czelatdko's comments about communication problems, his office has released the following statement to us. "At no time were any council members removed from any information distribution lists in any of the departments - nor did we receive... more »

• Council overrides several mayoral vetoes Play Video

  December 15, 2011 7:29 PM

  An emergency meeting of City Council was held in Colorado Springs Thursday afternoon to vote on seven of Mayor Steve Bach's vetoes to the 2012 budget. In all, Council voted down 5 of the 7 vetoes. The biggest was a $175,000 price tag to repair and maintain city tennis courts.... more »

• Mayor calls for end to DUI checkpoints Play Video

  November 9, 2011 8:48 PM

  Sobriety checkpoints may soon be a thing of the past in Colorado Springs. As part of his budget for next year, Mayor Steve Bach recommended the police department no longer use the checkpoints because they are inefficient at catching drunk drivers. The mayor says he came to the decision... more »

• Private plowing experiment may spur job growth Play Video

  October 26, 2011 8:25 PM

  In the winter, there's not much landscaping work for Judd Bryarly and his employees at Timberline Landscaping to do. Instead, the company vice president and operations manager says this time of year they equip their trucks for snow removal. "I think snow removal is about a quarter of our... more »

• Colorado Springs marks 9-11 anniversary with morning ceremony

  September 11, 2011 5:42 PM

  The Colorado Springs community observed the tenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks with a solemn and respectful ceremony at America the Beautiful Park Sunday. Serving as master of ceremonies, former Colorado Governor Bill Ritter called on the audience to remember not the horror of the attacks... more »

• Mayor Bach in attendance for Memorial Health System proposal process

  September 2, 2011 11:30 AM

  Along with The City Council Task Force and the Regional Leadership Forum, Mayor Steve Bach is participating this morning in the request for proposal process for determining the future of Memorial Health. City Council decided at the end of August to work with the Mayor's office and the Regional... more »

• Colorado Springs City Attorney is retiring

  August 26, 2011 8:23 PM

  The City of Colorado Springs announced today that Patricia K. Kelly has decided to retire from her position as City Attorney. She will leave her current position September 30. Ms. Kelly has worked for the City for more than 25 years of service. Mayor Steve Bach expects to appoint... more »

• Colorado Springs Police put their plan in action

  July 28, 2011 1:51 PM

  Colorado Springs Police and Mayor Steve Bach just updated us on the 3 separate shootings overnight in the city. In all four people died. Sgt. Steve Noblitt says the City had a plan of action to put into place last night when they were called out to multiple scenes.... more »

• City Clerk, Kathryn Young announces retirement.

  July 21, 2011 4:38 PM

  In a press release from the office of Colorado Springs Mayor Steve Bach, an announcement of retirement has been made, bringing to an end, 28 years of service by City Clerk Kathryn Young. "I am very grateful for the opportunity to have served this extraordinary organization and its citizens... more »

• Parks group drops tax effort for now

  June 21, 2011 4:53 PM

  Voters will not get to decide whether to raise taxes for parks this fall. The group Great Parks Great Communities officially pulled their request for a ballot initiative at Tuesday's county commissioners meeting. They had wanted to ask voters for a dedicated sales tax increase of 15 cents on... more »

• Mayor lays out agenda

  June 13, 2011 12:25 PM

  Colorado Springs Mayor Steve Bach announced a restructuring in the city administration naming four positions that would report directly to him: the city attorney, communications director, chief of staff and a new economic vitality adviser. Bach said he has four goals for the yet to be named economic vitality... more »