Time for public’s ‘2 cents’ on ABQ budget
City Council’s $577M plan matches mayor’s, except for youth programs
Albuquerque residents have one last chance to put in their “2 cents” on the city’s multimillion dollar budget.
The City Council’s Committee of the Whole submitted its version of the fiscal year 2019 operating budget late Thursday, which proposes about $577 million in general fund appropriations, an increase of roughly 0.4 percent from Mayor Tim Keller’s proposal of $574.8 million.
Councilors will allow speakers to have their say on the proposed budget during a meeting at 5 p.m. today at the Vincent E. Griego Chambers in the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Government Center at One Civic Plaza NW.
The council and administration are expected to reconcile the budget, with councilors then considering the budget for approval.
The two proposals agree for the most part but vary in funding for youth programs proposed by Keller.
The committee declined to fund about $1 million in youth programming, including a middle school soccer league, after-school clubs and atrisk youth summer hires through the Family
and Community Services Department, as well as new programs through the Cultural Services and the Parks and Recreation departments.
“Funding for before school, after school and summer programming is a high priority for the administration,” Chief Administrative Officer Sarita Nair told councilors during Thursday’s budget meeting. “We think it’s a substantial part of public safety. We believe the evidence and data supports that as well, so you may hear more from us on that on Monday.”
Councilor Trudy Jones, chairwoman of the Committee of the Whole, said more planning is needed before the proposed programs are funded and implemented.
“The new programs can’t be put into place, funded, organized, staffed or done in a timely manner, so we put money into existing programs and expanded them to a certain extent,” she said.
“We can pick up the after-school care and summer programs and take care of the youth, so it’s wiser use of the money because it’s an immediate action that can be used right away. That doesn’t mean (Keller) can’t come back with them in the future, nor does it mean that he can’t fund them mid-fiscal year with unused funds.”
The committee’s version of the budget retains Keller’s funding proposals for public safety, including police vehicles, implementation of the U.S. Justice Department court-approved settlement agreement, property crime reduction, support staff, police raises and longevity, as well as new police officers and a proposed one-half of 1 percent pay increase for firefighters.
The committee’s budget proposal adds about $1.5 million in additional public safety spending, including $125,000 for Safe City Strike Force code enforcement specialists, $360,000 for Albuquerque Street Connect, $500,000 in additional funding for Safe City Strike Force board-ups and demolitions, $225,000 for Heading Home vouchers, $114,000 for mobile cameras for parks security, $100,000 for contractual parks security and $75,000 to begin land banking for vacant and abandoned buildings.
The Committee of the Whole, which consists of all nine councilors acting as a committee, considers the budget proposed by the mayor. The city’s fiscal year begins July 1.