Tough choices face the Colorado Springs City Council today, as the nine-member panel decides how to slash millions from its budget in response to steeply declining revenue.

The nine-member panel will meet about 2 p.m. for its annual budget mark-up session. The Gazette will feature live reports from the meeting on this page, starting at 1:30 p.m. Readers are invited to watch the live reports and participate in a discussion about options for the city, hosted by reporter Perry Swanson. City Hall reporter Daniel Chacon will follow up with news coverage on gazette.com during the day and a report in Tuesday’s print edition.

The meeting will also be broadcast live on Comcast Channel 18, and on the city’s Web site.

Some background on the budget:The Gazette’s six-part series examining city spendingDocuments outlining the city manager’s recommended 2010 budgetThe Gazette’s database of Colorado Springs employee salariesStory: City officials facing reality: making do with millions lessStory: Crushing defeat delivers a message: Shrink government