City zeroes in on funding priorities

Committee to review list of possible projects

Albuquerque’s Intergovernmental Legislative Relations Committee on Thursday continued to review legislative priorities and prepare a list of projects and programs it hopes will attract state and federal funding next year.

Coordinating with other governmental entities, the committee, whose members come from Mayor Tim Keller’s administration and the City Council, are identifying priorities by creating a list of needs in public safety, surface transportation, economic development, human services, community and neighborhood development, immigration policy and natural resources management.

“Creating those priorities takes a lot of thought, and it’s important work,” said City Councilor Klarissa J. Peña, a member of the committee. “When you’re working with the administration and nine different councilors — all with different requests — it can be a daunting task. The list is quite extensive right now because of the needs of our community, but we’ll dissect those and decide where we need to be as a city.”

City staff will work to pare down that list into specific proposed projects and programs. The committee is expected to meet again in the next two weeks to complete and recommend separate priority resolutions for the Legislature and the federal government.

The full City Council could consider the recommended priority resolutions as soon as next month — in time for the next sessions of the Legislature and Congress.

The committee is composed of six voting members, three of whom are appointed from the City Council by the council president and three of whom are designated by the mayor. The city’s chief administrative officer and the director of council services provide staff support to the committee.