Berry won’t sign budget, lets it take effect

Mayor says plan may hurt city financially

Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry is allowing the budget approved by the City Council earlier this month to go into law, but he refused to sign the legislation, saying it “overcommits recurring costs and leaves the next mayor and City Council with problems structurally balancing the FY/19 operating budget.”

Berry notified Council President Isaac Benton of his decision in a memo Thursday.

“I have chosen not to veto this Council budget because if the veto is upheld, we revert back to your previous substitute budget … that was passed on May 15, 2017,” he wrote. “I cannot in any good conscience allow that to occur because that budget would cause even more harm to the taxpayers and to the city’s financial standing.”

The mayor’s decision to not sign the legislation is largely symbolic, sending a message that he disagrees with the spending plan but having no real impact on it.

The budget that will go into effect Saturday — the start of the new fiscal year — allocates nearly $530 million for general city operations, including nearly $7.8million in nonrecurring expenditures. It keeps expenditures in line with projected revenues for the fiscal year.

But the budget diverts more than $1.4 million from reserves for one-time expenditures, a move that Berry said could adversely affect the city’s bond rating. The budget also “dismantles our longrange plan to rebuild our selfinsured risk management fund by completely eliminating the $3.3 million of ‘recovery’ transfers to shore-up a $40 million negative net position in that fund,” the mayor wrote in his message to Benton.

In an interview, Berry said he has worked hard throughout his tenure to leave the city’s finances in good shape for his successor. He

said the council sent him something he simply can’t endorse.

“Our next mayor will have to manage through it,” he said.

City Councilor Don Harris, one of seven councilors who voted for the budget, said Berry seems to be out of touch.

“He doesn’t realize we have a (public safety) crisis, and we need all hands on deck,” Harris said. “One story of Lavu threatening to leave Albuquerque or one story about Albuquerque being the worst city in country for auto theft does more damage to our fiscal situation than any concerns about these reserves.”

Lavu sent a letter to the mayor last week, saying that crime in Downtown Albuquerque is out of control and warning that it may consider leaving Downtown and maybe the state if the situation doesn’t improve. The National Insurance Crime Bureau recently reported that the Albuquerque area had the highest per capita rate of auto thefts in the country.

In his message to Benton, Berry said his proposed budget prioritized public safety with an additional $7 million for APD alone.

“All told, my last budget included an additional $22 million investment in APD compared to the budget that was in place when I took office,” the mayor wrote. “A significant portion of that extra $22 million has been used to bolster police officer pay by over 19 percent, even during the great recession. My administration has been committed to public safety, and the budgets I have submitted reflect that fact.”