Council shelves tax preparer law, prioritizes 118th Street
We haven’t hit Thanksgiving yet, but Albuquerque leaders are already contemplating tax time.
On Monday, the City Council voted not to enforce the Albuquerque Tax Preparer and Consumer Rights Ordinance during the upcoming tax season.
Councilor Pat Davis — who sponsored the original legislation at Mayor Tim Keller’s request — proposed temporarily stopping the city from enforcing it, saying there were too many unresolved issues, including some potential legal questions. He said both Keller’s administration and stakeholders, including those from the tax business, had proposed numerous amendments that have not yet been considered by the full council or worked into the ordinance.
“We’re quite frankly out of time this year to make it work right,” he said.
As originally passed in February, the ordinance creates new regulations for paid tax preparers who are not licensed attorneys or Certified Public Accountants. It requires that they outline their fees up front, let customers know they might be able to file taxes for free online, and make clear to clients who seek “refund anticipation” advances how much of their eventual return will go toward related fees.
During Monday’s public comment, tax industry speakers urged the council to halt enforcement, though some consumer advocates warned against such action.
Representatives from Keller’s administration, meanwhile, said they were ready to carry out the provisions and warned that not enforcing it may only confuse businesses the city has already contacted.
But the council voted 5-3 to stay enforcement until July 1.
Councilors Brook Bassan, Isaac Benton, Trudy Jones and Klarissa Peña voted with Davis, while Lan Sena, Diane Gibson and Cynthia Borrego opposed the stay of enforcement. Don Harris was not present for the vote.
INVESTING IN THE WEST: Also during Monday’s meeting, the council narrowly voted to make developing 118th Street a priority by passing Peña’s resolution that calls the roadway “necessary for the orderly development of the Southwest Mesa of Albuquerque, and to provide for the residents’ public health welfare and safety, and appropriately apply the City equity policies.”
The bill originally focused on developing about 3.5 miles of the corridor from Interstate 40 to Senator Dennis Chavez — a large part of which is located outside city limits in unincorporated Bernalillo County. Sena then proposed an amendment to stretch it another 1.2 miles north, but Benton voiced discomfort with the last-minute addition to what he said was a land-use decision of “great importance” to the whole city, not just the West Side.
It’s about “where are we going as a city, and how do you make decisions about building millions of dollars in roadways,” he said.
Gibson also raised concerns about what she called the “bad practice”
of allowing an “11th-hour amendment that has such a large impact on the whole bill.”
But Sena’s amendment passed, as did the legislation itself. Councilors Harris, Bassan and Borrego joined Peña and Sena in support. Davis, Benton, Gibson and Jones voted against making it a citywide priority.
Peña said the roadway is important for her community.
“I really believe this area of town is part of the innercity … and yet it hasn’t been developed,” she said. “I look forward to the growth of our city and I look forward to developing an area that’s been underserved.” (REALLY) MOVING ON MONTGOMERY: Councilor Jones during the meeting raised concerns about an October traffic study on Montgomery Boulevard which found that 12,339 of 84,992 westbound vehicles were traveling 50-64 mph, another 448 registered speeds above 64 mph and one was found going 140 mph.
“This is all where the speed limit posted on Montgomery is at 35-40 miles per hour,” Jones said, asking law enforcement officials how they were approaching the problem.
An Albuquerque Police Department commander told Jones the city has increased traffic enforcement on Montgomery, including tactical plans, and will continue to prioritize the area as long as data demonstrates the need for it. He said officers say “day-today drivers” — as opposed to the street racing community — represent most of the speeders.
“This is becoming standard behavior for Albuquerque drivers,” said Benton, who added his appreciation to the council for recently clearing the way for new camera-based automated speed enforcement.
‘CATASTROPHE’ AVERTED: The council formally authorized the Dec. 7 runoff election that will determine who serves as its representatives from District 7 and District 9 in the new year.
The city charter requires the runoff because none of the candidates seeking those seats in the Nov. 2 regular election reached the 50% vote threshold the charter requires to win. The top two finishers in each race must proceed to a runoff.
But Bassan raised the question about what would happen if the council did not authorize the election.
“I most definitely do not plan on voting against this, but I am curious what happens if something like this were to fail — other than potential catastrophe?” she asked.
Council Services Director Chris Melendrez said “it’s a little bit concerning to think about what would happen,” but noted that, in at least one previous instance, the New Mexico Supreme Court had to intervene after the council neglected to fulfill its obligation to put a question on the ballot.
The council voted unanimously to authorize the Dec. 7 election.
Lori Robertson and Tammy Fiebelkorn are competing for the District 7 seat, while Rob Grilley and Renee Grout are squaring off in the District 9 runoff.