OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Committee of the Whole Budget Hearing on FY2027 Operating Budget – May 7, 2026

City Council — Thursday, May 7, 2026
BodyAlbuquerque, New Mexico
SessionCity Council
DateThursday, May 7, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 6:20:43
Transcript — Verbatim
0:05

Thank you.

0:10

I call this meeting, Committee of the Whole meeting to order.

0:13

All counselors are present or will be present this evening.

0:16

Counselor Baca will be here in a little bit.

0:19

Councillors Lewis and Penya will also be here soon.

0:24

Councillor Basan and Tayas are joining us joining us via Zoom.

0:29

We will start with a moment of silence, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:33

And I think Mr.

0:34

Cornelius is going to put the pledge up on so we can follow along.

0:54

I pledge allegiance to the Planet of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

1:26

All right, thank you.

1:27

Once again, we need to move on.

1:33

I'm sorry, madam chair, I should have unmuted.

1:36

We needed you here.

1:38

Okay, tonight is the second of three public hearings the council is required to hold on the city's operating budget.

1:45

Tonight's meeting will focus on the physical goal departments, which include municipal development, planning, general services, environmental health, transit, animal welfare, legal, solid waste, internal audit, inspector general, human resources, technology and innovation, finance and administration, and city support.

2:09

Aviation was heard last Thursday, and tonight we will hear from youth and families.

2:14

On Thursday, May 14th, the council will hold a third committee of the whole meeting to consider amendments and/or substitutes.

2:22

No live public comment will be taken on the city's operating budget legislation, which is R 2617.

2:30

However, live public comment will be taken on the objectives legislation R 2628.

2:37

Written comment will be accepted at the May 14th meeting for both items.

2:42

At the end of the May 14th meeting, the budget as amended and or substituted will be sent to the Monday May 18th City Council meeting for adoption.

2:52

Live public comment and written comments will be accepted at the May 18th council meeting.

2:59

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

3:18

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

3:23

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

3:32

The video recording of this meeting will also remain available for viewing at any time on the city council's website.

3:46

Finding the videos online, please call 505-768-3100 for assistance during business hours, which are Monday through Friday from 8 to 5.

3:56

Members of the public have the opportunity to address the committee if they have signed up for public comment per the rules published on the agenda and on our website Friday.

4:06

We will now move to public comment.

4:09

Here are the public comment ground rules.

4:12

Each participant has one minute to present.

4:16

Comments are to be addressed to the counselors only.

4:20

Any disruptive conduct will result in removal from the meeting.

4:24

We have over 50 people this evening, and I'm so glad you're here.

4:30

And we look forward to hearing your comments.

4:33

Mr.

4:33

Cornelius, will you go ahead and call the first speaker?

4:37

Thank you, Madam Chair.

4:38

First up, we have Althea Atherton, followed by Gina Levi.

4:48

Madam Chairwoman, thank you for talking about the evergreen dinner table issue in my house, which is can I transport myself and my children tomorrow?

4:56

And I'm asking you tonight to ask all of yourselves.

4:59

What will it take for you to support public transit?

5:02

What will it take for you to not say, oh, well, this doesn't cut bus service to acknowledge that the bus service was already cut?

4:59

We are operating at a 35 to 40 percent loss of pre-pandemic bus service.

5:13

This buzz is not going to cut service, it codifies the service we already lost.

5:17

This body approves the ABQ ride forward.

5:20

You all voted to approve the ABQ Ride Forward Network, but it's gonna happen over 16 phases in three to five years.

5:27

So 16 times.

5:29

Families are going to have to look at the schedule and look at the new roots to figure out how these changes are going to impact us personally.

5:35

So what will it take for you all to support the drivers?

5:38

These tiny raises, treating them um, or not treating them fairly or patriotically for that frontline service that they provide to us on a daily basis.

5:47

Um I want them to be able to focus on piloting a vehicle safely.

5:51

I want them to have fewer disruptions, and I want them to have more bathroom breaks.

5:54

What will it take for you to acknowledge that every parent in this room knows that the bus is the safest way to transport children in the city?

6:02

There is safer than a car, it is safer than walking.

6:06

Because with all this talk about the mother road this year, I'm asking that you think about the mothers on the road who ride Route 66.

6:12

Thank you.

6:13

Thank you.

6:18

Madam President, you're coming.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Miscellaneous█████████████████17%
Engineering And Infrastructure████████████████16%
Personnel Matters███████████11%
Arts And Culture████████8%
Fiscal Sustainability███████7%
Animal Welfare██████6%
Procedural████4%
Economic Development████4%
Environmental Protection████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Committee of the Whole Budget Hearing on FY2027 Operating Budget – May 7, 2026

The Albuquerque City Council held its second of three public hearings on the FY2027 operating budget (R-26-17), focusing on “physical goal” departments including Municipal Development, Planning, General Services, Environmental Health, Transit, Animal Welfare, Youth & Family Services, Legal, Solid Waste, and others. The meeting featured extensive public testimony, department director presentations, and council discussion. The item was postponed to May 14, 2026.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Althea Atherton urged support for public transit, noting ABQ Ride operates at 35-40% loss of pre-pandemic bus service and called for better driver pay and conditions.
  • Gina Levi requested full funding for Animal Welfare Department (AWD) with no cuts, emphasizing need for more animal protection officers.
  • Laura Cunningham linked stray dog numbers to lack of Heart Ordinance enforcement; stated 211 dogs were intaken in one week, only 11 strays.
  • Grace Dukes highlighted underfunding of Inspector General, ABQ Ride Forward defunding, library IT non-recurring designation, and a 47.6% general fund allocation to public safety.
  • Dennis Gromelski (Fusion) asked for continued support for Fusion’s arts funding.
  • Catalina Laner opposed AWD cuts, citing a 50% proposed cut to Street Cat Hub and noting shelter cat numbers dropped from ~220 to ~50 since 2014.
  • Jordan McConnell urged restoring transit positions and full implementation of ABQ Ride Forward.
  • Michael Chase (NM Biopark Society) requested recurring funding for animal diets/medications at the BioPark, noting it is in top 10% of zoos for animal care.
  • Sebastian Fierro warned that open space cuts would reduce park attendants to one, impacting maintenance and monitoring.
  • Joel Biarrial (union representative) argued that workers are being asked to fund their own raises and the city budget.
  • Roberta Price and Maria Geere (Library Foundation) asked to make library IT a recurring $500,000 item.
  • Hindi Samud called for a “people’s budget” and cutting police spending, noting crime at a 10-year low.
  • Multiple speakers (over 50 total) expressed support for transit, animal welfare, libraries, open space, arts, and 911 services, and opposed cuts.

Discussion Items

  • Economic Update (Christine Borner): Gross receipts tax remains positive year-to-date but growth needed; employment in Albuquerque expected to decline 0.2% in FY26; national data shows slow growth.
  • Municipal Development (Jennifer Turner): Budget $41.5M (11.8% increase); 35 vacancies; funds gas tax shortfall; includes 4M in stormwater fee revenue assumption (pending ordinance).
  • Planning (Alan Varela): Budget $24.7M; plan review turnaround cut 70% (residential from 40 to 12 days, commercial from 98 to 27). Fast track program extended.
  • General Services (Director Duran): Budget $22.4M; deactivated 12 security positions to fund raises for metro security.
  • Environmental Health (Paul Rogers): Budget $5.4M; deactivated 2 positions (one vacant 439 days).
  • Transit (Leslie Keener): Budget $62.7M; deactivating 52 positions (34 driver MCOs); need 15 more drivers and 5 mechanics for FY28 ABQ Ride Forward. Zero-fare policy cited for ridership at 85% of pre-pandemic with only 67% service.
  • Animal Welfare (Carolyn Ortega): Budget ~$16M; losing 14 positions (all vacant, avg 230-300 days); warned response times and euthanasia rates will increase.
  • Youth & Family Services (Jess Martinez): Budget $25.9M; includes $500k for new youth programming and $800k for part-time staff raises.
  • Legal (Lauren Keith): Budget $8.9M; includes $400k for diversion program; moving 7 attorneys from departments for transparency.
  • Solid Waste (William Gallegos): Budget $95.8M; proposes every-other-week recycling to reduce carbon footprint; no rate increase for residents; commercial fees up 5% per existing ordinance.
  • Human Resources (Ian Stoker): Budget $4.8M; average hiring time increased to 130 days; health insurance changes: ending GLP-1 coverage for weight loss (saving ~$5M) and raising mental health copays (saving $1.2M).
  • Finance & Administration (Donna Sandoval): Budget $15.3M; $1.1M transfer to APD for OEM restructuring; deactivating 11 positions.
  • City Support (Donna Sandoval): Budget $34.9M; early retirement projected to decrease from election year peak.

Key Outcomes

  • Motion to suspend rules for meeting extension to 11:59 p.m. passed 7-2 (Grout, Bassan, Champine, Fiebelkorn, Lewis, Peña, Telles in favor; Baca, Rogers opposed).
  • Motion to postpone R-26-17 to May 14, 2026 passed unanimously 9-0.
  • Council directed administration to provide additional data on vacancy application rates, legal diversion program costs, and stormwater fee contingency plans.
  • Council members expressed intent to offer amendments to restore funding for transit, animal welfare, libraries, and other services in the final budget.

Meeting Transcript

Thank you. I call this meeting, Committee of the Whole meeting to order. All counselors are present or will be present this evening. Counselor Baca will be here in a little bit. Councillors Lewis and Penya will also be here soon. Councillor Basan and Tayas are joining us joining us via Zoom. We will start with a moment of silence, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. And I think Mr. Cornelius is going to put the pledge up on so we can follow along. I pledge allegiance to the Planet of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. All right, thank you. Once again, we need to move on. I'm sorry, madam chair, I should have unmuted. We needed you here. Okay, tonight is the second of three public hearings the council is required to hold on the city's operating budget. Tonight's meeting will focus on the physical goal departments, which include municipal development, planning, general services, environmental health, transit, animal welfare, legal, solid waste, internal audit, inspector general, human resources, technology and innovation, finance and administration, and city support. Aviation was heard last Thursday, and tonight we will hear from youth and families. On Thursday, May 14th, the council will hold a third committee of the whole meeting to consider amendments and/or substitutes. No live public comment will be taken on the city's operating budget legislation, which is R 2617. However, live public comment will be taken on the objectives legislation R 2628. Written comment will be accepted at the May 14th meeting for both items. At the end of the May 14th meeting, the budget as amended and or substituted will be sent to the Monday May 18th City Council meeting for adoption. Live public comment and written comments will be accepted at the May 18th council meeting. Members of the public, city staff, excuse me, and the media have the ability to view this meeting in person and on live streams through four different platforms: GovTV on Comcast Channel 16, the Gov TV website, YouTube, and Zoom webinar. The live streams can be accessed by 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 meeting will also remain available for viewing at any time on the city council's website. Finding the videos online, please call 505-768-3100 for assistance during business hours, which are Monday through Friday from 8 to 5. Members of the public have the opportunity to address the committee if they have signed up for public comment per the rules published on the agenda and on our website Friday. We will now move to public comment. Here are the public comment ground rules. Each participant has one minute to present. Comments are to be addressed to the counselors only. Any disruptive conduct will result in removal from the meeting. We have over 50 people this evening, and I'm so glad you're here. And we look forward to hearing your comments. Mr. Cornelius, will you go ahead and call the first speaker? Thank you, Madam Chair. First up, we have Althea Atherton, followed by Gina Levi. Madam Chairwoman, thank you for talking about the evergreen dinner table issue in my house, which is can I transport myself and my children tomorrow? And I'm asking you tonight to ask all of yourselves. What will it take for you to support public transit? What will it take for you to not say, oh, well, this doesn't cut bus service to acknowledge that the bus service was already cut? We are operating at a 35 to 40 percent loss of pre-pandemic bus service. This buzz is not going to cut service, it codifies the service we already lost. This body approves the ABQ ride forward. You all voted to approve the ABQ Ride Forward Network, but it's gonna happen over 16 phases in three to five years. So 16 times. Families are going to have to look at the schedule and look at the new roots to figure out how these changes are going to impact us personally.

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