OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Albuquerque City Council Meeting Summary - December 15, 2025

City CouncilMonday, December 15, 2025
BodyAlbuquerque, New Mexico
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, December 15, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 3:56:35
Transcript — Verbatim
0:18

Good evening, everyone.

0:20

It's December 15th, 2025, the 44th meeting of the 26th Council will come to order.

0:26

All counselors are going to be present this evening.

0:29

Counselor Baca is joining us a little bit late.

0:32

We're going to begin with a moment of silence, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance in English and Spanish.

1:19

Civic Plaza parking passes are provided for members of the public.

1:22

You can obtain a parking pass from council staff at the table near the chamber's entrance.

1:26

Members of the public, city staff and the media have the ability to view this meeting in person and on live streams through four different platforms Gov TV on Comcast Channel 16, the Gov TV website, YouTube, and Zoom webinar.

1:39

The live streams can be accessed from most smartphones, tablets, or computers.

1:43

Also, this meeting is closed captioned, and you may enable the closed captioning services on your television or device at this time.

1:49

The video recording of this and all past council meetings will remain available for viewing at any time on the City Council's website.

1:56

Council staff is available via telephone if members of the public need assistance finding the videos online.

2:01

Please call 505 768 3100 for assistance during business hours Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.

2:08

to 5 p.m.

2:09

The council will take a break at approximately 7 p.m.

2:12

this evening if needed with regard to decorum in the chambers.

2:15

We want tonight's proceeding to be as civil and respectful as possible.

2:18

Please do not make any personal attacks and please no applause, snapping, or other outbursts during the meeting.

2:22

I will provide one warning to anyone causing a disruption.

2:27

Upon the second or continued disruption, that individual will be asked to leave the chambers, and if necessary, security will be asked to escort them out of the chambers.

2:34

Such removal from the council chambers will even be effective for the remainder of the meeting, and if continued disruptions occur, I may recess the meeting until order is restored, and if necessary, may clear the chambers of persons participating in the disturbance.

2:46

The meeting will go a lot smoother if we are respectful of one another.

2:50

We're going to begin with proclamations and presentations.

2:53

Counselor Grow.

2:54

Thank you, Madam President.

2:56

Um, I move that the rules be suspended for the purpose of allowing more than four proclamations per counselor per calendar year.

3:04

Second.

3:05

There's a motion and a second by Councillor Champagne.

3:08

Uh is do we have Councillor Baca on Zoom or no?

3:13

Okay, so he is excused right now.

3:15

All those in favor of the rule suspension, raise your hand and say yes.

3:18

Yes.

3:19

Anyone opposed?

3:20

That passes on an eight-zero vote.

3:21

Counselor Grow.

3:22

Thank you, Madam President.

3:24

I would um this proclamation is recognizing the Foothills APD's Foothills response team.

3:30

Accepting this evening is Sergeant Doug Moore and the Foothills PRT.

3:36

Would you all come on down to the front, please?

3:55

As they make their way down to the podium, Counselor, do you want to start reading the proclamation?

3:59

Yes, thank you.

4:00

Um, thank you all for being here.

4:03

Uh, whereas the Foothills Area Command's proactive response team is led by Sergeant Doug Moore and includes Officer Antonio Hernandez, Officer Ashley Martinez Lacone, Officer Derek Maines, Officer Eric Montoya, Officer Andrew Ramanowski, and Officer Kyle Salzburg.

4:25

And whereas the mission of the proactive response team is to address low-level crimes that impact the community's comfort and sense of safety through high visibility proactive enforcement.

5:03

And whereas APD's 2025 Uniform Officer of the Year is Ashley Martinez Lacone, who earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in criminal justice at New Mexico State University, and has been with APD's Field Service Bureau since 2017, where her positive attitude, sincere desire to help others, and solid work ethic have made her a model officer, accounting for 25% of the team's enforcement statistics, and 149 felony arrests, including 134 felony warrants, 77 misdemeanors, including 149 misdemeanor warrants, uh, through November of this year, earned a medal for outstanding service after jeopardizing your own safety to save the life of a citizen in October of 2020.

5:51

And whereas APD's 2024 uniform officer of the year was Eric Montoya, who has been with APD since 19, 2019, regularly leads the team in enforcement statistics and goes above and beyond the call of duty in every task he undertakes, earning the respect of his peers, the gratitude of citizens, and in his off-duty hours, he coaches a successful junior wrestling club.

6:17

And whereas Officer Kyle Salberg has made several high-profile arrests in the last few weeks, clearing multiple narcotic trafficking warrants, removing fentanyl pills and methamphetamine from our streets, and locating and arresting a home invasion offender, he spends his days off helping the impact detective unit by conducting investigations and completing cases.

6:40

And whereas several weeks ago, Officer Andrew Ramankowski single-handedly, single-handedly arrested a member of the Aryan Brotherhood Gang with a multiple felony warrants and several bags of methamphetamines and fentanyl.

6:56

And as a result of this arrest, this gang member is back behind bars to finish serving his 20-year sentence and face the judge for his other committed crimes.

7:05

And whereas, although officers Antonio Hernandez and Derek Maines are new to the team, they are making great contributions with Officer Hernandez, recently finding a murder suspect who had been on the run for over a year.

7:20

Whereas these officers work to locate criminal activity and enforce our laws before calls for service even come in.

7:28

They have removed an incalculable number of guns and narcotics from our streets.

7:33

And their work is aiding economic development, job growth, and the sense of safety for residents and business owners in the Foothills and Northeast Heights.

7:44

Therefore, be it proclaimed that the council, the governing body of the city of Albuquerque, hereby recognize the Foothills Proactive Response Team and thanks them for their service to the citizens of Albuquerque.

7:57

Thank you.

8:08

You guys know the Foothills.

8:10

Counselor Champagne and I are very lucky to have you all serving in our area.

8:17

We see you all the time, and you know every hill and every every um arroy, and you know you know the place, and we see the evidence of what you do.

8:30

Four years ago when I came in, um there were there were a lot of things going on that people saw daily.

8:37

And in the four years that I've been uh had the pleasure of working with you all, people have also seen the change that you're making.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████25%
Budget Equity Analysis█████████████████17%
Pending Litigation█████████████13%
Public Safety████████8%
Engineering And Infrastructure████████8%
Community Engagement█████5%
Personnel Matters█████5%
Public Engagement████4%
Election Reform███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Albuquerque City Council Meeting Summary - December 15, 2025

The 44th meeting of the 26th Albuquerque City Council convened on December 15, 2025, with all counselors present (Counselor Baca arriving late). The session honored retiring Counselor Sanchez as the final meeting of his four-year term and recognized the Foothills Area Command Proactive Response Team for their service. The council addressed multiple legislative items, including budget oversight, employee compensation, and zoning map amendments, while navigating procedural challenges regarding fund balances and item expiration.

Consent Calendar

  • Unanimous Approval: The entire consent agenda was approved unanimously. This included routine appointments to boards and commissions, the approval of the December 1st journal, and the suspension of rules to place several ordinances (OC 57, OC 59, EC 548, R219, R215) on the agenda for action.
  • EC 544: Approval of a supplemental risk management agreement for outside legal services was approved unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Ranked Choice Voting: Kristen Cummings, Shirley Field, Perry Radford, and Molly Swank (Common Cause NM) expressed support for ranked choice voting. They argued it saves taxpayer money (estimated at over $1.6 million for runoffs), reduces voter fatigue, and leads to majority-backed winners, citing success in Santa Fe and Las Cruces.
  • Rental Practices Ordinance: Nira Saxena expressed strong support for the rental practices ordinance (O-102), urging the council to adopt provisions of SB 267 to protect tenants and prevent displacement, noting that predatory renting affects unhoused citizens.
  • Police Accountability: Mr. JB (referred to by a supporter as "JB") and Thomas Abeta expressed strong concern regarding the lack of timely police follow-up after JB was shot at his barbershop. They emphasized the need for accountability and criticized the department's failure to secure the scene or collect evidence. Councillor Lewis and Councillor Baca echoed these concerns, calling the lack of follow-up "outrageous" and a failure of the system.
  • Voter Intimidation: Lisa Christofferson expressed distress over a social media post suggesting ICE presence at a polling location in District 3, stating she believes this intented to intimidate voters.
  • Homeless Support & Resource Allocation: Marcelin Costner expressed frustration and opposition regarding the police sweeping of food distribution programs and the prioritization of park maintenance over food and housing for the unhoused. They argued that "numbers lying" about city safety is a dangerous narrative.
  • Municipal Pensions: Steven Verczynski expressed concern regarding the Public Employee Retirement Association (PERA) cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) reducing pension values by over 50% in the next 25 years, urging the council to restore COLAs.
  • Elections Oversight: Molly Swank expressed support for a resolution demanding a public investigation into the meeting between the U.S. Ambassador to Israel and convicted spy Jonathan Pollard.

Discussion Items

  • Budget Oversight (O-067): A committee substitute to improve budget proposal processes was discussed. Amendments were adopted to clarify reporting for direct reports, require study sessions, and mandate public hearings. Counselor Lewis and the CAO raised concerns about the lines between legislative and executive functions. Counselor Rogers and Counselor Pena argued for deferral due to the bill's impending one-year expiration and the need for further discussion on program savings language. A motion to suspend the rules to extend the bill failed 7-2.
  • Supplemental Compensation (R-219): Councilor Feblecorn proposed a one-time supplemental payment for city employees based on FY25 fund balance, citing a promise made during budget negotiations. Counselor Grout and Counselor Sanchez expressed skepticism, arguing that a one-time payment is inferior to a recurring COLA and that prioritizing employees over unfunded park emergency needs (O-102 deferral context) was inconsistent. Counselor Lewis criticized the last-minute nature of the bill, noting it competes with the park bill and lacks clear funding sources. Counselor Rogers and Counselor Baca expressed support for prioritizing employees over park projects. The item was deferred to January 5th.
  • Rental Practice Ordinance (O-102): Councilor Rogers moved to defer the ordinance codifying SB 267 provisions to January 5th to allow more time for review.
  • Mid-Year Cleanup (R-215): Councilor Grout moved to defer this budget adjustment bill to January 5th to allow time for council staff to digest questions and for the administration to provide accurate financial data regarding the unaudited fund balance.
  • Foothills PRT Proclamation: A unanimous vote was held to suspend rules and recognize the Foothills Proactive Response Team. Counselors expressed support and admiration for the team's proactive policing and leadership, particularly noting that three out of the last four APD Officers of the Year came from this district.

Key Outcomes

  • Proclamations: The Foothills Proactive Response Team was officially recognized with a proclamation (8-0 vote). Counselor Baca arrived late and was excused from this vote initially, but the vote passed 8-0 (presumably after Baca joined or as a unanimous consensus after his arrival). *Note: Transcript indicates 8-0 vote after Baca was excused, implying presence/consensus was high.
  • Appointments: Carl R. Kaiser was unanimously (7-0) confirmed as the new member of the Open Space Advisory Board.
  • Contracts: EC 548 (IDEMIA AFIS platform) was approved unanimously (7-0).
  • Zoning Map Amendments:
    • O-100 (Mana Mall MRA): Adopted unanimously to rezone 41 acres from non-residential to Mixed-Use Medium (MXM) to support redevelopment and housing goals.
    • O-101 (UNM South Campus): Adopted with one amendment (9-0) to rezone approximately 35 acres from RMH/MXL to NRC to facilitate retail and employment uses.
  • Deferrals:
    • R-215 (Mid-Year Cleanup): Deferred to January 5th, 2026 (9-0).
    • R-219 (Employee Bonus): Deferred to January 5th, 2026 (9-0).
    • O-102 (Rental Ordinance): Deferred to January 5th, 2026 (5-4).
  • O-067 (Budget Process): Passed 8-1 as amended, pending further discussion on procedural rules in the next term as expiration suspension failed.
  • Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned with Counselor Sanchez thanking the staff and colleagues for their four years of service.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening, everyone. It's December 15th, 2025, the 44th meeting of the 26th Council will come to order. All counselors are going to be present this evening. Counselor Baca is joining us a little bit late. We're going to begin with a moment of silence, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance in English and Spanish. Civic Plaza parking passes are provided for members of the public. You can obtain a parking pass from council staff at the table near the chamber's entrance. Members of the public, city staff and the media have the ability to view this meeting in person and on live streams through four different platforms Gov TV on Comcast Channel 16, the Gov TV website, YouTube, and Zoom webinar. The live streams can be accessed from most smartphones, tablets, or computers. Also, this meeting is closed captioned, and you may enable the closed captioning services on your television or device at this time. The video recording of this and all past council meetings will remain available for viewing at any time on the City Council's website. Council staff is available via telephone if members of the public need assistance finding the videos online. Please call 505 768 3100 for assistance during business hours Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The council will take a break at approximately 7 p.m. this evening if needed with regard to decorum in the chambers. We want tonight's proceeding to be as civil and respectful as possible. Please do not make any personal attacks and please no applause, snapping, or other outbursts during the meeting. I will provide one warning to anyone causing a disruption. Upon the second or continued disruption, that individual will be asked to leave the chambers, and if necessary, security will be asked to escort them out of the chambers. Such removal from the council chambers will even be effective for the remainder of the meeting, and if continued disruptions occur, I may recess the meeting until order is restored, and if necessary, may clear the chambers of persons participating in the disturbance. The meeting will go a lot smoother if we are respectful of one another. We're going to begin with proclamations and presentations. Counselor Grow. Thank you, Madam President. Um, I move that the rules be suspended for the purpose of allowing more than four proclamations per counselor per calendar year. Second. There's a motion and a second by Councillor Champagne. Uh is do we have Councillor Baca on Zoom or no? Okay, so he is excused right now. All those in favor of the rule suspension, raise your hand and say yes. Yes. Anyone opposed? That passes on an eight-zero vote. Counselor Grow. Thank you, Madam President. I would um this proclamation is recognizing the Foothills APD's Foothills response team. Accepting this evening is Sergeant Doug Moore and the Foothills PRT. Would you all come on down to the front, please? As they make their way down to the podium, Counselor, do you want to start reading the proclamation? Yes, thank you. Um, thank you all for being here. Uh, whereas the Foothills Area Command's proactive response team is led by Sergeant Doug Moore and includes Officer Antonio Hernandez, Officer Ashley Martinez Lacone, Officer Derek Maines, Officer Eric Montoya, Officer Andrew Ramanowski, and Officer Kyle Salzburg. And whereas the mission of the proactive response team is to address low-level crimes that impact the community's comfort and sense of safety through high visibility proactive enforcement. And whereas APD's 2025 Uniform Officer of the Year is Ashley Martinez Lacone, who earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in criminal justice at New Mexico State University, and has been with APD's Field Service Bureau since 2017, where her positive attitude, sincere desire to help others, and solid work ethic have made her a model officer, accounting for 25% of the team's enforcement statistics, and 149 felony arrests, including 134 felony warrants, 77 misdemeanors, including 149 misdemeanor warrants, uh, through November of this year, earned a medal for outstanding service after jeopardizing your own safety to save the life of a citizen in October of 2020. And whereas APD's 2024 uniform officer of the year was Eric Montoya, who has been with APD since 19, 2019, regularly leads the team in enforcement statistics and goes above and beyond the call of duty in every task he undertakes, earning the respect of his peers, the gratitude of citizens, and in his off-duty hours, he coaches a successful junior wrestling club. And whereas Officer Kyle Salberg has made several high-profile arrests in the last few weeks, clearing multiple narcotic trafficking warrants, removing fentanyl pills and methamphetamine from our streets, and locating and arresting a home invasion offender, he spends his days off helping the impact detective unit by conducting investigations and completing cases. And whereas several weeks ago, Officer Andrew Ramankowski single-handedly, single-handedly arrested a member of the Aryan Brotherhood Gang with a multiple felony warrants and several bags of methamphetamines and fentanyl. And as a result of this arrest, this gang member is back behind bars to finish serving his 20-year sentence and face the judge for his other committed crimes. And whereas, although officers Antonio Hernandez and Derek Maines are new to the team, they are making great contributions with Officer Hernandez, recently finding a murder suspect who had been on the run for over a year.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com