Mayor to consider revised budget OK’d by council
APD vets to continue to get longevity pay
Veteran Albuquerque police officers will continue to receive their longevity pay come July 1 under a budget fix approved by the City Council late Monday.
Councilors approved a budget package that fixed the problems with the budget bill the council initially passed in May. Mayor Richard Berry vetoed that budget, calling it fiscally unsound, but councilors succeeded in overriding that veto earlier this month.
In voting to override the budget, several councilors acknowledged that there were glitches that would need to be fixed, and the council did that Monday night by approving a floor substitute sponsored by Council President Isaac Benton, and Councilors Don Harris, Ken Sanchez and Diane Gibson. Among the problems was a budget gap that had been estimated at between $3 million
and $4.5 million.
The revised budget was approved on a 7-1 vote, with Councilors Pat Davis and Klarissa Peña joining the bill’s sponsors in voting for it. Voting against was Dan Lewis; Brad Winter was absent.
The measure now goes to Berry for consideration. The new fiscal year starts on July 1.
“The Berry administration sent a balanced and common-sense budget to the council in April and has been willing to compromise during the process,” mayoral spokeswoman Rhiannon Samuel said. “Now that the council has once again passed an alternative budget, the administration will once again conduct a thorough analysis to determine if it is currently in a form that the mayor can sign on behalf of taxpayers.”
Sanchez praised council and administration staff, and his colleagues for their work on the budget.
“We worked well together to come up with a comprehensive, fair budget for the residents of Albuquerque,” he said after the vote.
The revised budget allocates nearly $530 million for general city operations, including nearly $7.8 million in nonrecurring expenditures. Expenditures are in line with projected revenues for the fiscal year, though the measure does divert more than $1.4 million from reserves for one-time expenditures.
And the budget no longer relies on savings from a hiring freeze to cover operating expenses. The Berry administration had raised concerns that relying on savings from a freeze to cover operations could result in the city’s credit rating being downgraded.
The new budget sets aside enough money to cover 1.5 percent raises for police and fire union employes, and 1 percent increases for AFSCME union and prisoner transport union employees. It also fully funds the longevity program currently in place for veteran police officers. The council’s previous budget made those longevity stipends contingent on positive city revenue forecasts.
As with the mayor’s budget proposal, the new council budget keeps funding for 1,000 police officers, although the Albuquerque Police Department currently has only about 850 officers.
Councilors also agreed to consider larger raises for public safety employees if revenues materialize. And they agreed to consider raises for employees not currently slated to get them if there is sufficient funding available.
Other budget highlights include $735,000 to fully fund Fire Rescue 4 and $335,000 for four additional fire dispatchers.
The budget package approved by the council also includes several fee increases and a repurposing of bond proceeds.
New Mexico residents visiting the zoo, aquarium or botanic garden will pay an additional $1 to get in; out-ofstate residents will pay $2 more. The fee increases are expected to generate an additional $664,000 per year.
The council also approved a $100 fee for individuals applying for a temporary certificate of occupancy for new homes and buildings, and $50 for those needing a permanent certificate of occupancy. Those fees are expected to bring in $217,000 a year in additional general fund revenues.
The budget also anticipates fee increases in the parks division, modest fee increases for senior center services and convenience fees for people who pay the city with credit cards, though those weren’t approved by the council because they can be handled administratively.
The council also voted to repurpose more than $1.8 million in revenue bond proceeds to buy vehicles for the Albuquerque Police Department. That money had initially been earmarked to buy a lot to store vehicles seized through the city’s DWI seizure program, but the city has been unable to close the deal on the purchase.