COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- Hundreds of soldiers have returned to the Mountain Post in the past week.
Paul Rochette, Summit Economics Senior Partner, said, the return is a huge help to Colorado Springs' economy.
"There's 2,700 soldiers coming, and we estimate the total economic impact will add an additional 1,390 jobs, adding about $136 million a year to the local payroll," he said. "Of that 1,390 jobs, some will be in retail. We estimate just under 400. Then, there'll be a smattering of all kinds of other sectors: real estate, medical, government, utilities, construction and everything else."
Rochette said the soldiers' return also help local and state tax revenue.
"We estimate the local tax revenue will increase by about $7.9 million per year, state and local tax revenue, so it'll be a great boost for Colorado Springs."
A-Z Masters, a local tattoo parlor located near Fort Carson, said they've noticed an influx of military clients recently.
"It has increased a lot. It was really slow over the holidays, but after all that passed, they come home," A-Z Masters artist Anthony Action said. "It's one of the first places they stop."
Action said about 90 percent of their clientele are involved with the military, and they come with money burning in their pockets.
"They have all their money and will like come back and just go blow it on something; tattoos are always a cool thing to do it with," Action said.
But Jez Ink, located just two streets from A-Z Masters, said they haven't had a noticable increase in their military clientele.
"Our primary clientele is military. We haven't really seen a fluctuation just because the majority of our clients are military as is," artist Sabrina Retzlaff said. "Right now we're scheduling at least two weeks out on weekends. Walk-ins are generally available during the week."
Retzlaff did say that she's noticed a recent increase in military members around town.
"The weekends seem to be a lot busier or people tend to be a lot more willing to spend money on things like tattoos as opposed to the basic necessities," Retzlaff said. "When students get their income tax refund checks back, they come in a lot more, but with the military it's pretty consistent monthly."