Colorado Springs City Council About CouncilWatch
CouncilWatch in Colorado Springs is a government transparency service operated by Civix IQ, LLC and delivered through the CivicPrinciples network. It scores the City Council — and every councilmember — against the same 15 principles of good governance applied to every government in the network.
What we cover
The Colorado Springs City Council — nine members, elected by district and at large. We score every regular meeting since the start of 2026, and the record starts in 2026.
The council sits roughly every two weeks. Analysis is published as each meeting is processed, so the record grows meeting by meeting rather than in batches.
Why this city
City Council decides zoning, budgets, utilities, and public safety priorities for a city of half a million people, largely in meetings that run for hours and are attended by almost nobody. The record exists; it just is not readable. That is the gap this fills.
How a meeting becomes a score
Every meeting is transcribed from the official video. Agenda items and votes are identified, speakers matched to what they said, and each contested decision is evaluated against all 15 principles of good governance. Findings are classified Clear, Likely, or Potential, then weighted into a 0-to-5 Screw-O-Meter score for each councilmember and for the council as a whole.
The same rubric runs in every market. That is the point: a score in Colorado Springs means the same thing as a score anywhere else we operate. See AI, Transparency & Trust for what the automated steps do and where human judgment enters, and the Audit Policy for how scoring can be formally reviewed.
What we don't do
We do not endorse candidates, parties, or ballot measures, and we do not score campaign activity, private communications, or anything outside the official meeting record. A score assesses alignment with governance principles — not character, legality, or intent.
Corrections
If something looks wrong, tell us. We review every submission through Report an Issue and correct the underlying record when warranted.