I think the deadline for amendments is passed.

Okay.

Welcome everyone.

Welcome everyone tonight.

This is the 11th meeting of the 27th council will come to order.

All counselors are present this evening.

We'll move on to a moment of silence, followed by the followed by the pledge in English and in Spanish.

Please join me in the pledge.

Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

And to the recovery, for which it stands.

One nation under God, individual with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you, Mr.

Cornelius.

So we're putting it up on the screen, so if anyone wants to join in and you know brush up on your Spanish or your English, you're more than welcome.

Um Vice President Champagne.

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

You can obtain your parking pass from the council staff at the table near the entrance of the chambers.

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

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

Also, this meeting is closed captioned.

You may enable the closed captioning services on your device and television at this time.

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

City 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.

Council will take a break at approximately 7 p.m.

this week this week.

With regard to decorum in the chambers, we want tonight's proceedings to be civil and respectful as possible.

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

Anyone causing a disruption.

No, they'll provide one warning to anyone causing a disruption.

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

Such removal from the council chambers will be effective for the remainder of that meeting.

If continued disruption occur, the president may recess the meeting until order is restored, and if necessary, may clear the chambers of persons participating in that disturbance.

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

At this time we will have any any questions for the administration.

Counselors.

Awesome.

We're good.

Madam President, we do have one presentation from Miss Uh Turner, the DMD director, who will provide us an update on the vulnerable road users campaign and efforts.

Council President and uh Council Champagne, we have our deputy director.

To do the presentation.

Well, thank you.

Thank you.

Madam President.

Council members.

Yes, uh, my name is Jorge Gonzalez.

I'm deputy director with municipal development.

Thank you for the opportunity to allow me to provide you with a monthly update on our traffic safety educational campaign.

Um next slide, please.

Um just a refresher on our traffic code updates, uh, flashing pedestrian beacons require drivers to stop and remain stopped until people finish crossing.

And of course, we uh ask vulnerable road users to cross safely.

Um right now, the public education efforts continue expanding traffic safety awareness citywide, which brings us to our main point, which is next slide, Gareth, please.

The uh development of the Spanish speaking companion campaign, stop para todos.

Uh this one right here says cada esquina is un cruce peatonal, este pintado o no, los conductores deven detenerse.

Uh, this is our every corner is a crosswalk message, uh translated for our Spanish speaking audience.

Uh next slide, Garrett.

Um if you were um in the spirit of the campaign, I would like to provide some of the highlights in a manner that can be uh captured by our intended audience.

Uh, Sta Para Todos fue creada como el complemento de la campana stop for everyone.

And include un sitio web in espanhol, seavecu.gov diagonal, stop, um para guión todos.

También include desarrollo de viveos y materiales informativos in espanhol, de difusión comunitaria através de Telemundo, Estrella TV y Radiodifusoras in Spanol.

Esta campana appoya los esfuerzos de comunicación y accesibilidad de materia, the seguridad publica.

And I'm just letting our Spanish speaking audience know that we have a dedicated website, cav.gov forward slash stop para todos, which includes videos and educational materials in Spanish.

Next slide, please, Gareth.

We've also translated all of our assets and dubbed the uh audiovisual ones uh with Spanish speaking voice actors where appropriate and used um subtitles uh in some instances to preserve the core message, such as Kayla's story.

Our intent with this companion campaign is to increase the number of folks that can learn about not only the traffic code updates but traffic safety in general.

Uh thank you for the opportunity to provide you with this update.

Assistant director, thank you very much for that.

Appreciate it.

Councilor Rogers.

Thank you, Mr.

Vice President.

Thank you for the update.

And I just wanted to just for all the public, I know we have a lot of folks watching and in the audience.

This is extremely extremely important that even if you're seeing these commercials or seeing this on our social media that you please share them, share the information out.

This in May alone, we've had four people struck by cars.

Um we had May 11th, Robert Montoya, that was on Carlisle and Claremont.

Uh May 13th, we had a gentleman um struck and killed on Lomas near Wantabo.

Uh e-Scooter rider was hit, and then another one on Akama and Ubank on May 16th.

So we even with this campaign, um, we are still seeing things in the community that we need.

And thank you to APD.

I know you really really acted fast on the Robert Montoya um incident and did make an arrest.

And so I just want to say to the public, please share this information and watch for vulnerable road users because we've in May alone we've already had four folks um hit and killed in our city.

Thank you.

Madam President Council Rogers, thank you for that.

Appreciate it.

Thank you.

Thank you, Assistant Region.

Madam President, that uh concludes proclamations and presentations.

Thank you, Vice President Champagne.

So we are now on to the journal.

I move approval of the May 4th June journal.

Second.

There's a motion and second by Councilor Rogers.

All those in favor, raise your hand and say yes.

Yes.

Opposed, same motion.

Motion carries.

Um we are now on to communications and introductions.

Are there any changes to the letter of introduction?

Um EC 146.

I move that the rules be suspended for the purpose of placing EC 146 on tonight's agenda.

EC 146 is a recommendation of award for audit services.

Second.

There's a motion and second by Councilor Grout.

All those in favor, say yes and raise your hand.

Yes.

Yes.

Opposed, say motion, motion carries.

Councilor Grout.

Madam President, um, I move that the rules be suspended for the purpose of pulling R 24 out of the Finance and Government Operations Committee and placing it on the June 1st, 2026 Council agenda for action.

R24 is amending the adopted capital implementation program of the City of Albuquerque by supplementing current grant appropriations and approving new projects.

There's a motion and second by Vice President Champaign.

All those in favor, raise your hand and say yes.

Yes.

Opposed, say motion.

Motion carries unanimously.

Councilor Rogers.

Thank you, Madam President.

I move that the rules be suspended for the purpose of placing R 31 on tonight's agenda for action.

R 31 is appropriating funds within the fiscal year 2026 operating budget to support Juneteenth activities.

Second.

There's a motion and a second by Counselor Grout.

All those in favor say yes and raise your hand.

Yes.

Opposed, say motion.

Did everyone raise their hand?

Yes.

Okay.

Motion carries.

Councilor February.

Madam President, R32.

I move that the rules be suspended for the purpose of placing R 32 on tonight's action agenda for action.

R 32 is approving and authorizing the acceptance of grant funds for from the youth climate action fund and providing an appropriation to the environmental health department beginning in fiscal year 2027.

There's a motion second by Councilor Grout.

For R 32, all those in favor raise your hand and say yes.

Yes.

Opposed, say motion.

Motion carries.

Councilor February.

I move that the rules be suspended for the purpose of placing R 34 on tonight's agenda for action.

R 34 is amending the adopted capital implementation program of the city of Albuquerque by supplementing current grant appropriations and approving a new project for affordable housing.

There's a motion and second by Councilor Grout for R 34.

All those in favor raise your hand and say yes.

Yes.

Opposed say motion.

Motion carries.

Counselor, Vice President Champagne.

Thank you, Madam President.

Make a motion to remove uh R 36, and that's adjusting the fiscal year 2026 operating appropriations for certain funds and programs.

There's a motion second by Councilor Grout for R 36.

All those in favor, Councilor Penner.

Was that a rule suspension, Counselor Champagne?

Yes.

Perfect.

Thank you.

Okay.

I thought he read it.

Okay.

I did read it wrong.

He's had a tough day.

Okay, for rule suspension of R 36.

All those in favor say yes and raise your hand.

Yes.

Yes.

Opposed say motion, motion carries.

So with that, I move approval of the letter of introduction.

Second.

There's a motion second by Councillor Grout for approval of the letter of introduction.

All those in favor, raise your hand and say yes.

Yes.

Opposed say motion.

Motion carries.

Reports committee.

Counselor Lewis.

Madam President, the Finance Government Operations Committee met on Monday, May 11th.

Reports out the following items.

EC 95, 98, 101 approved.

EC 102 107 be noted.

Do pass.

R2025 that they do pass as amended.

R29.

That'll be without recommendation as amended.

That it be without recommendation.

A move to accept the committee report.

Second.

There's a motion and a second by Vice President Champagne.

All those in favor say yes and raise your hand.

Yes.

No, say motion.

Motion carries.

Councilor Grout.

Madam President, the committee of the whole met on Thursday, May 14th, 2026 and reports out the following items in the matter of R 17 that do pass a substituted as amended and be acted upon at the meeting at which it is reported.

In the matter of R 28, that it do pass is substituted as amended and be acted upon at the meeting in which it is reported.

I make a motion to accept the committee reports.

There's a motion and second by vice president Champagne.

Um all those in favor say yes and raise your hand.

Yes.

Opposed, say motion.

Motion carries.

Now we are on to deferrals and withdrawals.

Counselors, are there any deferrals or withdrawals at this time?

Councillor Grow.

Madam President, EC 126 is approving approval of the first supplemental agreement to add funds for outside council legal services between Modral Sperling and the City of Albuquerque.

I move a deferral to June 1st.

Second.

There's a motion and second by Councillor Basan for a deferral to June 1st of EC 126.

All those in favor, raise your hand and say yes.

Yes.

Opposed, say motion.

Motion carries.

We are now on to the consent agenda.

Are there any changes to the consent agenda?

For those individuals on tonight's consent agenda who are being appointed to serve on a board or commission.

Thank you for your willingness to serve.

I move approval of the consent agenda.

There's a motion and second by vice president Champagne for the consent agenda.

All those in favor, raise your hand and say yes.

Yes.

Opposed, say motion.

Motion carries.

There are no announcements this evening.

We're now on financial instruments.

There are none.

Appeals, we have none this evening.

Now we are on to general public comments.

So Mr.

Cornelius, would you please call our first speaker?

Thank you, Madam President.

Our first speaker is James Freeman, followed by Tad Namitzki.

Oh yeah.

Did you go for that?

Yeah.

Did you go through?

Did you go through that?

I didn't read it.

Oh, I I apologize.

Um, so members of the public can provide live public comments on the comments to the council in person or virtually if they have signed up for public comment per the instructions published on the agenda and on our website on Friday.

Here are the public comment ground rules.

Each participant will have one minute to present.

Comments are to be addressed to the counselors only through the council president.

Any disruptive conduct will result in removal from the meeting, and there is a one-minute time limit that's been um in other areas as well, and the bell will ring to indicate your time is up.

Mr.

Cornelius, can you please call the name of the first speaker that you already did?

James Freeman, followed by Tad and Misky.

Thank you, Madam President.

Good evening, y'all.

Madam President, I am James Freeman from District 4.

I will be speaking in my official capacity as the Secretary of Hope Works Board of Directors tonight.

I'm speaking in strong support of the R 2617 committee substitute.

This includes an additional hundred thousand for our day shelter.

These needed funds will ensure that Hopework sustains the services that it provides to an average of 300 homeless and near homeless people each day.

Many of these folks are suffering from substance use disorders and other mental health disorders.

These services are offered Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.

to 4 p.m.

The day shelter also serves as a vital drop-off and pickup connection point for the gateway west shelter.

I remember the first time I walked into the day shelter as a homeless person over a decade ago, and how that shelter dramatically changed my life.

For me and others, it provides a safe, semi-structured, substance-free space out of the elements.

You can feel safe because there is round the clock security present.

No weapons are allowed inside the gate.

You can feel love and compassion because the incredible staff who work there are always in a positive mood.

From Director Julie DeSonsi to Greg and the security guards, I treat everyone with love, kindness, and respect.

Thank you.

Tad Namitsky, followed by Francesco Artist.

My name is Ted Nemiski.

Well, do many say it's for a reason.

That's why we have limits for 30 people speaking owned.

All general public comments.

Now let's talk about homeless people.

Not all homeless people are bad people.

Our victims of so many, many reasons.

I don't have time to go over.

But including discrimination, banking, housing, etc.

etc.

Banking, discriminating, credit card, and so on.

Thank you.

Francesco Artists followed by Mike Dillander.

Overhead, please.

In addition to wrongly being denied my right to speak at previous city council meetings, this governing body, in capricious, arbitrary, malicious violation to freedom of speech, engages in preferred speech while suppressing unpopular speech.

In spite of City Commissioner Holmes being shot at by a political adversary, a previous city counselor currently running for governor was doxxed by his political opponent by having the location of his family homes posted on her campaign website.

Harmful violent speech is a line that should never be crossed.

Recklessly walking around Albuquerque with the severed head of a sitting president is not only disgusting, should be held to a higher standard and accountable to the fullest extent of the law.

I now submit further written notice for every city council.

Mike Dillander, followed by Heidelisa Schultz.

Good evening, Council members.

My name is Mike Dillander, and I support the bill.

R014.

Not because I lack compassion for people experiencing homelessness, but because I believe our city must move towards real solutions instead of allowing dangerous and unhealthy encampments to continue growing in front of businesses and public spaces.

Albuquerque is beginning to create programs that do more than simply provide temporary shelter.

We now have organizations focused on workforce training, financial education, recovery support, and permanent housing opportunities.

This gives people a true second chance.

I am the chief executive officer of Hope Works.

I just want to echo our board secretary, James Freeman, that the additional 100,000 funds that you all um amended uh at the last at the last counseling council meeting as committee of a whole uh to please provide that funding for our organization.

We serve precariously housed and housed members of our community who are suffering from mental health and addictions, and the 100,000 additional funding would sustain our day shelter to continue to provide an average of 300 people each and every day, Monday through Friday, and it also serves as a pickup and drop-up points for the city's gateway west four times a day, Monday through Friday.

Thank you.

Please, uh please adopt the this bill to support our organization.

Thank you.

Ricky Lovato, followed by Sheila Valdez.

Hello, thank you, Councilman.

Um I'm a servant at Gateway West.

I believe that the unhoused people deserve more than judgment.

They deserve opportunity.

When someone is living in uh poverty, struggling with substance misuse, and camping next to a business and parks, it is easy for society to only see the problem.

The behind the situation is a human being who may need a real chance to better themselves.

As a person in recovery, I know that homeless uh hopelessness can be a cycle.

But I also know that when people are connected in treatment centers, shelters, housing programs, and supportive services, they have a better opportunity to rebuild their lives.

Stability gives them room to think, heal, work, recover, and become a productive member of society.

We cannot expect people to change while living, uh leaving them stuck in the survival mode.

If we want a safer community and stronger people, we have to invest in pathways of um out of hopelessness, not just punish people for being there.

Thank you.

Sheila Valdez, followed by Malik Swain.

Hi, counsel.

Um I'm speaking on O 14 on the homelessness.

Um I'm speaking from Lyft Experience, and I'm asking that you just pass this bill for the homelessness and that you just give them a chance to um give us more funding, open more recovery homes to support these people that are out there to rebuild, to recover, to get stable stable housing, to help them recapture their lives back because I was once one of them persons, and now I live today to help people that are out there and to reach back for everyone that's left behind.

I ask that you just please give it a give them a chance.

Thank you.

Malik Swain, followed by Jonathan Segura.

Good evening, Councilman, Councilwomen.

I provide services at Gateway West regularly, and I stand on the fact supporting Bill 014 that we're not here to criminalize homelessness.

We're not here to punish people for being poor, displaced, addicted, mentally ill, or caught in the middle of a hard season.

Homelessness is not the crime.

The crisis is the issue.

But we also cannot ignore what is happening in front of us.

We cannot close our aisles while sidewalks become camps.

Businesses struggle to operate.

While families feel unsafe walking through public spaces, and while people experiencing homelessness are left outside with no structure, no direction, and no real support.

The Bill 014 is not about punishing people away or pushing people away.

The bill is about pushing the system to respond.

It says that sleeping outside of businesses blocking sidewalks and camping in public walkways cannot be the final answer and is inhumane.

That is not dignity, that is not safety, that is not the solution.

We need order, but we also need outreach.

Thank you.

Jonathan Segura, followed by Manny Kinionis.

Good evening, Council.

Being unhoused isn't just about not having a place to sleep.

It's a serious health crisis.

Without stable shelter, people are exposed to extreme weather, lack of proper hygiene, lose sleep, and face higher risks of illness, injury, and mental health struggles.

Finding support changed everything for me.

It gave me hope, stability, and the strength to keep going when life felt impossible.

Getting a job wasn't another turning point because it gave purpose, routine, and the ability to start building a better future.

For the first time, I felt like I was moving forward instead of just surviving.

Support helped me believe in myself.

It gave me the chance to prove I could succeed.

Together, those experiences show something important.

People need more than just a place to stay.

They need support, opportunity, and a real chance to rebuild their lives.

Thank you.

Manny Canonis, followed by Mary Ann Masselli.

Good evening.

There was a time in my life when I was in dark place.

No direction, no stability, and no sense of who I was or where I was going.

Like so many other people here in Albuquerque who are struggling with addiction, who are unhoused, unemployed, and fighting battles most never see.

I felt completely alone.

I didn't have a support system.

I didn't have a plan.

And honestly, I didn't have much hope left.

Well, change my life was a combination of things.

God, sobriety, dedication, and support from people who genuinely cared about my recovery.

For the first time in a long time, I was surrounded by people who didn't judge me, who didn't give up on me, and who believed I could rebuild my life even when I didn't believe in myself.

Today I'm proud to say I'm sober.

I'm working full-time, and I'm tenant CNM during my associate degree.

A few years ago I couldn't imagine saying that.

Now it's my reality.

And it shows that when you commit to change, and you're surrounded by real support, your whole life can shift.

If my story provides anything, it's that people don't fail because they're broken, they fail because they're alone.

And we honor people by helping them rebuild their lives and not letting them live and suffer in public places that were never meant to be homes.

Mary Ann Muselli, followed by Chansey Barber.

Good evening.

Thank you very much for having me.

I have worked in the field of the homelessness, the unhoused, those who are the most vulnerable.

Prior to the pandemic, we did have a whole bunch of folks that were in situations where they were facing mental health issues that looked very much like just addiction.

We have since the pandemic have learned that it's not just one or the other.

And when folks are unhoused and they're resorting to going to encampments, they need sustainable, long-term, positive solutions that's going to provide them with the ability to have something that is everlasting.

I run a very successful women's recovery home, and I can tell you that we're privately funded.

It is a struggle sometimes, and these folks need to have someplace to go.

I urge you to please help us get the folks off the streets, but find a sustainable, positive long-term outcome so that they can have a good life.

Thank you.

Chancy Barber, followed by Daniel Fairbanks.

Daniel Fairbanks, followed by Dr.

Lisa Christofferson.

Good evening, everyone.

My name is Daniel.

Um I had something a little longer.

I was gonna speak, but since I got a minute, I'm gonna get straight to the point.

It's so logical.

Uh housing funds matter because they save lives.

Uh, restore dignity, and give people a real chance to build uh to rebuild as well.

I know this because I'm living proof.

With uh the stability I'm getting, the structure and support, um, it can do wonders, and something's happening to me, and that's opportunity, and uh I'm getting my dignity back from it.

Um, I ask you to continue supporting these programs and the funding behind it because um they're not just a band-aid.

Uh, this is a real solution for help break uh the cycle of homelessness and addiction and create a safer, stronger future for people like me and the city.

Thank you very much and uh make it a great day.

God bless.

Dr.

Lisa Christofferson, followed by Liz Ortiz.

I may I please give this to for each of the counselors.

My name is Dr.

Lisa Christofferson.

What you are receiving is a report that was generated by uh about 30 different uh organizations that we met on Saturday.

Uh, coalition of for homeless safer uh streets in Albuquerque.

Thank you to our city counselors who were able to join us.

What we were focusing on was what is working in Albuquerque, and there are lots of organizations that are working to give direct services, but what we are finding is we do not have places to put people, and $500 um a fine or 30 days in jail is not compassionate.

Yes, we want people off the streets.

Here's what we have found we are finding from our experts.

This are data we have with the report that we put together is empirically based, is research based, is has several different many of you asked us to compare to different cities.

We've compared to Denver, to Houston, to Phoenix.

They are not uh they Denver tried the zone thing and they ended up with more excessive force.

So criminalization in uh Bernalio County costs $160 dollars, $69 dollars per night, up to $450 per night for people with mental health needs.

Yes, we want to get people off the street, but we don't have places to put them yet.

Noonday is gonna, they're losing their funding by by June 30.

Where are we gonna put people?

Yes, we need them off the streets, but where are you gonna put them?

Liz Ortiz, followed by Liz Canfield.

Liz Canfield, followed by Christopher Anderson.

Christopher Anderson, followed by Courtney Montoya.

Good evening, everyone.

My name is Christopher Anderson, and I'm here speaking from experience, lived experience.

There was a time in life where I was homeless with a child, knowing what it feels like to be scared, stressed, and trying to survive while still being a parent, trying to hold everything together.

Most people don't know that experience.

During this time, I wish there was more people and programs focused on real help, not just temporary solutions, but recovery, treatment, mental health support, and guidance to help people truly get out back on their feet.

That's why I stand here behind, proudly behind the vision of this bill and what it represents.

From my understanding, this is creating a pathway for people that experiences that is experiencing homelessness to receive support structure, treatment and opportunities to recover and get off the street safely.

People think homelessness is just strictly about housing, but it's more than that.

It's addiction, it's trauma, it's mental health, and it's survival.

Why do I know?

Because I've lived it.

So thank you guys.

Courtney Montoya, followed by Danae Waishun.

Madam President, Council members, I would like to remind you all that crimes against humanity have no temporal or jurisdictional limitations on prosecution when it comes to international law.

We are standing at the crux of a genocide of the poorest among us, where inhumanity incarcerality reigns supreme.

The grants passed decision greenlighted an era of crimes against humanity.

The ACLU reported that in the past year, cities across the country have introduced over 320 bills criminalizing unhoused people, nearly 220, which have passed.

The veracity in which our city amplified sanctioned violence against our communities has been telling.

ProPublica published a text exchange between Keller and former Chief Medina, where language of a plan to hammer the unhoused was revealed.

Um this winter I filmed waste management taking a hammer to someone's improvised pallet shelter during a sweep outside of health care for the homeless, their cherished belongings and family photos strewn about.

Sanitation workers historically have battled for higher wages, workers yield power.

I cede to Danae.

Please help her.

Dene Yeshun, followed by Miss Nene.

Good evening, President Counselors.

My name is Denet.

I spoke at the last meeting about my situation concerning receiving a dirty-day termination notice and also expressed my disappointment with Mayor Keller for his inattention and intentional oversight of me when I was trying to ask about how to schedule a meeting with him.

I have since been contacted by Charlie Abby and Tanisha, all who were very understanding and able to offer me some assistance to make moving a bit easier.

The combined efforts I was able to locate a property that hit my needs, although it was no easy task.

And I'm still in the application process with only two weeks left in my current spot.

My biggest obstacle now is finding a way to transfer my belongings from one place to the other.

Seeing as how my main transportation is walking in the bus.

I need to know if there are resources available to support me in getting my belongings to my new spot.

I have worked very hard to not lose my voucher and get everything else in order, I think it sounds like you guys reached out to her and were able to assist her.

It seems like she has another um hurdle that she's trying to get over so we can confidently cross the finish line together.

Thank you.

Thank you guys can reach out to her once again, I appreciate it.

Madam President, I was I was looking for our director of Triple H, but absolutely we will we will reach out.

Okay, thank you so much.

Uh Vice President Champagne.

And President, I believe it was actually Council Robert.

Madam President, not there.

He's got it.

Thumbs up.

Okay.

Okay.

Thank you so much.

I'm glad we were able to assist.

Miss Nene, followed by Melinda Montoya.

Melinda Montoya, followed by Julie Young.

Hi, uh good evening, everyone.

Good evening, Prince Council President Pinya and members of the council.

My name is Melinda Montoya, and I just wanted to speak briefly about roadway safety and the broader trend that we've been seeing in Albuquerque this year.

While the recent back-to-back crashes and fatalities have been absolutely deeply tragic and painful for me personally and for our entire community, but we have also started to see uh indications from crash data that the investments in education, enforcement, safer roadway designs have been helping us move in the right direction, and that progress really matters because roadway safety improvements do not only protect cyclists or pedestrians, they protect everyone on the road, including drivers, families, children, emergency responders, and they help reduce trauma or safety safer streets reduce trauma, health care costs, long-term disability and loss within our community.

As someone who lost my daughter in a roadway crash less than a year ago, I know these conversations are not abstract, and the work that's happening now really matters to families across Albuquerque.

So I encourage you to continue building on this momentum, maintaining roadway safety as a long-term public health priority, and thank you, all of you.

Julie Young, followed by Debbie Reynolds.

My name is Julie.

I'm the shelter director for Hope Works.

I'm responsible for feeding 300 to 350 people a day.

We find it really difficult to continue doing so without financial assistance.

So we really need this 100,000 funding so that we can continue feeding the homeless population, people with disabilities, those that are experiencing physical and mental issues.

So just want to advocate for Hope Works.

Thank you.

Debbie Reynolds, followed by Alphea Atherton.

Althea Atherton, followed by Grace Dukes.

Can I get overhead, please?

Okay, Madam Chair, um, Madam President.

I um want to share, whoop, there we go.

I want to share this.

Um, this is called the Safe Systems Pyramid.

It is something that public health experts have generated and created to show interventions when it comes to street safety and their efficacy.

On this side here, you can see the amount of individual effort that is required for that change to take place and be effective.

And over here, um, is kind of on the other direction, the amount of impact um that population health can have based on these various changes.

And um, as you can see, education um is one of those things that requires a lot of individual help and not as much impact as changing the built environment might be, or other latent safety measures.

Um so I encourage you as we are talking about street safety today.

Remember this pyramid.

Think about this pyramid and make sure that your public health impact is the greatest impact that you can.

Thank you very much, and thank you to Counselor Rogers for lifting up the names of the people we lost this week.

Thank you.

Grace Dukes, followed by David Matthew Ellis.

I'm here to inform you that the people of I'm here to inform you that the people of Albuquerque have lost our faith in things getting better.

Wages stay the same while prices across the board continue to rise, and more of our tax dollars are used for genocide.

And right here in our backyard, our tax dollars are being misused by this mayor.

He is using them to line his pockets and oversaturate our streets with police.

We need higher wages.

We need investment in your people.

All we see are vote after vote to keep things the way they are and keep us hurting.

Standing up here right now, I think about Ronald Reagan's infamous quote about the nine most dangerous words in the English language.

I can think of nine scarier words than I'm from the government and I'm here to help.

And those words are I worked all day and can't feed my family.

People in our city are saying that right now as I'm up here, as some and their kids go hungry, and yet those words are not treated with the same urgency and level as Ronald Reagan's.

Why is that?

David Matthew Ellis, followed by SOS on fourth.

Thank you very much.

I want to say that I missed out on a few things on the last meeting.

We started that meeting out with the guns and the violence of the guns over the last three or four years, which was horrific.

It was disgusting, it was despicable.

But that was utilized to go ahead and ram up a campaign to go ahead and push this bill through to take people off the streets, failing to realize that those guns were owned by permitted gun owners that don't live downtown and aren't homeless.

So why do we utilize the gun information to uh talk about the safety that the homeless are causing uh threat to?

No, homeless is the recidivism.

We're the in and out, we're the overnighters.

Uh your long-term statistically is neighbors, they make raids at homes for the most part.

Uh so I think the whole push towards guns and us being responsible for it is wrong.

As SOS so song fourth, the next speaker.

I continue on to say that uh we have uh I don't know why I'm still beeping.

I was in the next speaker, SOS on fourth.

Thank you.

So that's an SOS on fourth, downtown as long as running street performers.

Sir, your time is up.

Are you saying that's the next speaker is so some fourth, ma'am?

And you're taking my time.

So I'm so some fourth.

So at So Song Forth, downtown as long as running the street, I wear different caps in this neighborhood as you possibly do too.

Um, it's ridiculous, I have to explain that.

So, as soon as fourth, a downtown as long as running street performer, I definitely think it's ridiculous that we're trying to scrape our streets of wrongdoing, but we're going at the wrong angle.

I believe we need to promote downtown more as uh entertainment and arts and entertainment district, where maybe it's more harsh on the uh crimes committed down there as a solution because we need some type of recognition that downtown is different from just what it's known to be.

Because that's not the representation, especially when it's people coming downtown creating that representation.

So it's it's wrong to just continue to pound on downtown.

Um we have an absent uh mayor who doesn't make uh contact with the homeless, especially, and uh does his part to, and I say that as being part of his first campaign when he was up at uh Winning's Coffee uh doing the railrunner promoting that.

I was uh co-founder of Two Way Street ABQ.

Thank you, sir.

Your time is up, and so um next time we're we it's a strict rule, one minute per person.

We won't allow that to happen.

But we will not allow that to happen again.

So thank you so much.

How do how does my rights keep taking?

Thank you so much, sir.

James Shanley, followed by Britt Jonasy.

Madam Chair and Counselors, I choose to believe that this city council wishes to act to improve our city by solving problems.

That will not be realized by passing measures that superficially help or comfort some by punishing others.

You cannot hide the dreadful affliction of homelessness in Albuquerque by passing ordinances like O 2614 that sweep people to further trauma and damage or criminalize them, the most vulnerable in our population.

The consequence of this will increase the long-term cost to our community.

If people are refusing services for years, it is past time to study how they are being asked and by whom.

The citizens of Albuquerque need and expect you to engage with each other to enact win-win legislation, not an endless cycle of five to four votes, delivering win-lose outcomes because ultimately the latter will make all residents of Albuquerque losers.

Thank you.

Not everything is what it seems.

But just moving on past that.

You know, I hear a lot of people talking about the homeless situation.

You know, I myself have been homeless in the past.

Um I've been fortunate enough to have some folks help me out along the way.

Um, but it seems that when someone reaches out, helps you up, here comes the government to knock them back down.

Seems that's been the practice in the past.

It seems like that's going to always be the practice, and I'm very happy to see more and more people speaking out vigilant against government tyranny, because that's what it is.

Um, but I will speak solely on the basis of uh police most of the time, because a lot of time that's where it comes from.

It comes from uh misunderstandings of the law that you personally have passed.

The ordinances your ordinances tend to be right on that border where it can be misunderstood, and then the police officer says, Oh, that means I can violate his rights.

Beauty, we have our rights.

Let's outvote.

Madam President, Council members, let's speak about the law a little bit.

I think I brought it to your attention over a year ago that the police officers have not signed their oath as the law dictates.

Article 20, section one of the New Mexico Constitution.

I understand that you folks have signed an oath.

I understand that there's some other folks that have signed their oath.

Why aren't the police signing their oath?

We look at this law that the police are supposed to enforce.

Why are the sheriffs required to sign an oath?

And I have sheriffs signed oaths like your signed oaths.

Is it that you guys are the final hook?

Because you're breaking the law, and I'm putting you all on notice.

Please direct your call.

I love to file federal lawsuits.

And you're breaking the law.

I'm not going to take it from the good people here.

I'm going to take it from the insurance company that you guys either don't pay premiums to or try to avoid a different way.

But you're gonna be held accountable.

Madam President Janice Herrera, Sarah Azebo are not able to be located on Zoom, and Janet Sayers was having some technical issues and withdrew her name, so that concludes general public comments.

Thank you so much.

So we are now on Madam President.

Oh, I'm so sorry.

I thought you were online.

Oh, okay.

Sarah Azebo.

Hey, Sarah.

Thank you.

You're in person.

I am, it's rare.

Yes.

Good evening, Council President and Counselors.

I appreciate you being here tonight.

Um, from conversations with city officials, the city's pathway for an unhoused person requires multiple moves in under one year's time for somebody who has substance use disorder.

Um, stability is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as a situation in which something is not likely to move or shift.

This is contrary to stability, asking someone to move from the streets to possibly an SOS at Gateway West, then into Gateway West, then to Gateway Gibson, then to Gateway Recovery Center, then magically into self-sufficient housing and employment.

Are they requiring less moves than displacements by APD?

This does not create stability.

It also lacks regular programming and opportunities for people to connect with employers, develop job skills along the way and continue their education.

Please invest in housing, that will be a better solution and cheaper.

Another topic I have learned through research that several years have gone by before APD officers have received training in harm reduction de-escalation.

Can you please look into this and see who is accountable to hold APD accountable?

Thank you.

Thank you.

So that concludes public comment.

So we are now on to approvals.

EC 142, Mayor's appointment of Jeremy Schmidt to the joint air quality board.

I move confirmation.

There's a second by Councillor Grout.

Is there anyone signed up to speak?

Yes, we have one speaker.

So okay, if you can call up that speaker and Councillor Grout has recused himself.

Lewis, I'm sorry.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

We have Debbie Lozano signed up to speak.

It appears Debbie is not present, so that concludes.

Thank you.

Okay, any questions, comments?

With that, there was a motion and second for confirmation of EC 142.

All those in favor, raise your hand and say yes.

Yes.

Opposed, say motion.

No.

That carries on a.

Okay, 7-1.

We are now on to final actions.

Councillors Grout February and Rogers on O23.

Thank you.

Madam President.

Let's see.

O 23 is amending the police oversight ordinance to clarify the CPO CPOA's authority to investigate APD personnel.

I move a due pass.

Second.

There's a motion of second by Councillor February and Rogers.

One of the sponsors to open.

So I would I'll just start and then I'll let other counselors um try um say a few words as well.

This bill amends the police oversight ordinance to clarify that the CPOA may also investigate non-sworn personnel who perform public facing enforcement functions.

These include the police service aides, transit safety officers, and prisoner transport officers, and I do urge your support.

I will say that we worked with the CPOA, APD, the superintendent of police reform, and the APOA, and all are satisfied with this version of the bill.

This makes it clear that anyone wearing a city uniform and performing a law enforcement job function is held to the same standard as accountable and standard of accountability.

Say a few more things that I want to thank my colleagues for um working so diligently to make sure that it was done done properly, so that all parties um are in agreement.

So I think it's a big feat.

We should do it more often.

Councillor February.

Nothing to add, Madam Chair or Madam President, thank you.

Okay, I move over.

I urge your support.

Oh, so public comment.

Oh, we do.

Oh, okay.

Thank you.

Okay, thank you, Madam President.

Brick Jonasine, followed by Thomas Perwitzki.

Hi, yeah.

So um, yeah, I was uh briefly looking over this one.

Um unsworn personnel don't have the ability to detain.

Um kind of confused by that because unsworn personnel don't have the ability.

Ms.

Miss Brout, I'm in your district.

Oh yeah, I don't support this.

I don't support this at all.

Um, yeah, the CPOA is for accountability of police.

Yeah, okay, so they work for the police station, but that doesn't mean that they're uh police.

Oh, and how are you gonna hold unsworn police or unsworn staff of accountable when you can't even hold your own police accountable?

Not signing an oath.

So you're gonna hold unsworn oath, unsworn personnel accountable through the CPOA.

Just I mean it's an overbroad view of this, I know, but just looking at it from that view, like the 20,000, 30,000, one inch view.

I don't see how you can hold them accountable when you won't hold the police accountable.

Thomas Porowitzki, followed by Tad Numitsky.

Madam President, Council members.

I'm really not in support of unsworn people on the streets at all, let alone the police that aren't sworn.

So now you're just gonna give another layer of insulation to individuals who appears to be that the mayor's the one that's responsible to ensure that these people sign their oath of office.

I'm not just making this up, it's the damn law.

You're supposed to uphold and defend the constitution of New Mexico and the United States.

We've got we've got instances here where you guys want to stop an investigation simply because it was referred to mediation.

Well, that's like getting beat up by five cops going to mediation and signing the five cops there with a bat.

Well, maybe you're gonna bow out of insulin out of uh mediation.

If you don't know what it's gonna entail, you still need to investigate.

Ted Numitsky, followed by Mervin Tilden.

They do that.

My name Ted Nimski.

Well, here is public safety.

We were talking on the last meeting.

My question is, what is more important writing the tickets or responded to excuse me?

What you stop?

Can you start Mr.

Neminsky's time over when he starts?

Thank you so much.

Okay, what is more important?

Uh writing trade ticket or response to uh God think steal stealing vehicle, including over 30,000 merchandise on the vehicle to this day, over 60 days, no one, no police report.

Yes, I went to wait uh well, they gave me uh they gave me oversight to file complaint.

I make my state about Diana from our side, how I tell about her, what kind of job she's doing.

So anyway.

We do simply we do probably do not have protection from ACD.

Thank you.

Mervyn Tilden, followed by Janice Herrera on Zoom.

Good evening, uh counselors.

My name is Mervyn Tilden.

I want to speak to these uh final actions on 0-26-2-3.

I do believe that uh there is a need to address the lawlessness that is involved with the APD and officers of the Metro Security Division.

May 330th of 2025, I was hit by a driver driving a solid waste management vehicle.

I was pinned underneath, my knee was shattered, my tibules were shattered, my foot suffered two fractures.

And out of that, the PSA wrote a false police report.

Also, the Metro Security Division wrote false reports.

Now I want to make it very clear.

I was at a red light.

I had the right to cross on my bicycle.

The individual ran me over when I was in front of them.

Yeah, all of this has come to nothing but falsified the Mexico Crash investigations, reports, no notification by the APD when I appeal to them.

So I want this council to know and I want Albuquerque to know that the APD is lawlessness in this city.

That's why crime reigns.

They are committing the actions of crime themselves.

Janice Herrera.

Okay.

I think I got it working.

Good evening.

My name's Janice Herrera.

I'm in district two.

Um speaking in regards to 02623.

Um the most interesting part to me about the new changes here had to do with the language around including both APD sworn officers and non-sworn personnel.

Um here it includes police services, transit safety officers, police prisoner transport units.

I would hope that this would include um metro security, that they would also be subject to investigation for their direct interactions with members of the public, which would become greater and greater.

Um I would hope that we would start to see these same criteria apply to other folks who are interacting with members of the public in an official capacity in that regard as well.

I think there is a big lack of accountability right now when it comes to APD.

Um I think that um some of these other divisions like metro security have used um the lesser training that they are held to, um, as well as the lower standards of accountability to get away with things um that would not be allowed with the police department and the police department who should know better.

I think are looking the other way.

And so um, I would encourage council to look at measures that can hold the police into the light more so on issues where they are uh representing you all and uh communicating with the public.

Thank you.

Thank you, Ms.

Edeta.

Woo!

Uh Madam President's comment.

Okay, that concludes public comment.

So we are back on 023.

Um, Councilor Grout, Fable Corn and Rogers.

Councilor Rogers.

Thank you, Madam President.

Um, and so I just want to clear up a couple of things that we heard in public comment.

So the reason we're doing this is to make sure that now as some of our PSAs do more duties than our sworn officers are usually the ones doing, we need to have oversight over that as well.

And so I think we're doing this um to make sure there are other avenues for investigations for other like metro security, those go through our internal affairs and different uh places in the city where those are investigated.

So there's still oversight over those, it's just not the CPOA.

And so I think what I'm really excited about is that this was a true collaboration.

Like Councilor Grout said, with us working with APD with the CPOA to come up with what makes sense to make sure that as uh PSAs specifically have larger duties that we have oversight uh of that.

We've also asked APD to do some work around the disciplines for PSAs to make sure that there's a discipline structure specifically for PSAs that is different from sworn officers, and I know we're gonna do that work together as well to make sure that we're strengthening those things.

So I think that to Councillor Grout's point, this was a really a big feat to get everybody at the table to agree on something of this nature, especially when it comes to oversight of our uh police force.

It's really important.

So I'm really grateful to everyone that worked with us on this.

Um, and again, we do annual reviews in the CPOA.

They do annual reviews of these things so we can still continue to tweak it and continue to get better because that is council's responsibility is to make sure now that the DOJ is not here, that we do not go backwards.

Um, and that is our job on council, and we take that very seriously as a team.

I know that much.

So thank you, and I urge your support.

Thank you, Councillor Grout, to close.

Thank you, counselor.

Um, I don't have anything else to say.

I urge your support.

Okay, there's a motion second by counselors Rogers and February for O23.

All those in favor, raise your hand and say yes.

Yes, yes, oppose, say motion, motion carries.

We are now on to O26, adopting a new article in the revised ordinances of the city of Albuquerque in 1994, Chapter 6, adding Article 12 to be known as the stormwater utility ordinance, amending chapter 6, Article 11 stormwater quality ordinance, section two definitions to include a definition of arid um adapted green stormwater infrastructure and adding a new section 15.

Um I move a well, I move a due pass initially, I guess.

There's a motion.

There's a motion and um a second by councillor feeblecorn.

And do we have anyone signed up to speak on this?

Mr.

Cornelius, okay.

If you can call the first speaker, and then just so that everyone is aware, we have several amendments.

I think there's some as the speakers coming up.

Um we have several amendments, amendments A through H.

I'm not sure whether we'll go through the amendments this evening.

I think it'll give people because of the budget time to digest um this bill, and then I intend to request a deferral to the June 1st meeting where we can then pass the amendments at that time.

So, Mr.

Cornelius, thank you, madam president.

We have Michelle Guidelines, followed by Benjamin Bean on Zoom, who I'm not seeing immediately, but I want to make sure he's not in the in the okay.

Good evening, President Pena, Counselors.

Um, I just wanted to uh speak in favor of this particular bill.

Um, every monsoon season Albuquerque floods, and it's not just the weather, it's just the direct result of consequences of decades of paved parking lots and previous services that shed water instead of absorbing it.

Um the more pavement we build, the worse the flooding gets, and the longer we just let it sit, it's not gonna get any better.

So this is just a really nice protected fund that can't be redirected elsewhere.

Um, the fact that it actually goes to green infrastructure with the getting rid of this again permeable payment pavement, um, or actually installing permeable pavement, native plantings, um, bioswales, um, basically everything that's designed for our arid climate.

Um, and then of course the fee structure that I noticed was shifting to actually charge properties based on how much impervious service they have.

Um, that means large paved parking lots finally pay their fair share for the runoff they actually create.

So thanks to God.

Thanks a lot, and I hope you see.

Madam President Benjamin Bean is not um able to be.

Oh, there he is.

He just got on Benjamin Bean on Zoom.

Thank you.

Hey apologies, uh just became available.

Um this is regarding 026, I believe.

Um my comment is pretty simple.

Um basically, I think that this legislation is fantastic, and you should all vote for it.

Um, and I also think that there's a lot of very simple things that we could be doing to help mitigate stormwater runoff, um, such as reducing uh the amount of impermeable surface that we have in the city.

We have a lot of parking in the city that we frankly just don't need.

And so if I could make a recommendation, it would be that we reduce or that the bill includes recommendations from the stormwater utility to the city council about legislation that could be changed in order to improve stormwater conditions without having to change anything, or without having to increase the cost for building.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Madam President, that concludes comment.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

So we are now back on the bill, and I would like to uh move deferral to the June 1st um council meeting, and there's a second by Councilor Grout.

We're actually going to go through the amendments.

I had just disclosed that earlier.

I think this is a good opportunity just because of the budget for everyone to be able to absorb and and um read up on all the amendments, and then we'll pass the amendments at the or not at the next council meeting.

So I'll any questions on the deferral.

No, all those in favor um raise your hand and say yes.

Yes.

Opposed say motion.

Motion carries 5-4.

We are now on 029 of Vice President Champagne.

Thank you, Madam President.

O 2629 is amending the legal department, the city attorney ordinance ROA 1994, Chapter 2, Article 7, part two.

Did you do make a motion to uh move for a due pass?

There's a motion second by Councillor Grout for a due pass of 029.

Vice President Champagne.

Yes, ma'am.

This bill amends the code of ordinances related to the city departments and the officials, specifically the provisions pertaining to the legal department and the city attorney.

This bill intends, this bill will amend the section governing the authority and duties of the city attorney to clarify the city's attorney, city attorney's relationship with the response and responsibilities with their clients, uh the city, the mayor, and the city council.

Additionally, the bill amends the provisions governing the procedures for contracting with attorneys to provide legal services to uh dictate uh procedures for when the city council retains outside council.

Thank you.

Um, Vice President Champagne, is there anyone signed up to speak?

I don't see anyone.

So, with that, are there any questions from counselors, administration?

Madam President, I just wanted to point out that there is a current investigation happening, and and I feel like potentially that may have some impact or effect on this, and so I just wanted to raise that as potentially this might be in front of the results of that investigation that is happening currently.

Vice President Champagne, thank you, Madam President.

Uh, I will disagree.

It has nothing to do with that particular one, it has to do with another incident.

So no.

Um Councilor Basson.

Madam President, uh, Mr.

Hall, what is your recommendation as our legal counsel for counsel on whether or not this is getting ahead of it?

I certainly don't want to do anything to jeopardize any pending investigation, but at the same time, I'm also not necessarily opposed to this ordinance.

Uh Council President Councillor Bassan, this is a prospective measure.

Um, the uh uh whether this would have any impact on the current investigation with the city attorney is very likely uh uh little, at least in that effect.

I'm sorry, Councillor Person is that what is that the.

No, sorry.

Madam President, my question's not will it have an impact on the investigation?

Is it bad timing since there's pending investigation?

I feel like typically with what we do when there's pending litigation or something.

Traditionally we do wait until make in making any big changes or decisions.

So I do um I can hear the same concerns, and I I just want to make sure that you're willing to back up that this is not something that could get us in trouble later if it's going to affect not necessarily have an effect on the investigation, but get us wrapped up into something that we could otherwise avoid with the deferral.

Council President of Penya, Councilor Basson.

Um, like I said, this is prospective in nature, but uh I would never uh uh argue against a more cautious route.

So um if that were the position the council would take, that would be uh what I would call a very safe position.

Counselor Rogers.

Thank you, Madam President.

I just I guess I've I have tried to read it and read it a couple of times, and I think I understand what it does, but I guess I don't understand the why of maybe the other incident that I just maybe don't know about, and I don't want to, I don't think it's appropriate to ask that here.

Um and so I'm having a hard time myself, so I don't know.

Okay.

Um I would actually like to ask the city attorney to weigh in as well, maybe based on counselor Basson's question.

Um Thank you, Madam President.

I I don't really see this ordinance as uh related to the investigation.

Um this ordinance to me functionally restates um the rules of professional conduct for attorneys.

I I don't think it would actually affect much of a change.

Um, but I don't think they're related.

Thank you so much.

So any other questions from counselors?

Seeing none, none from the admin um counselor, um Vice President Champagne to close.

There is a motion and a second um for 029.

All those in favor, raise your hand and say yes.

Yes, opposed, no.

That fails on a 6-4.

I mean, yeah, I'm sorry.

You got the you can fight for it.

Um counselor Bacca 0 30.

Thank you, Madam President.

Amending the downtown vacant premises ordinance right away, 1994, chapter 14, Article 224.

I move it do fast.

Second.

There's a motion is second by Councilor People Corn for 030.

Counselor Bucket, open.

Thank you, Madam President.

This is uh follow-up to the bill that we passed last year in anticipation of uh working on some of our older buildings downtown and with the uh collapse, unfortunately, of Lindy's, we thought we'd make some changes to hopefully prevent something like that from happening again.

Um, as we know Lindy's was now going to be completely demolished, um, leaving a hole in our downtown, a hole in our hearts, even in some to some degree.

Um, so I would urge everyone's support.

Any questions from other counselors?

Anyone signed up to speak?

Okay.

Yes, madam president, thank you.

Alpha Atherton, followed by Jane Shand.

Madam President, um that pyramid I showed you all.

This is exactly the kind of thing that is really helpful in terms of changing the built environment and making sure that zoning changes are effective in helping reduce violence and helping reduce um safety concerns.

I um experienced something the other day.

Um I don't have a long enough time to tell you all about it, but it involved the bus and it involved someone getting kicked off a bus at the same time that I was alighting myself, and it was about 10 o'clock at night, and I was so grateful that little bear coffee was sitting there and open for for their drinking hours, because I just went there because it was safe.

The more buildings that are vacant and more buildings that are open are less places that women and other gender marginalized people can go in times when they do not want someone to follow them home.

And so I went to Little Bear Coffee and waited for my friend to pick me up, and I was safer for it.

Please pass.

The deleterious impact of vacant buildings and vacant lots are not confined to downtown core.

They blight residential and non-residential areas of Albuquerque that are far more consequential economically than downtown.

It is past time for this problem to be addressed citywide.

Most inspiring development of truly and indefinitely affordable housing for the bottom 25% of household AMI in Albuquerque is occurring right now on what was until recently a vacant lot.

The 20-home cottage development at 161 Chama will offer sustainable rent at $1.25 per square foot.

This community, county, and state collaboration offers an unmatched model for transformational changes in our city.

O2630 proves that you have the power and the tools to penalize the passivity of empty building owners, and you could reinforce it to blunt the property tax incentivization of land banking.

Please enact and deploy it citywide.

Thank you.

Tad Numitsky followed by Janice Herrera on Zoom.

Now hello, let's be let's take a look at what's going on in downtown.

What's happened?

Nothing.

Now, the other side of the railroad truck, there is also big it used to be ADP offices.

Again, they won't sell it, they won't do it until they get a price.

Now let's go to the north.

No.

With this edit leadership of that city, nothing ever is gonna change.

Thank you.

Janice Herrera.

Hello, I'm looking like a ghost here.

Um good evening.

Uh I just wanted to say um council president Pena, it was nice to run into you out in the wild of Albuquerque.

Um, to the rest of the members of council speaking on 02630, um, you know, similar to 026 14, um, you know, as somebody who lives uh walking distance from downtown and spends a lot of time downtown.

Um, I do not want to see the neighborhoods in my district become um different uh in terms of the ordinances and the things that are enforced there from other parts of town.

Uh, I'm really reluctant to see people criminalized in different ways downtown, and I'm really reluctant to see vacant buildings pursued in a different way downtown.

Uh I agree with um James in regards to their other parts of town, and I think that James has done a lot of really good work on mapping that um that have a lot of issues with vacant buildings, and then um I might have just missed it, but it's not clear to me how the funds that would be collected for the registration would be spent.

And then the last issue is that a 1,000 square foot building is a really different cost than a 15,000 square foot building.

I live in about 1,000 square feet.

I know how big that is.

That's a small business.

I think that the scale for a 15,000 square foot building downtown sitting vacant should be more than just the proportional for the square footage.

And so I encourage you all to think about what that really means and what that looks like to have a 15,000 square foot building where you're getting away with $5,000 to let it just sit as such, and maybe using a different, you know, formula based on the building's worth or something like that to come up with that property tax or I don't know what, but it just seems really unfair that if you can afford a building of that size, $5,000 is barely even a drop in your bucket.

So I encourage some more thought on this one.

I'd love to see you all over Zoom and have a good night.

Thank you.

Bye-bye.

Madam President Benjamin Bean would not be speaking on this item.

He will be speaking on R17, where he has also signed up.

So that concludes comment.

Thank you.

Council Bassan.

Madam President, we had some quite a bit of robust conversation on the council when we were talking about passing this a while back in last year.

And I know that vacancies on the second and third floor for some business owners are were a big part of the conversation and the concerns that many of us expressed.

And I wonder if planning, if I can ask planning some questions about that, because I also believe when we were talking about Lindy's, I think it was at the last meeting a couple weeks ago that some I believe it was director Varela, but somebody pointed out that structural engineering is something that we have to look into, and I'm not sure that this would have prevented that because we don't necessarily have structural engineers that go into these properties to do the same kind of uh elaborate inspections.

So I'm wondering, Director Varela, if we were to pass this, how is it going to would it have helped prevent Lindy's from collapsing uh with this ability?

If this ordinance were in place, would that have helped prevent Lindy's from collapsing?

Possibly, and how will it help any of the dilapidated buildings moving forward if we were to pass this?

And uh council president, counselors, uh sponsor Bacca.

From my perspective, it would be very productive if we had more time to work with the counselor on this bill.

Right now it is mixing apples and oranges in a sense, it is using the vacant uh building ordinance as a mechanism for somebody, most likely a structural engineer who would be qualified to do a structural inspection to get into a building, and from our perspective, we're preferred not to mix those two items if city council feels as a policy that you want to expand the vacant building uh sanctions to include also vacant second floors and such, that's a city council decision.

Uh, my understanding when this first went through is we were trying to make sure that the ground floors, which are at street level as people walk through are activated, and we wanted to motivate people to have at least that portion of their building activated so that it would be good, it also helps prevent crime and such and contribute to the economy.

But to expand that to the second floor, I think might have the effect of greatly uh of capturing quite a few more buildings, and if the idea there is to penalize them for being vacant and uh motivate people to either do something with them or sell them, I think that's probably a very good approach, uh, but that's something that would require probably a pretty big discussion.

And from our perspective, the code enforcement who goes out on a uh complaint-based basis to look at buildings uh for structural problems.

The Lindy's is a good example because on that one, uh we could see that there were problems with a facade.

I think that we and we then brought in the certified building official from the city.

She has uh a lot more uh international uh recognized credentials than just a code enforcement officer to look at the building.

Uh we even took a further step of hiring a structural engineering firm to give us a second opinion, and based on that added expense and added protection, the city felt very comfortable saying that a building of that size and of that value does need to come down.

Other cities have approached this with the older buildings, and that's a different issue than vacant building um sanctions.

Uh, other cities have taken the approach of requiring the private owners of older buildings to have a structural inspection done of the facade, that's the exterior walls of the building by certified engineers, and those reports then get submitted to the city, and we could spend time studying whether uh you want to do those in a certain area or have them dependent on the height of the building or on the age of the building.

But I think that that would be a better approach for taking care of the Lindy's issue than mixing this in with the vacant building ordinance, which had an entirely different purpose initially.

Both very good purposes, but uh we would greatly appreciate the opportunity to have more time to work with a sponsor on perhaps either separating that and coming up with a perhaps a facade inspection requirement by structural engineers or something else.

But right now we see this as highly problematic.

I also was telling staff earlier, people use a lot times the phrase more with less.

Uh code enforcement is now at the less with more stage of the game.

Uh, we are going to do less and less enforcement of other ordinances as we get more and more burdens placed upon us, unless they're accompanied by sizable appropriations.

Thank you, Director.

That helps because uh it helps me at least because I still have the same concerns that I did when we were talking about the vacant uh building uh conversation that we had a year ago, and I know there were a lot of business owners and property owners.

While I don't want to see vacant properties, I want them to succeed, I want them to be filled up.

I want us to have a dynamic downtown and city, but I also want our buildings to not collapse under any circumstances.

My concerns remain the same that I had during the conversation for vacant buildings, and I don't think that this seems like it's going to fix the vacant part is going to fix the fact that we lost a historic building or a big chunk of it, and hopefully want to prevent more.

Thank you, Councilor Bassan.

And we should have passed the amendment.

So I'm sure Councillor Um Baca is gonna ask you if the amendment um helps to support um what he's trying to accomplish, or if you would still have the opinion of more time.

So, um, can do you want to just do the amendment first, Councillor Bunker?

Thank you.

But if I can respond to the comments of uh Director Vareda, I'm actually kind of surprised and a little bit shocked uh to say that this is uh two different bills.

You know, when we started this last year, we did talk about how uh neighboring buildings were concerned that the vacancy that the other vacant buildings were going to cause their buildings uh harm, uh specifically leaks in the roof and so forth.

Um, that was one of the intentions of this bill.

That was pretty clear when we debated this last year.

Uh we did look at other um, I do have an amendment because I want to put that in, but and I'm not opposed to working with them over for the next couple of years or more time, um, but we did look at some of these.

You know, the whole point of this is to um help building owners.

We we're not out to penalize, you know, so long as someone actually wants to work with us, that's fine.

It's it's the property owners that absolutely are absent and don't want to do anything when we looked at uh some of the ordinances in other cities that Director of the is referring to, um, those cities charge the building owners to get their facades checked every year uh to make sure they're structurally sound.

Uh we're not trying to penalize or charge or or cause more money.

Uh we're trying to make sure uh we're having good stewards, good landlords, good property owners, to make sure.

Hey, let's let's take a look at, you know, we scaled back from the four floors as as folks may recall in the original version to the first floor, just kind of as a as uh you know, let's see how this works.

And and when Lindy's collapse, the first thing the inspector told me when she came down was if I had been in the second floor, we could have prevented this.

Um, and so we the intent initially was always for our folks to go in there to see what's happening in these buildings, make sure they're fine.

Um it is the intent was to be proactive, as the director knows.

Um the intent was to also generate that there's a reason there's a fee there to pay for that proactive work because in the rest of the city we're we we are reactive when complaints came in.

Which it which is what happened with Lindy's.

We had to be reactive because it was an active building on the first floor, even though it was structurally unsound and falling apart on the second floor.

So I I would like to uh move this amendment and then I'm fine with the furrow after that.

Okay, there's floor amendment number one.

Counselor Baca.

Right.

So on page two of the ordinance, amend uh section 1424-7 exemptions for certain buildings and properties as follows.

As folks know, we put in a lot of exemptions because we're not trying to hurt folks, we're trying to get people to help out and work.

So there's plenty of opportunities to get exemptions on this particular uh ordinance.

Um, because of of because we do know that several buildings that are vacant and have been vacant for decades have second floors, um Lindy's wasn't the only one.

Uh this we do wanted to create make sure uh with uh counselor the director of Adela's comments last week that we can send somebody in there just to take a look around, and if they deem then that and then send in the fire marshal or if need be something that costs money, which which we're always trying to avoid, because I don't want to charge anybody any money, um, unlike those other uh ordinances that the director referred to.

So this just adds to that a responsible party fails or refuses consent to arrange for structural inspection during reasonable hours, their premises shall be deemed vacant and assess the maximum registration fee.

Second, there's a motion and second for committee amendment number one.

Are there any questions, comments?

Counselor Basson.

Madam President, I in hearing that we don't want to charge and penalize businesses, and you know, it this literally says we're going to penalize you and charge you if you don't if you fail to refuse access to us in your property, and I I have concerns with that.

So any other discussion, Councillor Crockman.

Counselor Baka to close.

Oh, thank you.

Yeah, as I said before, you know, someone has to absolutely not want to do something with their building to not to be assessed a fee.

Um, this just makes sure that we can actually see the inside of a building to make sure it's not gonna fall on their neighbor because downtown is unlike other parts of the city where the buildings are connected to each other.

So I urge your support.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilor.

Councilor Bacchus.

So there is a motion and a second.

Who was the second?

I apologize.

I missed the second.

Counselor Feeble corn.

Um for floor um committee amendment.

How can this committee amendment?

Should say floor amendment.

So I think there's a typo on your amendment that you have in front of you, it should say floor floor amendment.

Um, so there's a motion and second for floor amendment number one.

Um, seconded by counselor feeble corn.

All those in favor um say yes and raise your hand.

Yes, opposed no, no.

That amendment passes, and I didn't get the numbers, the hands don't stay up long enough.

Seven, two or seven three.

I keep doing a 10 count, so sorry.

Um, then we have um councilor uh Baca back on the bill as amended.

And I would just say before I I send it to you, I would just hope that you would request deferral because yeah, refer uh deferral for two weeks to the next council meeting.

Second, so there's a motion and second for a deferral of O30, Vice President Champagne.

Thank you, Mr.

I just have one question, and we keep talking about the Lindy's and such, and if you if anybody who was downtown at any time in the past year and a half saw that the exterior wall was starting to bulge out um massively, uh, now that would warrant if this passes and moves forward or in your vision, and if you see that, that warrants the city to come in and say, Hey, we need to inspect that building because that doesn't look right.

What if you don't have an obvious clue like that?

What warrants somebody to say we're gonna go in and inspect your your property?

Yeah, madam, madam president, Mr.

Chair, Mr.

Councillor Champagne.

Um, you know, we had I actually had many many conversations with the owners of Lindy's about the about their building, what the status was.

Um obviously they had uh an active business on the ground floor that we all most of us uh visited often.

Um they also had an apartment with 37 cats in there.

Um, yes, that is true.

Yeah, I heard.

Which is nuts.

Um, and and per him on our conversations, he was no, it's fine.

Structurally, if I've had someone come out, look.

Um I even at one point told him directly, I was like, I can literally see the shift from two days ago.

And he's like, Nope, I've had someone come out and look.

And our ordinances as they are written currently today, um, it's nothing you could do about that really.

You know, um, however, on top of that, um over the years, and this is this has been happening even before everyone was worried that not just Lindy's, but other buildings as well.

You can name the crest, the gizmo before the recently, um the alibi building, all these buildings that are that have been empty for decades that are connected to their neighbors, and and all the neighbors have reached out at various times that we're worried we don't know how to how to find out or what to be done.

Um we just hadn't done anything, and so that's where the this ordinance came in last year to try and do something.

And when we passed it in order to get it passed, we we scaled back how many floors were in involved when I talked to some experts.

Um they say if your first two floors are good, then structurally your building should be fine.

Um we only have a couple buildings downtown that are go over two floors.

Even the crest is only two floors, even though it's been empty for gosh, I think it's a forty-six years right now.

Um, so with these amendments, uh it's that proactive.

Hey, you need to let us see your building, we need to see what's going on.

Um, to protect not only the property owner from themselves, right?

In this case, when we talk about Lindy's, the property owner hurt themselves, um, as much as I'm sad about it, um, but also their neighbors that they're right next to.

So that's what all this is.

If if with these amendments we have that that authority to go check these out.

And Madam President, I completely understand that.

Yeah.

Again, with Lindy's, you had a bulging wall.

There was obviously a clue saying this is not structurally sound, or we should question the structure of it.

Um, but what are the buildings?

Like you say, the crest building.

If there are no obvious reasons for us as a government to go in and say, show me your building so we can expect it, like it was with Lindy's when it was Boeing.

What gives us the grounds to say let us in because you've been empty for 46 years?

We need to look at it.

That thank you, Madam President.

Uh counselor.

Yeah, that's actually the point.

Is you know, Lindy's, although it was Boeing, wasn't boeing ridiculously until the last month or so.

And even then, we sent out folks, went and looked at it.

Uh we had folks and we had them call down to uh Director Vadela, like, hey, what are you guys doing about it?

And they asked us, well, hold on, we're still we're still dealing with it.

Um it did take neighbors calling in and the news showing up for a building that was obvious.

Now think about those buildings that are not obvious.

You know, you you're a property owner, I'm a property owner.

Any building that hasn't been maintained for 46 years has likely got some damn not even likely, it has damage.

Let's just be flagrant about that.

Um, what kind of damage?

So I don't know, but it's it's connected to two other buildings.

Um, so counselor, we're gonna assume that it is if it's empty and been empty for 46 years, that they are not doing the maintenance.

Yes, okay.

Thank you.

Thank you, Madam President.

Mr.

Paddy.

Um, Madam President, I just want to remind the council that the motion on the floor is to defer.

Yes, uh I.

Yes, thank you, Director.

It's just that I um had forgotten to ask um Vice President Sean Pain, so I was aware of that.

I just wanted to give him an opportunity to ask that question before we deferred.

So um, so there is a motion and second on the floor for a deferral of O30, and I think um Counselor Tayas is the one that made the second for the deferral.

Feeble corn.

Okay.

Counselor February made the motion for the deferral, and this will be to the June 1st.

June 1st meeting.

All those in favor say yes and raise your hand.

Yes.

Opposed say motion.

Motion carries.

Was that a yes?

Yeah.

Okay.

Just want to make sure.

Make sure you guys put your hands up, because I'm counting to 10 instead of nine.

So the staff really needs a lot of help.

So okay, so now we are in the bill of the evening.

Madam President.

Oh, I'm sorry, Councilor Director.

I mean, if I may please, uh, I want to let you know the administration sincerely believes in the uh intent of making sure those old buildings are in decent shape, and we look forward to working with the councilor and the city council uh on something that'll come before you hopefully acceptable to most all of you uh within a couple of weeks.

Thank you, Director.

We really appreciate that because I know you're trying to do the right thing, and so is um counselor by hearing from his constituents.

So working together is always the route to go.

So thank you so much.

Definitely okay.

So now we are on R 17, Counselor Grout by request.

Thank you, Madam President.

Um, our 17 is appropriating funds for the operating government of the city of Albuquerque for fiscal year 2027, beginning July 1st, 2026, and ending June 30th, 2027.

Adjusting fiscal year 2026 appropriations and appropriating capital funds.

I move a due pass.

There's a motion and a second by Vice President Champagne for a due pass of R17.

Councilor Grout to open.

Thank you.

Um, thank you, Madam President.

Um, before we start debate and amendments, I want to thank uh my colleagues and our council staff.

This was a challenging budget.

We found two major errors.

The state clearly told us in December that their grant funding for Gateway was contingent on the administration submitting a plan for funding operations.

The operation didn't, the administration didn't do that.

It will cost 16 million dollars every year to run that facility after they realize their mistake, the admin asked for six million and said they would come back at the mid-year cleanup for the rest.

I don't think that's a real plan.

Whether it will satisfy the state requirement is not is still an open question.

Perhaps more concerning is that the Office of Management and Budget did not carry over an 11.8 million dollar projected fund balance from 2026, fiscal year 26 onto the fiscal year 27 balance sheet.

This is the first time that accounting method has been used, so we assumed it was a mistake.

The administration is maintaining that the projected balance should not carry over because it's just a projection that hasn't been realized.

However, if they stick to their budget, as they have also said publicly that they will, that fund balance will be realized.

The committee subbetwe the set the committee substitute before you assumes that the administration will close fiscal year 26 at budget as promised and required by law.

It takes the 11.8 million projected fund balance and implements the started priority of every counselor to bring our lowest paid employees up to the 25th percentile, according to the Evergreen class and comp study that was done three years ago.

We also heard and implemented feedback from the citizens who came and spoke.

Libraries increased by 50,000 and moved it IT into recurring open space restored 669,000 for two full-time employees and contractual services.

We increased by 580,000 to restore the animal care positions that the mayor cut.

Biopark, we increased their budget by 83,000 and moved the food and medicine to recurring.

In parks management, we increased it by 906,000, 906,000.

And in transit, we increased by 680,000 for drivers and mechanics.

With that said, this is a working document.

We'll never be perfect, but we're working together to make it more excellent, and we can keep working.

If any counselors are uncomfortable with carrying the projected fund balance, let's amend it back.

To do that, we'll take 1.8% from each department.

I hope we don't have to do that.

Um we do have several amendments that I think will be good.

We have.

Again, we hear from the community, and we'll we'll address those currently.

Madam President.

Thank you, Councillor Grout.

So there was a motion and a second by VP Champagne.

Let me write that down.

And then we're gonna start off with in your packet.

There is an amendment labeled A.

It will now become floor amendment number one.

Councilor Rogers.

Thank you, Madam President.

Floor amendment number one is on page eight after line four.

Insert the following the gain guaranteed basic income cohort one for one million dollars, transfer to other funds, operating grant funds 265 for 586,000.

And on page nine after line 26, insert the project name and lace housing voucher fund for 586,000.

This amendment recreates a new program designating a million dollars for the guaranteed basic income cohort one, which is already begun, but we found out we didn't fund the cohort for the full amount of time, which means we would have to stop those payments to families that are expecting to receive them for the next two years.

So three years total.

This also uh creates a transfer to enlace for housing vouchers.

This was another uh item that I found missing from the completely missing from our budget, uh taking away housing vouchers uh for folks fleeing domestic violence um situations, and so not to belabor all of the work that we've already done.

I took it from the cannabis uh equity uh reinvestment because we do have recovery housing support at housing stabilization, reentry from trauma and crisis, homeless prevention written into that ordinance.

So, for the cleanest, thank you budget team for helping me with this today.

Uh, that would be the cleanest way to fix it in our budget, and I urge your support.

Thank you.

There um was a motion and a second for floor amendment number one, and the second was by um Councilor Tea, she really wanted to be the second on that one.

So I guess is there any questions from any of the counselors?

Um, Vice President Champagne.

Thank you, Madam President.

Um, fund 202, is that the marijuana bill or the way I want to fund bills coming?

From the same, Madam President?

Correct.

Then Madam President, just another quick question.

The guaranteed income that program started how many months ago?

It's just finished its first year.

We passed it for three total, but we didn't, we funded it correctly, but the administration made the decision to split the appropriation between HHH evenly and the cohort, which left some gap instead of funding the three-year cohort and then giving HHH what's ever remaining.

That wasn't how our administration split up the money.

So now we're in a situation where we have a gap.

Madam President, then can I ask why we didn't do it the way it was written?

Um, Madam President, Counselor Champagne, we uh and I'm asking Dylan, our director Shahe to come up here.

So I I'm a little confused because our intent was to fully fund it.

And last year we split the amount in half last year and gave half to triple H and half to OEI, and that is what we're doing again this year.

So, counselors.

Uh hi, President Penya, may I speak?

Yes.

Thank you, um, Madam President, counselors.

Um, as far as the resolution from last year that was to be on one year of a guaranteed basic income cohort pilot program.

The we understood that we will have to come back into city council to request appropriations for the following uh two years as it's a multi-year uh pilot program.

And right now, currently we completed the first cohort, which is the family's, and now we're in the middle of the second cohort, which is the opportunity youth, and so these the funding for it is being expensed, and we're wanting to continue that through this current um passing of this budget.

Madam President.

Thank you, Vice President Champagne.

So it I am I understanding this correctly?

We passed a bill that said we're gonna give X amount of dollars for a three-year program.

Correct?

Whatever it is, 7 million, 8 million, whatever the it doesn't matter.

The amount.

We passed a bill that said this amount of money is gonna go to this three-year program, and it was split and moved into a different one.

And now your your understanding is you were supposed to come back after year one to ask for more money, even though we gave it all the money, um, Madam President, Councilor Champagne.

I think there's some confusion.

The the plan is to fund, continue to fund cohort one with the monies that are there, and also continue to look at cohorts two moving forward prospectively.

So that is the plan with the current amount that was put into the budget, because the full amount was not expended last year for cohort one, and so the intent is to continue to fund cohort one and also be able to fund cohort two with what was put in the budget.

Okay, madam president.

Then one last question.

When we passed that in the original deal, and that money was given for a three-year program.

Is that correct?

Madam President Councilor Champagne, that's what I'm saying.

Yes.

Yes, we gave X amount of dollars.

We'll say uh arbitrary, Madam President, 10 million dollars for a three-year program, correct?

I don't know if that's the actual number.

The number doesn't matter.

Madam President, it matters we fully funded a program for three years, Madam President, Councilor Champagne, yes.

Okay, and one year later we are back here asking for more money because there's no more money.

No, Madam President, Council Champagne, it's a it is a appropriation that continues.

So last year, yes, it's a three-year program, but last year was for the first year of it.

Okay, and then we're continuing it into the second year and adding a second cohort to it, okay.

Then, madam president, my final question is then for the sponsor.

Thank you for asking me, counselor or Mr.

Vice President.

So I've been studying this because this is some of the work I did in equity and inclusion, and we've um past years of really watching this one closely.

It wasn't expressly written into the ordinance how or the resolution for the appropriation exactly how they were to split it up.

We didn't make it specific, we just appropriated four million for these two programs, right?

So my expectation was that we would shore up the funding for the three years for these families right away instead of starting cohort number two and three, right?

And so they split up the money half to HHH and half to OEI.

And so my expectation was we shore up the program for three years so that we can continue to fund these families.

The truth is they stopped receiving funding as of March 2026, and we had to fix that because it's something I worked with the mayor directly to fix because I found out that we'd stopped paying the families, which is atrocious.

We cannot promise people something, and I understand what, and this was not Dylan's decision, so I I don't want to uh have him get the heat for this because he just got the amount from his administration.

So what I'm asking for is for us to shore up cohort one so that we don't have to come back for more funding.

Because we've already promised this to these families.

Thank you.

Um counselor Lewis, and then I have a couple of questions as well.

So, Counselor Dewis.

So I mean, I just want to, Madam Chair, my president, just go back to some basics, and maybe it's maybe because I don't know whether I can't explain it very well, maybe it might be helpful for other people to hear this too, but um, maybe for the sponsor, but or or for the would you explain what a cohort is?

Um, and then uh you know the difference between cohort one and a cohort two, and then it looks like we're creating another program here within uh within the money that's uh that's designated because there is a transfer of money to different funds, and um, uh, and then the other question would be we've created some programs that are based on a certain amount of pot money that's gonna be you know taxed, and uh is that is that pot money tax going up or is it going down?

And is that gonna affect our ability to be able to um to fund these programs that have uh that the city's created entirely off the revenue of pot money?

Thank you, counselor.

That's great questions, and that's exactly why I've pushed for having cannabis revenue on our GRT, so we can watch that as we're appropriating funds, um, because you're exactly right, we don't want to run out of funds in that.

So I'm watching that very closely, and thank you to the team for indulging me in adding those to our reports.

Um I think this the truth is we do have some revenue in Fund 202, so we're not in that situation now.

And I think that's why I I as a proponent of guaranteed basic income.

I just wanted us.

I I didn't think we were gonna start two and three cohorts.

This was a pilot.

So a cohort is just basically the first group of families that receive the funding.

That's because we're also researching this, so it's a cohort that's the first cohort.

Then the administration of the department decided to start cohort two out of the same funding that was intended for cohort one, and I think that's my issue is we want we want to do this, but again, we want to fix stick to the one cohort we already have before we started more taking funding away from cohort one.

Yeah, so I hope that answers it.

Counselor Lewis, and then we're gonna go to um Miss Martina.

Madam President, so I mean, so we created a program for cohort one.

I guess my question was be would be is there is there enough uh drug money, you know, um, for cohort one, uh, to be able to support handing out uh cash uh to this cohort.

Is there gonna be enough uh for what we promised to them?

Madam President, if I Madam President, Counselor, um Lewis.

Uh so as this guaranteed basic income pilot program is going through a phased approach.

We're using the phase approach here for year one, we will have encompasses three cohorts.

Cohort one meaning the the families who have uh third graders in elementary school, and uh cohort two is the opportunity youth, and cohort three would be uh the job training assistance, and so right now we completed cohort one the first year right now.

We're in the middle of cohort two for opportunity youth.

Um, when we looked at the or the resolution that came through, it was by our understanding that it was just for that first implementation of year one for all three cohorts, counselor Lewis, Madam Chair.

So we made this commitment to cohort one uh based on half the drug money going to HHH and half of it going to cohort one based on the projections of money coming in, are we gonna be able to um uh to fulfill the commitments that we've made to uh the families that were given you know free money to with this drug money, uh Madam President, Councilor Lewis?

I yes, I mean I stood up here with Director Lada at that time, and what she presented to the council was to start cohort one, which was to fund families in two areas of the city that were third grade families, and then the plan was to continue those families for three years.

That is absolutely right.

Then there was discussion about cohort two, which is helping these um youth opportunities, so basically young adults who are disconnected, and then I know there's a third cohort.

So, yes, I will get back with the team because it is my understanding as well that the intention is to use this funding to fund the first cohort for three years.

I just confirm with directory because this is the first time I had heard about the march, um, and I I think they have they have continued to fund those families, and the intention is to continue to fund those families, and then move forth.

So, so I I mean, I'll check with the department, but it's my understanding that there is enough funding to continue those families because we did have some families drop off through attrition, and then um fund those those youth opportunity.

Are you done, Counselor Lewis?

Okay, so I have a couple of questions before I go back to Councilor Rogers.

So, are you telling us that this amendment isn't needed?

And I'm just gonna say out of due respect for Councilor Rogers, I think it's kind of sometimes a little bit confusing here in the dice because I know we're not supposed to get involved in programming, but then I hear from Councilor Rogers' experience about programming and how things are working or should or shouldn't be working.

So I just want to hear from the department and I want to hear from the CFO just to so you're saying that the money we have currently for, so that was my bill, and so the money we have for the um guaranteed basic income is sufficient, and that as a result of people not coming back or or completing it, you have enough money for the additional cohorts currently.

Um Madam President, when I stood up here, that was my intentions when I spoke to all of you.

That was my understanding of what was happening.

I don't I don't oversee the office anymore.

I mean, that transitioned in early year, and that's where I'm saying I am happy to get more clarity on this issue because that was the intention of the programming is that there was enough funding, and if you look at last year, there was they didn't fully use the appropriation for cohort one.

So I I I hear what you're saying.

So I'm just asking the question, so but the department seems to have a different feel, right?

So I'm wondering if we table this till the end and find out whether this money is needed or not needed, and um, and I don't know where the director is at for.

Oh, I was thinking of um Ramitas, I'm so sorry.

Um so is this money needed or not needed?

Madam President.

Based on what you're hearing from the admin and then from Councilor Rogers, Madam President, it is needed, and they'll allow continuity for the following cohorts.

Um Councillor Rogers, can we table this to the end just to have confirmation?

I mean, I'd have happy to hear any other comments you have, but I'd like to see if we could just table it to the end just so that we can kind of work this out.

Thank you, Madam President.

I think I think the issue is pretty clear.

The director says they need the money.

Our CFO who just said she's not been over this department in several months and doesn't really know.

I have an email directly from uh deputy director Nina Cooper because I've been meeting with OEI about this to f get updates about this program because it means a lot to me in my district.

Here's the question I asked.

Question, when is the funding ending for the Whittier pilot and the and the Carlos Ray pilot?

This is the families.

And I I think it's very important to point out that this body only approved cohort one.

These the administration and the department made a decision to use the money we appropriated for cohort one to start two other cohorts that were never brought to this council.

Not that I'm against them because I'm all about it.

Here's the here's the answer to the question that I received on April 29th from Deputy Director Dinah Cooper.

Yes, that is correct.

Year one cohort officially ended on March 25th, the that payment.

However, there is supplemental funding funding due to attrition at APS schools that is presently covering year two cohort, but we do not have funding for the third year.

So this, and it's a million dollars a year.

This will fund the program for the entire three years, which is what I want to make sure happens because we've already promised these families the money.

I don't need any more clarification.

I've done my homework, I've asked your departments for the information so I can make decisions.

So I would urge that our council just take a vote because I've done my homework and I asked my colleagues to trust the work that I've done with the department.

So I was you so we have somebody else standing here.

So would you like to chime in real quickly?

Because I'm I'm actually asking as a courtesy, I want to support this, but I'm asking Councilor Rogers if she would table it till the end so that we can get this worked out.

Because you know, as you know, we have some additional dollars in this budget that you know we're just getting kind of uh uh a line in the in the sand, and I just really think that it's important that we kind of work together to try to figure out solutions so that we can move our city forward.

So um, yes, would you like to um council rogers?

We were just discussing this amendment in the budget office, and we just have a concern with the way the amendments written because it looks like it's appropriating one million dollars in fund balance that the fund does not have right now, so it's according to I don't know if you can see this on the overhead.

I don't know if you can zoom in.

Okay, sorry, so right here we're showing a $55,000 fund balance, right?

And we've appropriated two and a quarter million to OEI for GBI and then a two and a quarter million to triple H.

So our only concern is just the way that it's written.

It looks like it's appropriating the million dollars that is not available.

Thank you, Madam President.

I will be willing to take the tabling so we can figure this out with the team, but our team we checked the balance before too.

So, but I'm happy the table thank you so much.

So, if um the questions from Councillor Basson and Council February can wait, or okay, thank you so much.

Appreciate that.

So we are now on the oh, I'm sorry.

Um, there's a motion to table floor amendment number one.

Second all those there's a second by councilor Rogers.

All those in favor say yes and raise your hand.

Yes, opposed a motion.

Motion carries this item is tabled.

So we are now on what is labeled as B in your packet will now become floor amendment number two.

Councilor Baca.

Thank you, Madam President.

Amendment number two, floor amendment number two, uh on page four, line fourteen titled economic development, increase the amount by twenty-four thousand.

Uh this is for the Boredas Main Street.

Uh we caught it very at the end last meeting that or at the Cal meeting that uh that been last year had been at 80,000.

This year had been reduced to 56,000.

Um the city has an agreement with all the main streets that they need to that they're to be uh funded at 80,000.

And so the so we're just trying to correct the agreement that we already have uh that the city has with all the main streets.

So 24,000, it's not that much by for us, uh, but for these folks it's probably quite a bit.

Second, there's a motion and a second for floor amendment number two by Council Feblecorn.

Are there any questions?

Councilor Bucket close.

I urge your score.

All those in favor say yes and raise your hand.

Yes, opposed, say motion, motion carries.

Uh now we are uh in your packet um label C will now be floor amendment number three, Councilor Grout.

Thank you, madam president.

Uh floor amendment three.

Uh well on page four line 12 entitled council services reduce the amount by 50k and transfer uh on page four after line 12.

Insert the following capital acquisition fund 305, um, and then on page 13 after line 50.

Insert the following urban forestry and then for 150 and then urban tree canopy grant program.

Um the explanation for this is reallocating a total of 200,000 to the urban tree canopy grant program established by um R2282 for the purpose of supporting cities neighborhoods projects and related urban tree planting initiatives.

The amendment transfers 150 from existing capital appropriations associated with the urban forestry activity fund 305 and transfers an additional 50,000 for a non-recurring appropriation within council services into fund 305 for appropriation for the grant program.

Purpose of this amendment is to consolidate and prioritize available fund funding towards direct implementation of the urban tree canopy grant program and the neighborhoods program, um, related activities in alignment with the council's previous adopted policy direction supporting expansion of Albuquerque's urban forest and neighborhood tree canopy initiative.

Second.

There's a motion motion and second by councilor feeblecorn for floor amendment number three.

Any questions from counselors?

Admin, Councillor Grout to close.

Thank you.

Um this was um can uh council feeblecorn and I love the neighborhoods program.

We just think it's wonderful, and we know that our constituents do as well.

And one of council Fablecorn's requests was that we we fund it more fully completely so that each council district each year would be able to have at least one tree planting.

And what we found was within our budget that we needed to do it every other year.

So that is where we are at this point.

And I urge your support.

Thank you.

There's a motion and a second by Councillor February for floor amendment number three.

All those in favor, raise your hand and say yes.

Yes.

Opposed say motion.

Motion carries.

We are now on what's labeled D in your packet.

Can I please see all the hands again that voted for it?

Thank you.

Um in your packet labeled D will now be floor amendment number four.

This is counselors, um, Grout, Feeble Corn, and Bacca.

Counselor Bacu, would you like to take this one?

Sure.

Thank you, Madam President, and Councillor Grout.

On page seven, line 10 entitled Neighborhood Policing, decrease the amount by 100,000 on page 5, line 32, entitled Legal Services, increase the amount by 200,000.

This amendment restores legal services diversion program by half of the original proposed amount.

It will reduce the neighborhood policing by 100,000 and use available fund balance for the remaining 100,000.

Um I think this is this is the diversion program that's getting quite a bit of notice.

Um, you know, we we want to help our own house folks, and uh if someone gets picked up and arrested rather than sending going to jail, the diversion program will help get them into housing or some other support program.

And so I think this is uh extremely important uh program.

There's a motion in the second for floor and amendment number four.

Um any questions from counselors?

Counselor Vassan, Madam President, uh I don't really support the diversion program and legal services as uh per conversation at the last meeting, but I do want to ask from APD if they can come up and explain a little bit more about the neighborhood policing.

I know that this is only 100,000, but there are a few men amendments tonight.

But to me, if we end up approving all of them would essentially gut this part of APD, and I want to make sure that we all know what we're doing if we choose to do that.

Madam President, Councilor Basson, um, if we're speaking directly about the neighborhood policing, that fund goes directly towards our ammunition supply or substations, the maintenance there uh that includes cleaning, staffing, um both patrol and at the substations, it includes our specialized units, whether that's the horse-mounted unit, our canine unit, our bike officers, supplies at the substations, um, and uh the cadets and the supplies and uniforms for them as well.

And so if we look at cutting the budget for neighborhood uh policing, uh we would see potentially um a loss in staffing.

Um we have already done certain things to address that budget, meaning we have cut training and travel uh for our sworn police officers, we have cut the cleaning services to our facilities, we have cut overtime.

We have a strict audit on supplies, such as our printer ink at the substations.

We no longer have printers inside of the offices.

We have one printer in each substation that we're utilizing, um, and we would have to revert some of our charges for services or have to revert to that.

Thank you, madam president.

Any other questions?

No, um, thank you so much.

So there is a motion and a second for floor amendment number four.

All those in favor um say yes and raise your hand.

Yes, yes, opposed, no, no?

No.

So that's um three, six.

No.

Six.

Six three, sorry.

Madam President, floor amendment five, um, I'd like to offer it on page four, line fourteen, entitled Economic Development.

Increase the amount by 150,000.

This amendment increases uh the marketing retention and expansion for economic development, non-recurring item by 150 from available fund balance for a total of 200,000.

Second, thank you.

There's a more a floor, there's a motion and a second by Councilor February for floor amendment number five.

Councilor Grout to open.

Thank you, Madam President.

Um, this one um is in specific specifically has to do with area.

We have a contract, a five-year contract with area.

Um, Albuquerque Regional Economic Alliance, and um it is a five-year contract, it says 200,000, and they only had appropriated 50 for them.

And so this this um makes uh the contract that we have with them whole.

I urge your support.

Thank you.

Any questions?

No, all those in favor of floor amendment number five, raise your hand and say yes, yes, yes.

Opposed, same motion, motion carries.

So we are now on marked F in your packet will now be floor amendment number six.

Councillor Grout.

Thank you, madam president.

Uh floor amendment number six.

Um on page five, line 10 entitled street services fund one ten, increase the amount by two million four hundred twenty-four thousand.

Page five, line ten titled neighborhood policing, increase the amount by fifty thousand, and on page 10, line nine entitled general fund 110, decrease the amount by 110,000 or 2,474,000.

This amendment decreases the transfer from automated speed enforcement fund 289 to the general fund and increases the municipal development by 2,424,000 for the street lighting contract and operating and make operations and maintenance and is also increases also increases the neighborhood policing by 50k for APD drag racing tactical plan non-recurring item using available fund balance.

Second, there is a motion and a second for floor amendment number six by councillor feeblecorn, counselor grout to open.

So let's see here.

Let me find my notes for this one.

Right on.

Let's see.

Okay.

So um I'm calling this the Vision Zero amendment.

And I want to make it clear to everyone that the committee sub left the mayor's budget, the committee substitute left the mayor's budget for zero uh vision zero intact in the committee sub substitute.

We took part of the projected fund balance and appropriated it for crossing guards, street lighting, and drag racing enforcement, all of which are pedestrians are also pedestrian safety.

With that said, though, I have this amendment and it does keep the 1.2 million dollars for crossing guards, and it moves the street lighting into general uh back in to the general fund for DMD, and it lists the priorities, lists the priority pedestrian safety projects.

Oh, that's gonna be the next one, for this uh vision zero zero.

So it is it is important, we understand.

Um, and um the other the projects that we had put in there are also for public for pedestrian safety, um but listening to our public, we understand that as well, and so with that I move it to pass.

There's a motion and a second for due pass of floor amendment number six.

Any questions from the counselor?

Seeing none.

Um, madam um madam uh president budget staff, Mr.

Mosco, Mr.

Motsko, just four, Madam President, Councilor Grout.

Um, when we move this one back, um, the staff and I, uh, with your discussion on Saturday, uh, we we made a uh a little error here.

We actually don't need lines one and two.

So line three would suffice to to move it back out of uh two eighty nine into 110.

We don't want to double take from those other two funds.

Oh, and okay.

So we need to take out line line three.

Madam President, can you read it for us, please?

How should it be how should it read?

Madam President, Councilor Grout, I am respectfully asking you to suspend the rules to amend a budget amendment that was on the dies at five o'clock.

Uh we would need two-thirds of the body's vote, but we would amend this amendment to take to strike lines one and two, and then just leave line three.

Okay, well, so I have Councilor Feblecorn to speak, but I'm gonna go to the director first.

Madam President, if you're amending an amendment that was on the table, you can do that.

We do have the computer set up so that does it's not necessary to suspend the rules to amend an amendment.

The amendment was on the table.

You can amend an amendment up to two times.

Anything after that, you're not allowed to, according to Robert's rules.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

So, Councilor Feblecorn.

Madam President, I move to amend floor amendment number six by deleting lines one and two and leaving number three alone.

There's an um an amendment to amend amendment number six by counselor feeble corn and seconded by counselor teas.

Did we get that?

Any discussion on that?

Councilor, vice president.

Councilor, sorry, just uh curiosity because I'm I thought I was following along properly, but if we're gonna get rid of one and two and just leave the decreased amount, do we need direction of where we're putting it?

Or did I blank out on that one?

Madam President, Councilor Champagne, um, the money the ex the appropriation is already in street services and neighboring policing.

All we need to do is to decrease the general fund line for those amounts.

Madam President, then thank you for that explanation.

Madam President, then the other question is so then based on the last amendment that failed of taking away 100,000.

We are now adding 50,000 to neighborhood policing, but it's directed toward drag racing attack plan, correct?

Um Madam President, Counselor Champagne, it's we're not doing we we don't want to do anything with the 50,000.

Yeah, it's already in there.

Thank you.

Any other questions?

Seeing none.

Um Councilor People Corne to close or just four.

So there is a motion in the second to amend floor amendment number six by Councilor Feblecorn, seconded by Councillor Tayas.

All those in favor, raise your hand and say yes.

Opposed, say motion.

Motion carries we have somebody excused.

Yeah, eight zero.

Yeah.

Okay, so now we are back on floor amendment number six.

And um, is there any additional discussion?

Seeing none, count.

Oh, Councilor Feblecorn.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I did uh Madam President.

Just real quickly, I did want to um just thank Counselor Grout for her work on this.

Um I think there was just a lot of misunderstanding about what was happening around this vision zero fund, and I just want to clarify um even in the budget um proposal that we heard last week.

Um, you know, everything that was coming out of that vision one vision zero fund was in fact vulnerable road user safety, and we just had differences of opinion on whether um vision zero should be new projects only or maintenance and operations, and I just wanted to thank Councilor Grout for being open to refund to to going back and adding back into Vision Zero mostly new projects.

I think that was just um a very kind thing to do for um all the concerns that we heard, so thank you.

Thank you.

So we are on floor amendment number six as amended.

All those in favor say yes and raise your hand.

Yes, opposed, say motion, motion carries, and that's a nine-o.

It's the first one I got right tonight.

So we are now on um label G, floor amendment numbers.

It'll now become floor amendment number six.

This is Councillor Grout and seven.

Sorry, I wrote seven down.

Councilor Grout and People Court.

Thank you, Madam President.

Um floor amendment number seven on page 10 after line nine.

Insert the following.

That the following appropriations are hereby made to put fund 289 vision zero projects per attachment A.

This amendment introduces attachment A, which contains a list of programmed ASE vision zero projects and their expenses.

It appropriates the amounts within fund 289 specifically for the projects on attachment A.

And here's attachment eight.

Second.

There's a motion in the second by Councilor Feblecorn for floor amendment number seven.

Are there any questions from counselors, admin?

No one seeing none.

All those in favor of you want to close.

Oh, I just wanted to say that.

Thank you, Madam President.

Um, after Thursday's meeting or at Thursday's meeting, um, the department uh expressed that they had a list of of um projects that they had planned, and so we asked them to send that planned list so that we could take a look at it.

And so um we're pleased that we got it um in our hands, and we want to make sure that they all get implemented in the next year.

So thank you.

To the Department of Municipal Development Development.

For the close.

So there's a motion in the second by Councilor Feblecorn for floor amendment number seven.

All those in favor say yes and raise your hand.

Yes, opposed, same motion.

Motion carries unanimously.

Um we are now on floor amendment number eight, which was labeled H in your packet.

Councilor Grout.

Thank you.

And we only have 82 more to go.

Woohoo!

We're gonna run out of letters.

Um, okay, so this one is floor amendment number eight.

Thank you, madam president.

On page nine, um, after line 26, insert the following new section.

The determination of the total housing voucher funding is based on the department's available rolling balances and historical expenditure patterns in the event additional housing voucher funding is determined necessary during fiscal year 2027.

Available mid year funding shall be prioritized for consideration of supplemental appropriation for housing voucher assistance.

And this amendment clarifies the council's intent regarding the reduction of the 1.5 million dollar associated with the housing voucher funding within the health housing and homelessness department.

The reduction reflects the department's current availability of rolling balances and prior year funding that has not been fully expended within a single fiscal year, indicating the program has maintained available carry forward capacity while continuing operations.

The amendment determines that should available mid-year funding be required.

This project will be prioritized by the council.

Second, there's a motion and second for floor amendment number eight by councilor feeblecorn in discussion.

Seeing none, councillor grout to close.

Thank you.

This um, you know, we the other night we again in the general or in the fund balance, um, it shows that there are a lot of housing vouchers available, and then that night we found out that 30 minutes before the meeting, the dashboard was updated, and there wasn't, it wasn't as as much as it should have been, or or said it was, and this is something that councillor Rogers and I have been working on over the last couple of years.

It's very important that this is accurate that people aren't we're getting uh the vouchers out to where they need to be, uh, providers are being paid and people are being housed.

So um this is a priority in six months when if if we need some more vouchers, this will be a priority to get it amended.

And I urge your support.

So there was a motion and a second for floor amendment number eight and seeing that no other discussion.

All those in favor say yes and raise your hand.

Yes.

Opposed, same sign, motion carries unanimously.

We are now on floor amendment number nine, um, it's labeled I in your packet.

Councilor Feblecorn.

Thank you, Madam President.

Floor amendment number nine is on page three, line seventeen entitled community events, decrease the amount by 340,000.

On page six, line 26 entitled open space management, increase the amount by 250,000.

On page six, line 28, titled recreation, decrease the amount by 60,000.

On page 7, line 10, entitled neighborhood policing, decrease the amount by 100,000.

On page 7, line 27 entitled transfer to transit operating fund, increase the amount by 250.

And on page 11, line 24 entitled strategic support, increase the amount by 250,000.

There's a motion and second for floor amendment number nine.

Um the second was by counselor Tayas.

Is there any discussion on this amendment?

I'd like to just um so this amendment is is really um doing just one thing, it is taking the funds that we have allocated in the budget for freedom fourth and allocating them to two departments that have been hit very um hard by this budget.

Um open space.

I think we heard from I don't know how many hundreds of people that they would like to see an increase in open space, and then also this would be reducing the amount that transit has to transfer over to APD to pay for transit security.

I just think that in a budget like this that is so tight that um we are you know barely making payments meet for really important departments, it feels quite gross to be spending um a hundred five hundred thousand dollars on a community event that lasts for one day and requires one hundred thousand dollars in overtime payment for APD alone.

So is there any discussion?

Counselor Vice President Champagne.

Thank you, Madam President.

Hold on one second.

Any others?

No, okay.

Again, I go back to this.

The decreases should add up and the increases should have up, and it should be the same number, correct?

Can somebody math for me real quick?

Because I am not adding that properly, Madam President, it's 340,000 from community events, 60,000 from recreation, and 100,000 from neighborhood policing, which does in fact equal 500,000.

And then I'm taking half of that 250 back to transit and 250 to um open space.

Plus a decrease of 100 from 340 plus 60 plus 100 is 500.

And then if you divide 500 by two, that's 250 each.

Okay, decrease, decrease, decrease.

Okay, just make a draw.

Like I said, yeah.

APS.

Any other discussion?

No.

Okay, so I'll um Councilor February to close.

And for open space.

Okay, all those in favor, um, say yes and raise your hand.

Yes.

Opposed, no, no.

Um, we are now on floor amendment number 10, labeled J in your packet.

Um, Councilor Feeblecorn.

So 250, that's 750.

That's failed and on this.

Madam President, I would like to move floor amendment number 10 on page 5, line 18 entitled gateway center, decrease the amount by 180,000 on page six, line 26 entitled open space management, increase the amount by 180,000.

Second, thank you, madam president.

So this is um a move to take some funds away from the gateway center that are going to be um provided under a grow grant from the state that I got from Speaker Martinez.

So we need 180,000 less for the youth, the young adult gateway center that is not accounted for in the budget, and so uh moving that 180 that was already in the budget over to open space management to fund some of the things that we've heard from the community that they would really like to see funded.

Thank you, Council People Corn.

Is there any discussion?

I would like just to ask the admin about this.

Madam President, I would ask Director Amidas to weigh in on this, Madam President.

On your way up here, it's just that I'm struggling to do any decreases to the gateway just because I've been committed to this since its inception.

Thank you, Madam President.

I mean, the growth funds are relatively new as far as the old junior bill money and operational dollars, and so that was being um weaved into our budget this year.

Um I haven't had a chance to actually analyze whether that cut is neutral and or will have any um you know huge impact in regards to our program uh as we've just launched.

So I understand it was new funding that came from the state.

I'm not aware whether it would have a positive negative or neutral impact without analyzing the full amount of that funding being integrated into our budget this year because we've never had it before.

I know that's not a great answer.

Sorry, but that's the truth as far as words.

It's just meal.

Right.

I mean, can I um okay?

So thank you, Director Councilor Grout.

Thank you, Madam President.

I can confirm that um that these growth funds were specifically um for the youth gateway.

When counselor feeblecorn um, you know, when we all had the opportunity to talk to our legislators to get these these funds, um, she was so excited.

She when she when when he he called and said this is what I want to give my monies to, and um so I can confirm that this was specifically for the youth gateway um for the next few months, you know, over the next year.

Thank you.

Thank you.

So counselor um feeblecorn to close.

Thank you, madam president.

So again, these are growth funds from the state.

I did verify with the administration through a um many many many back and forth questions to ensure that these funds had not been accounted for in the budget.

We did all receive that response from the administration in the back and forth, and so there is an extra 180,000 dollars in the gateway young adult, which is the um facility for young people between 18 and 25, because I did get these 180,000 from the state, and so all I'm doing is taking the extra 180,000 that is there because of that growth fund and allocating it to open space because we have heard that they are very short under the current budget.

So I urge your sport.

Thank you, thank you.

Thank you, Councilor People Corne.

I think we closed on that director, so um thank you so much.

Um, so all the all in all those in favor of floor amendment number 10, raise your hand and say yes.

Yes, opposed, same motion, no.

I think that's actually 72.

Um, so now we are on floor amendment number 11.

It's labeled K in your packet.

Counselor Feeblecorn.

Thank you, Madam President.

Floor amendment number 11 is on page three, line 17 entitled community events, decrease the amount by 40,000, and on page six, line 26 entitled open space management.

Increase the amount by 40,000.

Um second, Madam President.

This amendment um takes away um an amount above forty thousand dollars that's currently in the budget for the gathering of nations, and as we all know, the gathering of nations is no longer happening.

This year was the last one, and so I think this was a technical error for it to be uh remaining in the floor sub that we have.

Um, and since we had an additional 40,000, I um am proposing to move it over to open space, and this would specifically specifically go into the non-recurring line open space boski and fire protection, which we did cut a bit in the um the floor sub or the committee sub.

We were trying to get it down to the bare bones of what they needed, but they had asked for a little additional, and so we have this, and I'm moving it that way.

Thank you, Councilor Feblecorn.

So I did um say that there was a motion and second by Counselor Tayas for floor amendment number 11.

Councilor Febalcorn, I can't support this.

That has been my sponsorship, so it's fallen under the um council sponsorship for city council district three since its inception.

So since we started funding, we had never fund the POW.

Up I I think in the year that I was elected, I actually started funding it at this level, and so um now um I left it in the budget just so that I can kind of consolidate all my council sponsorships, and I am actually um uh hoping to utilize this money just within council district three um sponsorships.

So for that reason, I I can't support this amendment.

Um, so is there any additional discussion?

All those in favor of floor amendment number 11, raise your hand and say yes.

Um oppose, same sign.

Did you want to say the number out loud?

I mean, did I say no?

I did say no.

It failed on a two-seven vote.

Okay, thank you.

So now we are on floor amendment number um 12 labeled M in your packet.

Counselor Bassan, Madam President, I just I'm willing to do this.

There is an L in the iPads if you wanted to do that first, or shall we proceed with this?

Um, who is the sponsor of L?

I don't have that.

I'm so non-techie.

I always have to print everything.

So on one, it was L earlier, and then it turned to O.

So perhaps that might be the problem.

Oh, it's not okay.

Let's just follow the packet.

Councilor Bassan floor amendment um labeled M will now be floor amendment number 12.

Thank you, Madam President.

Counselor Champagne had requested to be a co-sponsor on this, and I did confirm that he still wants to be if we can make sure to add him.

Can you add that for the record, please?

Counselor Champagne.

Following section eight on page 14 after line 28, insert a new section to read as follows.

Section 9 general fund operating efficiency reductions to support long-term capital financing capacity and preserve structural fiscal stability within the general fund.

The city council hereby establishes $3 million in recurring general fund operating expenditure reductions for fiscal year 2027 and future fiscal years.

The Department of Finance and Administrative Services is authorized and directed to identify and implement recurring reductions across eligible general fund departmental operating appropriations, sufficient to achieve the intent of this section and to process any necessary budget adjustments consistent with this resolution.

The reductions authorized by this shall not apply to Albuquerque Fire Rescue SOAR and personnel appropriations, Albuquerque Police Department sworn personnel appropriations, City Council and Council Service Appropriations, Office of Inspector General Appropriations, Office of Internal Audit Appropriations, Office of the City Clerk Appropriations, Debt Service Obligations, transfers required by law, ordinance, collective bargaining agreement, bond covenant, or existing contractual obligation, settlement obligations, judgments, or legally mandated expenditures, and any appropriation otherwise restricted from reduction under federal or state law.

It is the intent of the city council that reductions implemented pursuant to this section avoid layoffs of filled full-time employees to the maximum extent practical practicable, and prioritize operational efficiencies, vacancy savings, contractual efficiencies, discretionary expenditures, travel advertising outside professional services and other non-essential operating expenditures before reductions affecting direct public services.

Recurring savings generated pursuant to this section shall be reserved within the general fund and shall not be expended or reprogrammed except by future action of the city council for gross receipts tax revenue bond debt service, capital financing obligations, or other long-term infrastructure financing purposes.

DFAS shall provide a report to the city council by proposed resolution no later than 60 days following adoption of the fiscal year 2027 budget identifying the reductions implemented pursuant to this section and the estimated recurring savings achieved and then renumber the succeeding section accordingly.

So there's a motion and a second by um Vice President Champine.

Are there any open Madam President?

Yes.

Uh so almost everyone on this council has expressed to me, and the administration has expressed to me throughout my tenure as a counselor that they will support building the North Domingo Baca Aquatic Center.

I realize it's a tight budget, however, we can reduce the budget because that was an option that was presented to me by several counselors when I was trying to do an increase for the GRT and some other options.

But through the dedication and commitment through comments by the counselors, I'm hoping to utilize and try for another option to help get final funding for this project.

If this does pass, then I will probably literally stand on this dias and dance for all of you.

But in addition to that, if this does pass, it will be followed by a bond ordinance that would require council approval to then uh solidify the appropriation for future years and councils because then only after is there a debt uh income is is there a debt that's been committed to can we make sure to speak on behalf of future councils?

Uh but I am trying to find a way to finish this project that has been desired for over 20 years by by the city.

It's not just a rich people project.

So I think that it would be really great to have the support of this counselor council, and I would like to invite Councilor Champagne to help open if he has anything to add.

Madam President, Councilor Basson, thank you very much.

Um this council, and and I haven't been around as long as everybody else, but one thing I did notice in what uh Councilor Bassan's uh proposal a couple weeks back of raising GRT to uh generate funds um to complete some capital projects uh brought up a very valid point.

This city seems to be chasing a carrot and continuously chasing the carrot, whether it be for North Domingo Baca Park or for police car vehicles for other capital projects within district six, repaving district nine.

We seem to be chasing a carrot, and every time we're told it's gonna be thirty-five million dollars, you go and take the time to go to state and you go to federal and you go to here and you go to there to find money, and when you come back and say you have 35 million dollars, they go, Great, it's 47 now because it took you 10 months to find that money.

So then you go okay, I'll go find another 12, and so on and so forth.

We keep wasting time and the taxpayers' money of putting stuff away to try to improve not only libraries, uh, community centers, uh, that nothing ever gets done.

So we've got to stop it.

Uh I personally disagreed with with raising taxes, uh, but we found another way, and this is that way of taking a small amount of money uh and getting ahead of the game finally.

Get this done and over with.

Stop chasing that carrot, uh, be fiscally responsible and say, hey, let's get this done so we can move on to other projects, other districts that need infrastructure, libraries, community centers, parks.

Um, so when she presented this, I uh I jumped on it immediately.

I won't dance on the table though.

Uh some of your eyebrows went up though.

I saw it.

Uh but we do need to stop chasing this carrot.

We need to get out of the game, and I think this is a viable way of doing it.

Thank you.

Counselor Lewis.

Madam President, thank you.

Um, so I just want to make sure I understand this.

So we're this is asking the DFA, it's asking them to help us find some efficiencies, basically to help us find three million dollars.

Is that that what's three million dollars in reoccurring funds?

Madam President, uh Counselor Lewis, it's just to be clear it's the our city department of finance, not the state DFA.

So um, and that is, and so that in this budget, so basically we pass this amendment.

They would they would find three million more dollars.

Um, and then that would be reoccurring.

So every year, is there a sunset on that?

Counselor Lewis.

If this passes, then in the bond ordinance, which is the same as what I proposed to everybody a month or so ago.

There is a 20-year sunset.

But I can't put that in this into the budget because we don't actually have the bond.

Yeah, and madam chair.

Um, and in so this is uh three three million dollars in reoccurring funds, uh reoccurring budget dollars for the next 20 years, um, because it would be bonded off of and raise money for the rest of the and it would just go to this that specific project, correct?

Madam President, Councilor Lewis, that is correct.

And just to add to the bond thing, I can't apply for a bond if I don't have a revenue source.

Okay.

I mean, as much as I would love to be able to to do that, I mean, I I like the idea of you know finding three million, but I think if we could find three million, we can find 20 million.

Absolutely know that we can find 20 million or 30 million.

Um that's really all along what I think, you know, we've talked about this year after year.

Uh, when we spend every dollar that we have, then we don't have the ability to be able to, you know, you know, do anything.

Um, and we have to really rely on our capital program, uh, you know, for those dollars, and so I guess the only reason why I'd be against this is just because I I believe that that's what we should be doing, you know, anyways.

And I and I think we should find 25, you know, 30 million dollars or more, and we should bond the whole thing for 20 years and be able to distribute that between all nine city council districts.

Um just because again, I think it's it's taking a pretty big chunk of money out of the budget year after year that's dedicated to one project, nothing against that project.

Um but I think if we're gonna do that, we should go for we should go for all of it, you know.

I mean, we should do something that makes a significant impact on every on every uh every district.

Thank you, Councilor Lewis, Councilor Teas.

Thank you, Madam President.

I have a question for our sponsor.

I just regarding the pool, um, has there been any sort of uh environmental um reviews about water sustainability for the the pool?

Madam President, Counselor Teas.

We decided to between the administration and myself, uh, we decided not to ever federalize the project, so there is no requirement for an uh environmental impact analysis, however, engineers have been involved, and we have worked with AMAFA from the get-go on everything on the proper drainage and making sure that we are connected from the start to finish, and making sure that we do everything we can with drainage and also sustainability inside of the building with state-of-the-art pump rooms, which are currently installed for those of you that ever want to go by and see it.

Counselor, I um I have a question.

Who would I ask about environmental aspects out here?

DMD, maybe Councilor Tez.

Are you asking our environmental health director?

Yeah, or DMB, or who can answer questions about um water sustainability?

Nobody can thank you.

Uh Council President and Madam uh Councilor Tez.

Jennifer Turner, our director of DMD is coming.

Thank you, Director.

Thank you, Madam President.

I just have a question because we are in the high desert, and we know that evaporation is one of the leading causes of um you know uh water loss, especially in hot, dry places.

Um estimates um say that a 500 square foot pool can lose about 12 um thousand to 31,000 gallons per year, depending on the climate, which our climate is pretty arid.

Um do you know what type of uh impact this swimming pool will have here when it comes to um you know crusting or salinization and how it may affect our our water sustainability efforts here in Albuquerque or in New Mexico.

I mean, we're we don't have water, we're not pumping to Corralis, we don't have Colorado snow melt.

Um, so we are in a huge water crisis here, and my concern is building a swimming pool is gonna have even a more negative impact on the water situation we have here.

Do you have any have we done any studies anything regarding that and this project specifically?

Uh Councilor or President Pena and Councillor Tayas.

So the Northern Domingo Baca pool has been on the city's capital priority list for a number of years.

It's been in design, it's and you know it's it's obviously taken time.

Um the project was fully designed with um, you know, an engineering firm and architects, and whenever we design anything in the city, we have to make sure it meets applicable city codes, and we partner with planning and go through many, many, many levels of review, too many, and I think some folks view, but we we go through all of our um the planning process, and so with respect to this particular project, um, no, we have not done an um an analysis, at least I haven't, of its specific impact on larger um drought issues.

But that said, that is why we have the process that we do, why we do have the codes that we do, um, and as a general matter, um the Department of Municipal Development, along with um Ann Simon's office and Safe Ismail, we're always looking at water savings as a and even green stormwater infrastructure, which you heard alluded to earlier this evening, like that is all about leaning into nature and um minimizing sort of um or I should say maximizing water conservation and using things like stormwater runoff um to you know again lean into nature and minimize the negative environmental impacts.

Thank you, Director.

So, how long has this project and those particular measurements been evaluated as opposed to where we are sitting now regarding our sustainability and our water use and I mean pools in just arid climates are evaporated water loss machines, and we are already at a huge loss, and I just I love a swimming pool, don't get me wrong.

I could swim all day.

I love it, but I also love um agriculture and farmers and being able to, you know, ensure we have enough water that we can you know be able to again, like I said, we can't fill Corrales right now.

There are sequias are dry because the Rio Grande is dry.

Um that's part of the um Albuquerque Bernalio water water authority project that's going on right now.

Um, and I just you know the evaporated water that's gone from the usable supply because of swimming pools, um, is a huge concern to me.

And and I love North Domingo Balka.

I love having you know more access to um pools and you know, things that can cool people down and all of that, but when we have a scarce water system, every single gallon that evaporates leaves more minerals, more salts, more chemicals, more concentrates behind.

We have salination issues, we have inefficient water uses, then we have a lot more costs associated with having to mitigate all of that with the swimming pool.

So I just I thank you, Director.

I don't have any more questions.

I just I can't support this um amendment simply because I I we are in a water drought in New Mexico, and this is not something that will help that.

So thank you.

Thank you, Counselor Teas.

So you need any more questions?

Um, so it was Vice President Champagne followed by Counselor Lewis.

Thank you.

Thank you, Madam President.

I just have a question for the administration and maybe code enforcement.

Um, just really quick.

Are we planning since we brought up a valid point about the water restrictions and the lack of water in the river?

Are we planning on shutting down car washes and shutting down the city pools within the other districts that are in the town?

Madam President, Councillor Champagne, our record by perfect, thank you.

Council President, uh Counselor, we all understand the value of water and the concerns that everybody has, especially.

But the answer is no, we're not okay.

The counselor made a valid point about our water restrictions, and it raised a concern in my mind of the other pools that are in district, you know, six, seven, three.

I got one, five, one and eight.

I ain't got one.

Are we shutting those down?

And uh counselor, unless we're instructed to do so by city council, the answer would be no when the uh developments are proposed.

The developer must come in with a water availability statement from a separate governmental entity.

If that waterability statement is provided from the water utility authority, then that's the green light for the uh use of the water that is uh calculated in the relevant proposal.

Madam President, the answer is no code enforcement.

Vice President Champagne, no, um, and this goes to another question because I looked into car washes at one point and the amount of code and restriction to reuse water, because you drive by a car wash, and I don't know if you could answer, so you have knowledge of it, but when you go by a car wash, the amount of water being run through and the lines of cars that want to be washed, the amount of restrictions that went in to recycle water that's being used was amazing, was mind-boggling to me.

Because you would think that they are just wasting waters going down the drain, but the in fact that the the filtration systems to reuse some of that is that sort of technology used when it comes to our city pools to reclaim the water and circulate and clean, and uh council president and uh councillor champagne, that's a separate question from the evaporation of water which goes up into the sky and the air and uh possibly you know away from New Mexico, perfect.

Thank you, madam president, um counselor Lewis, uh just to clarify.

Thanks, Madam President.

The so that the total amount that this would raise would be so it's it's it's three million a year of reincurring funds, and then we would is the plan the plan would be to bond off of it, you know, correct?

And so you you'd basically get the whole 60 million over 20 years and get that right away and pay it back over 20 years.

Is that the is that the idea?

Madam President, Counselor Lewis, it would I'm striving for 36 million, and yes, that is the idea.

So how does that work?

So 30 that why would it be 36 million?

So I would my apologies, Madam President, Councillor Lewis.

I really wish that our bond counsel was here.

He doesn't seem to be here tonight, but uh he has explained and done the math on the actual rates that are involved in what it would take based off of the percentages that will increase over the 20 years and all of his expertise that he would be much more eloquent should he have been here tonight.

But I got all the data from him, and he's the one that developed uh this amendment in order to be able to show us and pull from somewhere with some of the dictation to the administration to find it versus the overall cut every department citywide by a certain percentage, like some counselors had originally told me to do several months ago.

Yeah, I don't think I said that, but um Madam Madam Chair, um, so it's again I'm just thinking through it.

I mean, you know, I mean, three three million dollars would go to every year for 20 years, would pay the debt, which would be you know about 60 million dollars, and we'd get about 36.

If I understand it right, about 36 million dollars, you know, up front for the project.

So, um I think that when we're doing that on a bigger scale, I think it um it makes it makes a lot of sense.

Uh, I've just I've just not seen it done on uh on a on a smaller scale like that, but it's a significant amount that you know that comes out of the budget each year.

But um, like I said, I I mean if it was 27 million dollars, and um we can do some capital.

Um we could raise some capital like that um on you know uh you know projects we can do in each of the districts around the city that would make a kind of an economic impact that I think would uh would be significant enough.

Um but anyhow, thanks.

Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Councillor Bacca.

You're good?

Okay, so um Councilor Bassant close, Madam President.

Uh I do want to clarify it wasn't Counselor Lewis that made that comment.

I wasn't saying it was you, but there was a counselor that did tell me that that was a suggestion.

Uh so this is something this is a project that's in the city's master plan, which we've all seemed to be able to respect um throughout our time, it seems.

Uh, there was the across the board recommendation for a cut.

It's a project that has a 60 meter indoor pool and a smaller outdoor recreation pool.

Um, I can get into plenty of the uh reasons why it's going to be a significant economic driver in the city of Albuquerque, but I think for the purposes of budget, it's been voter approved multiple times.

Geo bond approval multiple times, capital outlay approval from our legislators multiple times, and the governor.

It is not my fault that we have fully funded this project three times, and it still keeps coming to more.

I'm just as frustrated as the next taxpayer, but I'm trying to find a way to get her done.

So if we can't get her done this way, then I'll try something else, hopefully very soon.

And I would urge your support.

Thank you.

So um there was a second um by uh Vice President Champagne for floor amendment number 12.

All those in favor um say yes and raise your hand.

Yes, yes, oppose no.

Motion fails by four.

We are now on to floor amendment number 13.

And this is this right.

Yeah, okay, floor amendment number 13.

This is what I was saying that you just moving within district three council sponsorships moving them around.

So on page three, line 17, community events decreased by 55 on line three, seventeen, and title community events increase 21 on page four, line 12, council services decreased by six on page four, line twelve council services increased by five on page four, line fourteen, economic development increase by seventy on page seven, line thirty, entitled community recreation decreased by one twenty-five on page seven, line thirty community recreation increased by ninety thousand in this amendment decreases and increases specific non-reoccurring amounts as follows within the district three council sponsorships.

Um I would urge your support.

Are there any questions or comments?

There's a oh, I'm sorry.

There's a second by counselor grout.

Any discussion seeing none?

All those in favor.

Oh, I'm sorry, Councilor Feeble Corps.

Thank you, madam president, and and thank you for pointing this out.

I had looked this weekend and did not see anything at um touching that gathering of nations amount.

So um I'm glad this is here.

I do have one question, because in the existing floor sub in front of us, the Southwest Education Partners, the technical training at RFK high school is already funded at 150, and this would be adding, is this an additional 125?

No, this is actually decreasing.

They have not reached out to me, so I wasn't sure whether they were utilizing these resources or not.

So I um so they reached out to me and to Councilor Baca, and we put it in our requests when counselor grout um asked us, and so I would like to make sure that that remains in because I did that was mine for 150 so I would go to Mr.

Motsko but this would remove it this would reduce them up to leave a move 25 so this um council sponsorship has been under district three for um I I know since the beginning of time so um madam president it was actually district seven last year as well madam president uh council people corner is correct it it is fully funded at 150 this would decrease it okay so I'd like to see if we can um make the amendment to the other to um add that back I just hadn't heard from them and I was assuming they didn't need it anymore um prior to you being elected and I understand and prior to Councilor Baca being elected it was the money that I was and then I think counselors came in and actually added their name rather than increasing the amount something that I've talked about before that we have to kind of be careful moving forward but um um I'd like to see if we can do that so I will remove the 125 that we would have to do another line item to increase that amount by the general fund correct okay so if you could read that back to me and then that would leave them whole and please if you talk to them ask them to just reach out because when I don't you know you've reached all they all reach out to me every year and let me know and no one from RFK reached out to me.

Madam President as the staff is putting this on the screen for everyone to see uh polite reminder you would need to move floor amendment amendment number one to amendment number thirteen to to reduce it or to to take the decrease out which would increase it okay and just for the record we would increase it on the other one because then we will not be whole with all the projects that we're discussing so on the other amendment it would come from the general fund okay perfect so um if everyone can read that for the record this would decrease would would leave a void with some of the um transfers of resources within the district but hopefully in the next amendment if passed it would um make everything whole so um with that is there any additional discussion one to one yes and this is the amendment um floor we are on floor amendment number 13 and this is um floor amendment number one to number 13 so all those in favor say yes and raise your hand yes opposed no raise your hand bro or not I didn't always be discussion okay I'm a yes okay can I see hands one more time yes thank you thank you so that passes um unanimously that motion carries and so now we are back on floor amendment number 13 as amended all those in favor raise your hand and say yes yes um opposed say motion motion carries so now we are on floor amendment number 14 and we'll have to amend this one and if the staff can help us to amend this as follows and what this one is is similar to district three is there were some areas similar to what you just described, Council freebacorn, that um were um passed sponsorships that I had had that didn't have my name on them, so we had to clarify.

So we're adding those in.

We will add the amendment to include that void that we just created through the last amendment so um do you have that amendment prepared or okay?

Madam President, uh Ms.

Rumler is adding that amendment now, so it would be line five on page seven, line 30 entitled Community Recreation Increase by 97,000, not seven, and the table under the explanation would include the Southwest youth programming.

Okay, perfect.

So I would move floor amendment number one to floor amendment number 14.

So there's a motion and second for floor amendment number one.

Is there any discussion?

Oh, Councilor People Corn.

I'm sorry, Madam President, I'm I might be being confused, but um it was the Southwest Educational Partners Technical Training RFK High School 125 that we deleted from the last one.

Um, and so it should be 125.

Oh, yes, not 90.

Yep, you're correct.

The last one that we just did was for RFK high school technical training, 125,000.

So on this one, it should be increasing 125,000, Madam Chair Council February, that would bring the total up to 300,000.

The last amendment we struck that line, so we didn't actually take money away from the RFK line item.

We struck it from the amendment.

Right.

So to balance that amendment, shouldn't it be a hundred and I don't?

We didn't do anything in 90,000, we did something to 125.

Um, Council February is correct.

So what we did in the last amendment was we deducted 125 uh um from the from the amendment which left the rest of the items void, 125.

So we're gonna carry that over to this amendment, which would be 125 along with whatever items equal 125 on the last amendment.

Madam Chair, can I bring up the last amendment just so I have that clearly written?

Yeah, you're right.

Yeah, it should just be 125125.

It should be just the bottom 125, not the Southwest youth programs for 90.

I don't know what that is, and I am not touching that.

So we have a few more to go.

We're starving.

I'll make a motion to table this item until we can get this cleared up.

Um there's a motion and second by Councilor Basson to table um amendment number one to floor amendment number fourteen.

So we'll be tabling floor amendment 14.

So all those in favor say yes and raise your hand.

Yes, opposed no motion carries.

So we are now on uh floor amendment number 15.

We'll be on 14 that we have to pass the table.

Oh my lord.

Um, okay, so now we have to table floor amendment number fourteen.

All those in favor say yes and raise your hand.

Yes, opposed no, motion carries.

So we have tabled two items.

Three, three, yeah.

Three totals.

Well, A first.

We have A also.

Oh my God.

Oh, yes, yes.

I was referring just to this.

Yeah, so yes, we are getting to you, Councilor Rogers.

So we are now on floor amendment number 15, um, labeled Q in your packet.

This is Councilor Backa by request, and I think he has an amendment to this too.

Oh, President.

We're almost there, we're almost there.

Thank you, Madam President.

This is by request.

Um I'm gonna need a little bit of so we need to make an amendment to reduce the 40,000 from the gathering of nations.

So I'll need a little bit of help from the administration.

How do you want this written out?

For an amendment.

I think our staff can do that.

I think our staff can do that.

So that's another one.

Would you like us to table this item too so we can just move forward?

Okay, so um, want to make a motion to motion to table the amendment or just the motion.

There's a motion and second.

Who was the second on the initial motion?

To move floor amendment number 15.

The second was uh Vice President Champagne.

Thank you.

I usually write it down.

Um, and there's a motion and a second by Councilor Rogers to table um floor amendment number 15.

All those in favor, raise your hand and say yes, opposed no motion carries.

We are now on floor amendment number sixteen, councilor grout by request.

Thank you, madam president.

I'm not going to read all of this.

This is by request.

Um, and even okay, the explanation.

I'll just go to the explanation.

This amendment appropriates funding for triple H for properly aligning appropriations with the associated programs and the net effect in an increase of 2.24 200 and 2,243,000.

This increase will offset this by the savings of one million two hundred and forty-three thousand from radio subscriber fees covered by the state of New Mexico and appropriate appropriate an appropriation of one million dollars from the general fund balance, which was created by the committee of the the committee amendment number one CIP indirect overhead rate of five percent and passed at the third committee of the whole meeting three hundred and twenty-five thousand in radio subscriber fee savings will revert to the respective non-general fund, and I ask for second, second.

There's a motion and a second by council feeble corn for floor amendment number sixteen.

Councilor grout, thank you.

I would ask the administration to just go over this.

If you wouldn't mind, Mr.

Noel.

Hi, President, Councilor Brown.

Uh, this is the amendment that was introduced in the Cow meeting and was tabled until this meeting, or withdrawn, I'm sorry, until this meeting.

And so basically, the as it reads, um, I don't know if you want to re want me to read all the items here, but basically, um items one through nine uh are actually the appropriation for uh triple H, and then items nine through 30 are the reduction in DTI subscriber fee or radio subscriber fees for DTI, um, and as it indicates um the total DTI subscriber fee reduction is one million five hundred and sixty-eight thousand.

However, as Councilor Groud read earlier, uh 325,000 of that cannot go to triple H because those belong to the non-general funds, and so you know we can't appropriate those.

But overall, um I have tables on the back to kind of help with the mathematics.

I think there was an issue with that last last week or so.

Um, the way to really look at this is that, and as I indicated in the first table, there is at the top the overall triple is this is the table labeled uh adjustment detail for reconciliation.

The overall triple H appropriation will be seven million one hundred and fifty-three thousand dollars by this amendment, um, and it indicates what lines in the detail uh total to that amount, and then the net appropriation that this will actually uh give to triple H from this uh legislation because there are some neutral movements within the department that they've already been budgeted in triple H and we're the department wanted them to be moved to the correct programs, and so the net appropriation by this legislation that will which will be new money coming in in at triple H is six million twenty thousand dollars.

Thank you, Councilor Grout.

Thank you.

Thank you, Madam President, and thank you for that explanation.

Understanding Councillor Feblecorn.

Thank you, madam president.

I just wanted to correct one thing that was said.

This is not the amendment that we did not vote on at our last meeting.

Our last meeting, um, I asked that the administration go back and do more work on it because transit is not a piggy bank and we cannot continue to take money from transit when the cow chair is spending so much time and energy trying to get more money into it.

And so this before us does not include those cuts.

Um they look wait, we went back to the drawing board, came up with a much better answer that um does not impact the things that we've heard from the community over and over and over again for the last month or so are vital and been really important, and so I just wanted to clarify that for the for the community because I this is not the same thing.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Any additional questions?

Councilor Grout to close.

I urge your support.

Um there's a motion and second by Council February for floor amendment number sixteen.

All those in favor, raise your hand and say yes.

Yes, um, opposed, no, no.

So now we are on floor amendment number S, and that will now be labeled number 17.

We're almost there.

Um, Councilor Grout.

Um, thank you, Madam President.

I still need to move this.

Okay, okay, floor amendment number 17 on page three line 28 entitled early retirement, decrease the amount by 720.

750, 835, 850.

Okay, 850k.

This amendment decreases early retirement to provide sufficient available fund balance.

I need a second.

It says 500 on the amendment.

Yeah, we're gonna have to amend it.

So now you have to do we have to amend this one.

Okay, okay.

So I'd like to uh I'd like to move floor amendment number 17 on page three line 28 entitled early retirement decrease the amount by 500,000.

Second second, okay.

Now can I?

Yeah, okay.

Thank you.

So councillor grout, madam president.

I would like to move and uh make an amendment to the amendment, floor amendment 17.

Um decrease the amount by 850,000, second.

There's a motion and a second for uh floor amendment to floor amendment number 17 to change from 500 to 850, and there was a second by Councilor Bassan, Councilor Grout.

Thank you.

This um with the amendments that are happening that are coming from everywhere, it's it's making it so that's what we have to do so that we have a balanced budget.

I'm I urge your support.

Any additional questions?

Councilor feeblecorn.

Thank you, Madam President.

Um I support this.

I just I do we have a running total on the fund balance now?

With this amendment, yes, I can ask one amendment.

Madam Chair, Councillor Feblecorn.

There are a couple other amendments that haven't been.

Right, I'm asking about right now.

Right.

Um, let me look at that for you, please.

Would you like us to table this and make this the last amendment so that you can get everything that passed and didn't pass that way?

You have a definitive number.

I I no, no, I have I have a I have one another one.

Okay, never mind, Madam Chair, Counselor February, 557,000.

Thank you.

Councilor Grout to close.

I urge your support.

Um, so this is on the amendment to floor amendment number 17.

It's amendment number one.

All those in favor, say yes, raise your hand.

Yes, opposed, no.

Motion carries.

Now we are back on floor amendment number 17.

Councilor Grout.

I urge your support.

All those in favor of floor amendment number 17.

Um, raise your hand.

Raise your hand and say yes.

Yes, opposed, say motion.

Motion carries.

So now we are we can go to floor amendment number T.

Yes.

Okay.

So and I don't have that one.

So Madam President, I'd I move to suspend the rules to introduce a floor amendment T.

Um.

It's right here.

Second.

There's a uh motion and second to suspend the rules.

Um, and that's a two-thirds vote, correct?

Yes.

For um to suspend the to suspend the rules to introduce floor amendment number T.

Any questions?

All those in favor, raise your hand and say yes.

Yes, opposed, no motion carries.

Councilor um Grout, floor amendment number T, which will now be labeled floor amendment number eight eighteen.

Thank you, madam president.

Floor amendment number eighteen is uh by request um on page 11 line one entitled administrative services, decrease the amount by 440,000 443,000 on page 11, line three entitled collections, decrease the amount by 89,000 on page 11, line eight entitled refuse disposal capital fund 653.

Decrease the amount by 3,173,000, and on page 11, line two entitled Clean City.

Increase the amount by 3,705,000.

The amendment appropriates three three million seven hundred and five thousand to clean city programs for encampment cleanup expenses.

Second, there's a motion and second by Councilor Fublecorn for floor amendment number eighteen.

Counselor Grout.

Thank you, madam president.

Um, I'd like to um uh defer to uh Mr.

C A COO, Mr.

Whalen, to just to talk about what we're doing here.

Madam President, Council Grout, thank you.

What this amendment does is it reduces a certain amount uh the three million that is being transferred into capital or 653 fund to uh properly fund other expenses that we have in our clean city program that addressing that address encampment cleanups.

The amount that is being uh decreased from the uh 653 fund, which is capital fund is funding that will not be needed in the current year, as several of those line items are already funded for the current year and for the year that's uh subsequent years.

So that what this does is just allow us to make sure that our clean city program can continue to function uh accurately, not accurately, but continue to function and provide the level of service that we have been providing.

Thank you, Councillor Doris, and Madam Chair.

So Mr.

Whalen, uh you all you all raised uh every um, you know, trash fee pickup for residential, like by a dollar.

I think it was two years ago, and it was specifically for this line item.

Um, and I think it raised about three million dollars.

So um do we is that does that cost just doubled?

I mean, is it is it more than doubled the cost to to clean up after tent encampments?

Uh uh council president and uh counselor lewis.

I think that was back in 22, and the actual amount that was raised by that fee increase was around two million dollars, and that was to begin our encampment cleanup division within our clean cities department, and the cost has continued to increase as we have continued to expand that program uh and include other areas that we are doing.

Oh yeah, thank you seeing no addition.

Seeing no oh, Councilor Rogers.

Thank you, Madam President.

Just a question.

So this can only be spent on encampment cleanups, or is it just specific?

Is it going into the clean city program as a whole?

So it could be used on litter, weeds, other things, or is it only encampment cleanups?

Uh council president and councillor Rogers, our clean city division is the main division, it has subdivisions, which would be our encampment division as well.

So they all work on clean cities as far as cleaning out the city.

This would be to address a lot of our major concerns within our encampment cleanups throughout the city.

Thank you, Madam President.

So all 3.7 million will be used for encampment cleanups.

Uh Madam President and Councillor Rogers, yes, uh expenses related to our encampment cleanups.

Thank you, Madam President.

Just we can find money to do more encampment sweeps, but we can't find money money to house people.

Just just wondering about that.

Thank you.

Seeing none.

All those in favor of floor amendment number 18.

As amended.

As amended, raise your hand.

No, this one wasn't amended.

Sorry.

Okay.

In favor of floor amendment number 18, raise your hand and say yes.

Oppose, say motion.

7-2.

Okay.

So then we are going to do a couple of cleanups that we have to take care of, Councilor Rogers, but I think we are going to try to address these.

Untable floor amendment number 15.

There's a second by Councillor February.

All those in favor in favor, say yes, raise your hand.

Yes.

Opposed, say motion.

Motion carries.

So Councilor Bacca.

Thank you, Madam President.

So do we have an amendment for this amendment?

Not yet.

Maybe it's time for taking a break while everything gets taken care of.

Madam President.

We're almost done.

Counselor Bacca.

If that this one isn't completed, we already untabled it.

We're not going to table it again.

We can table it.

Madam Chair, Councilor Baca, I'm sorry.

Could you please repeat the question?

Yeah, we need to do it on amendment.

We are on floor amendment number 15, and you were going to uh remove the 40,000 for the gathering of nations from that amendment.

So you would decrease it by um to 120.

Um madam president if I could make a suggestion.

I like there if they have it.

Oh, they have it.

Okay.

I think we wanted to get it.

Thank you.

Don't you tear suspend the roles to extend the meeting?

Vice President Champagne.

Thank you.

Well, they're conferencing and stuff.

I just have an kind of an off-the-wall question for the legal team or or even the budget team, but these are by request that's coming from the administration.

Is that correct?

Yes.

Mr.

Vice President, that's correct.

Okay, so when the when and this is you know city charter, and if the lawyers want to chime in, that'd be great.

But the administration comes down with a budget, they give it to us, we then do our thing and give it back to them.

So why is it that the administration, after we pass a deal how it comes in and does more manipulation to their proposed budget?

Oh, that's that's I'm just curious.

Is that part of the charter?

Is that something where they can we want this, but then when you manipulate it, we want to come back and manipulate it back to the way we want it.

Madam President, uh Mr.

Vice President, per the charter.

Uh any budget amendment, whether it's capital or operating, can be amended up until five o'clock of the the night of the meeting being heard.

Should the administration want to uh try to change their proposed budget?

As long as they have a sponsoring counselor, they they can introduce those amendments by the the councilor in this case it was it was by request.

Um I can tell you, and I'm sure committee chair Grout would agree.

We got multiple requests on Saturday.

She decided to sponsor several and not others.

Okay, uh Madam President, and unless you guys are ready to go.

I can ask them after the deal.

Uh Madam Chair, President Champlain, I'm sorry, I didn't hear what you said.

You guys were confirming something along with this amendment.

Are you done confirming it and ready to go or are you still manipulating their numbers?

Um, you um Councilor Vice President Champagne, you can ask your question, then I have a question from Council Grout.

Um yeah, they're not done.

So then if when we vote on this and it goes to the mayor, and he can line it and veto the things he doesn't like, correct?

Madam President, Mr.

Vice President, um, only what's in the resolution.

These amendments are um changing numbers in specific programs.

Therefore, if the mayor were to line item a dollar amount in the in the budget bill, it is a wholly destructive uh uh act, and he can't use that money for other programs.

That funding were it to be in 110 would go into the general fund balance table and it would drop to the bottom, and that program would not have any funding.

Okay, but he can't madam by uh Madam President, Mr.

Vice President, he can't change the numbers.

It is it is either the number or zero.

Okay, perfect.

Thank you for the leeway, madam president.

Thank you, Councillor Grout.

Thank you, Madam President.

I have a question about um the last line item here.

Um it says for a total of 200,000 for 516 arts is stipulated in their operating agreement for 508 first street.

What is their operating agreement?

Madam President and Councillor Grout, um, I believe Director Sanchez is here and she could speak to that.

Madam President, Counselor Grout, um a few weeks ago, a few months ago, we passed um city council actually approved the operating agreement with 516 arts for the newly renovated space um on First Street at the 508 warehouse.

And so as part of this, it's it is structured in uh the same way that Explora's public-private partnership is structured with the city of Albuquerque.

Thank you.

Thank you, Madam President.

I appreciate that explanation.

I um I think it's always important that we um follow through on those agreements.

Um but I I'm just such a fan of also the park management and making sure that our parks are taken care of.

So I just wanted to verify, but now I understand.

So we're good.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilor Backer to close.

Thank you, Madam President.

So we we're good.

Everyone agrees with this one, this amendment staff.

Is this done.

No one's answering.

I don't know, maybe I just killed the amendment.

I don't need to deal with this one.

Madam President, Counselor Baca, this one is is by my staff okay.

Okay.

So this would be floor amendment number one to floor amendment number 15.

Council Councillor Bacak, would you want to move the motion for floor amendment number one?

I think everyone's good.

Yes, I'd like to move the amendment.

Okay, I'll I'll second that.

Um I'll second.

So uh Councilor Rogers.

Thank you, Madam President.

I'm just confused.

So if we're striking the 40,000 from the explanation, don't we need to strike 40,000 from the top numbers somewhere?

Madam President and Councilor Rogers, no, they they needed to strike it from the bottom, but I think um I think the issue is in the explanation.

It says the amendment increases, and I could be wrong.

The amendment increases non-recurring funding in arts and culture by 120.

I think we're trying to reflect that it actually is 160.

So in the explanation, I think that number should actually be a six and not a two.

And then we're striking um the gathering of nations, and we did not include that in the line above because it was money that was already in arts and cultures department budget.

Thank you.

Thank you, Madam President.

Okay, Councilor Bacchett oppose.

There's a motion and second on floor amendment number one to floor amendment number 15.

All those in favor, raise your hand and say yes.

Yes, opposed, say motion.

That's a seven, two, I think.

Everybody would raise their hand.

So um, okay, and then now we are back on floor amendment floor amendment number 15 as amended.

Um counselor Bacca to close.

So there's a motion is um a second for floor amendment number 15.

It was seconded by Vice President Champagne as amended.

All those in favor, raise your hand and say yes.

Yes, opposed, say motion.

That um passes on the seven, two.

So now we are on.

Um, so I will I don't know what comes first, the chicken or the egg, but we will I will make a motion to reconsider floor amendment number thirteen.

There was an error that they took out the 90,000, so we have to add the 90 back in and then um the 125 to the next one.

So there's a motion and second by Vice President Champagne.

Um to um reconsider uh floor amendment number 13.

All those in favor, raise your hand and say yes, yes, yes, opposed no.

Motion carries.

So now we are back on floor amendment number 13, and so now I would make an amendment to floor amendment number 13 that actually increases.

Do you have the language increases the 90,000?

Madam President, so as Ms.

Rumbler is adding into what's on the screen, because the previous amendment did strike the ninety thousand, we are putting it back in with this amendment, and and that is indicated with a bold red and bracketed text.

Okay, let me know once it's completed because for the public for the record, it should be very clear.

Uh as indicated in the explanation, the 125 uh thousand dollars for the um South West Education Partners Career Technical Training RFK will be coming out of uh the last of the fund balance.

Okay, so um with that, I think hopefully that's sufficient for the record, and um there was a was there a second?

There was a second by the second for floor amendment number one by Councillor Grout.

That's right, right.

And it's on the record, and all those in favor, raise your hand and say yes.

Yes, yes, opposed, same motion, motion carries.

So now we are back on floor amendment number 13 as amended.

And is there was a second by Counselor Grout?

All those in favor, raise your hand and say yes.

Yes, yes.

Oppose, say motion, motion carries.

So now we have two more, and then we get to have dinner, and then we are going to take public comment afterwards.

It'll give you guys time to digest all those amendments and adjust your comments accordingly.

So we are now.

Okay, step it counselor Tayas has one more amendment.

So we have three to go.

So we're gonna do Councillor Tayas' less last, but right now we are on floor amendment number 14, and I would make a motion to untable um floor amendment number 14.

Second.

There's a motion and second by Councilor Grouton or VP Champagne.

All those in favor say yes and raise your hand.

Yes, opposed say motion, motion carries.

So now I would really need the staff to read this into the record so it's very clear.

I don't I'm not gonna go down that rabbit hole.

Madam President, as the uh body tabled this uh amendment, we had we were going to add on page seven line 30 entitled community recreation increase by 97,000 because that was the decrease from floor amendment 13.

So because we reconsidered 13 and put the 90,000 back in, we don't have to increase it in this amendment.

So this amendment hasn't been amended, and uh this is your amendment, so it changes the um the various uh if you could scroll down the animal welfare and then so does this make um we're trying to make whole the um RFK.

Madam President, RFK was made whole with the last amendment because we were taking the fund balance.

Okay, so um I would move um an amendment to floor amendment number 14, which has been read into the record by the staff.

So is there a second?

You're gonna make an amendment to number 14 or just move to 14.

You don't need to vote.

Okay, so then we just need to vote on it.

Yes, okay.

Um I need a motion.

So there's uh and make a motion for floor amendment number 14.

There's a second by counselor basan for floor amendment number 14.

Any discussion?

Seeing none, all in favor, raise your hand and say yes, opposed, say motion that carries.

Now we are on Councilor Rogers, and I hope we were able to resolve some questions there.

So we would um I can move to untable floor amendment number um one.

There's a second by councilor Rogers.

All those in favor say yes and raise your hand.

Opposed say motion, councilor Rogers back on floor amendment number one.

Thank you, madam president.

I would like to get floor amendment number one up on the screen.

Just want to make sure it's the version I just emailed the team from the administration in collaboration, I don't think this is the correct one, Garrett.

I just sent it to you an email.

Yeah, just want to make sure we get the correct one because our team worked on it.

I sent it to the administration to double check.

They sent it back, I sent it back a third time, and now we're here.

That's not the one.

So it's the very last one.

Garrett just received.

Thank you.

And so this amendment.

Oh, refresh.

Okay.

And just for the record, there was initially a uh floor um a motion, and it was uh second by counselor Tayas just for the record, just as a reminder.

Thank you, Madam Madam President.

Oh, sorry, yes, just like the other amendments, because we can amend this amendment.

We need a motion to once we get it on the screen, amend amendment number one to change the words in the resolution.

Thank you.

Thank you, Madam President.

As it comes up on the screen, I would like to make an amendment to amendment number one.

Um for on page eight line four.

I'm just reading it as we're getting it up on the uh with the following guaranteed basic income cohort one for one million dollars, the marijuana equity and community and reinvestment.

This is the amount that's in the in there, 2.9 million, and we're transferring other funds from operating grant fund 265 to 586 for housing voucher supportive services.

We have agreement on both sides that this is accurate, and I urge your support.

Second, so there's a motion and a second for an amendment to floor amendment number one.

Um there's a second by Councilor Feeblecorn.

Is there any discussion?

Councilor um Rogers close.

I urge your support.

Okay, all those in favor say yes and raise your hand.

Opposed, no.

No.

Motion passes um by four.

Madam President, if if I may for a second, um I'm I'm not in opposition of the amendment.

I just wanted to clear the record a bit.

I was having discussion with Director Shahe, and um I and I'll let him come up and speak, but I just wanted to confirm that the intention is continued, which is the funding was meant for the continuation of cohort one, and the creation of cohort two, and then possibly the creation of cohort three.

And so there is sufficient funding in the fund for that.

And so I just wanted to turn it over to Director Shahe, but I I understand why.

Um counselor Rogers wants to ensure that it's set aside for cohort one.

Point of order, madam.

We've already passed it.

I would just ask that we move on.

Okay, thank you.

So you don't mind if you do not want to hear from the director.

I will go with whatever the president says, but I'm just saying we've already voted and it's so but I I would defer to the Madam President, okay.

I I'll defer to you just to whatever commentary you want to make.

Madam President, counselors, um looking through my apologies as I was looking at the 586,000.

I thought that was gonna be a reduction in our uh GPI pilot.

However, that is not the case.

We are um we'll continue with as with continuity and consistency with the GPI pilot program for all cohorts.

So thank you.

So before I go to you to close, I just want to comment that you know it's just so hard to be making decisions here on the diets when we do not have for sure.

So I would really like for us to um you know revisit this amendment because I don't want to add um additional dollars at this time, and the only reason that I don't want to this was um this is actually my bill when we implemented it initially, and I really wanted to do it as a pilot program to see if it's something feasible before we started to grow the program.

So I really have concern about adding more money, which sounds like we are based on the administration, but hearing from the counselor, it sounds like it's it's not adding more money.

So, what I would like to do is when we um start looking at this and get a definitive answer to come back.

If it adds more money, I would like to decrease it.

Only because I really want a solid um pilot that really determines whether this is feasible or not.

Because once we start growing something here in the city of Albuquerque, then it's just continuously growing, right?

Whether it's and if we have measurable, I think um, you know, counselor Tayas talks about this all the time about measurable outcomes.

So that was my intent when I put the bill forward is that I really wanted to see that it was um beneficial and feasible and yeah, all the things.

So um I am going to vote just Councilor Rogers.

Well, I'm gonna put it to you to close.

I'm gonna vote for it, but just knowing that and for the public, knowing that I may come back and say, you know, no to expansion of dollars.

So counselor Rogers to close.

Thank you, Madam President.

We've already closed and voted, and it passed.

So just want to clarify that.

Second, uh actually, we did not want the amendment.

Sorry, we haven't voted on the whole amendment, just the amendment to the amendment.

But I think thank you for for that.

I think the what that's exactly why I felt some way uh felt a particular way about the administration deciding to start other cohorts, right?

It's completely different programs, two other programs that did not come to this body.

So I agree with you.

I wanted the pilot, the first pilot that we approved to go run its course.

Let's get the data before we start other cohorts.

This administration decided to take the money we appropriated and start two other cohorts, right?

And so what I'm saying is everything that I've looked at as far as invoices, I've talked to the contractors that they work with, I've gone, I have an email from their deputy director saying they don't have enough for the third year, and so that's why I'm shoring it up because we don't want to have these families say, sorry, city council didn't appropriate it anymore.

Because I agree, I agree with you.

I wanted that first pilot, so we can do that work and then think about other pilots.

Um, and that's not what happened here.

So I uh urge your support on this amendment, and I agree.

I think if they come back with correct information, because you're right, we've been getting separate information, which makes it really hard to make decisions.

Then we can do that at mid-year cleanup.

But I still feel strongly that these families at our schools need this funding.

I'm sorry, Director.

She was close, she closed.

So thank you so much.

I appreciate um all the input.

Um so all those, so um, we are back on floor amendment number one as amended, and madam president, pretty please.

Yes, thank you.

She closed.

So, okay, so are we good?

Okay, because I've got a phone call saying that we needed to wait, and I wanted to make sure, and double checking.

We close the floor.

So let's just close because we're yeah, we're all getting kind of tired and we're getting hangry, and if there's not a Snickers around, we really got to take a break.

So, um, and we have one more amendment to go.

So there is we are on floor amendment number one as amended.

All those in favor say yes and raise your hand.

Yes.

Oppose, say motion.

No that passes on a 5-4.

Yeah.

Okay, and so now we are on counselor Tayas for the final amendment of the evening.

Thank you, Madam President.

I appreciate you saving the best for laughs.

Um, you can laugh, that's fine.

You won't get them trouble, right?

Um, madam president.

Okay, so thank you.

This is in your iPads, it's online.

It is floor amendment L, which is 19.

Okay, floor amendment L 19.

Um on page four line nine entitled field response, increase the amount by 750,000 on page five, line 20 entitled homeless support services increase the amount by 500,000 on page seven, line 10 entitled neighborhood policing decrease the amount by 2.5 million on page 7, line 25 entitled information services, increase the amount by 250,000 on page seven, line 30 entitled community recreation, increase the amount by one million.

Second, thank you.

That needs to can you put that back up there?

I'm really trying to digest it and I can't find it here.

So we have to okay, counselor Teas to open.

Thank you.

So this amendment is not a reduction in public safety investment, it's a strategic public safety reinvestment based on measurable return on investment and the city's own staffing realities.

Um, so it's reallocating a relatively small portion of um uh neighborhood policing program, specifically line items related to recruitment related, vacancy related, or projected underutilized recruitment appropriations.

The reason I specifically outlined that it be from recruitment related or underutilized appropriation here is because it won't reduce field sworn officer positions, emergency response capability investigations or constitutional police compliance.

What it does, it it addressed our return on investment issues that we've been having from fiscal year 23 to fiscal year 26.

We've continued to invest heavily in recruitment incentives with very little to low return on that investment.

And so specifically, we are um I'm reallocating to prioritize youth engagement and violence prevention through what youth family services, behavioral health and acute homeless response through ACS, homeless stabilization, and navigation surfaces through HHH and independent outcomes tracking to ensure accountability and measurable results.

It also strengthens oversight by requiring quarterly reporting on APD recruitment expenditures, academy enrollment and graduation, vacancy rates, attrition retention, and cost per successful hire while requiring outcome reporting from departments that are going to be receiving the reinvested funds.

The purpose here is to increase public safety by using measurable return on investment reallocations.

It's a very marginable reallocation to more long-term system sustainability matters.

So I did have in the past, I've had conversations with some of our commanders, with uh Chief Barker, with executive director Bahunda, and one of the things that we all can sort of agree on is a need to really strengthen the control environment of APD so that we can better address our recruitment needs so those recruitment needs are actually efficient and we can do it the right way.

This will allow us to track that while also reinvesting funds into evidence-based prevention and public safety um programs that'll work right now while we develop uh recruitment strategy that'll work for us in the long term later.

I urge your support.

Thank you.

So there's a motion in the second for floor amendment number 19.

Who is the second on it again?

I apologize.

Counselor February, and yeah, Councilor Bassan and any other um counselors.

Madam President, and it's I've been told in the past that with programmatic budgeting that we can't actually dictate which specific portions of each department that we can pull from, and it's up to the department and the administration to be able to decide that.

With that being said, I would really appreciate hearing from APD again on what two and a half million dollars would do to reducing the neighborhood policing.

But as they come up, I would like to know what is from our staff, what is the current line item as proposed for neighborhood policing?

2008.

No, I'm sorry, thank you.

Madam President, I would like our staff to tell us.

Thank you.

Madam President, Counselor Basson, currently in the bill, uh neighborhood policing's line item is 140 million dollars and fifty six thousand dollars.

So 140 million fifty-six thousand dollars.

Thank you.

Madam President, I'd love to hear from APD what two and a half million dollars would do to the department if we were to approve this amendment.

Because I I do, I'm not saying I disagree with the other increases, but I absolutely disagree that this is not pulling from APD to give to other departments.

What will this cost APD as far as staff or resources?

Madam President and Councilor Basan, um, as I stated earlier, this would severely affect um our staffing in field services.

Um this amount of money could potentially uh take away staffing for 25 to 30 officers and field services.

It also would affect our specialized units, like I mentioned before, horse-mounted unit, K9, and our bike patrol, which all assist in the downtown area, any special events that we have that would go to um anything for those units as far as like veterinarian services and all of the supplies that are needed to address those um units, and then um as far as our staffing right now, currently in the pipeline, we are at 953, and I'm going to ask uh Deputy Chief Hernandez to address um staffing with the police academies that we are um holding.

So last year alone we had over a hundred officers join our police department.

We um are on um par to do that again this year, and we are seeing our recruiting numbers um continuing to be successful.

So DC Hernandez, Madam President, um Council Basan, as chief stated, um, you know, for the past two years that I've been in charge of the academy, we have tried to reach 100 officers, a new officers every single year.

We pretty much hit that, and I can tell you this time last year, we were at 30 officers that actually retired at this time.

We're at 15 right now.

I have two academies still set for July and September to not include possible two other lateral academies.

So this would adversely affect, and what I want to explain to the to the council is taking this funding from just neighborhood policing.

I want to tell you that our cleaning services and a lot of the services and supplies that we do for each area command is a budget of $2 million.

We had gone from over $2.5 million the past couple years because we cut back.

We cut back on things where we can try to save in order to move the department along.

Right then and there, you take 2.5 away from this bucket.

We're gonna have to find something else because how we're gonna be able to clean, get supplies for our substations.

So as the budget, you might say, oh, you can just take it from here, but we're gonna take it from somewhere to fill these and not to include as chief stated the contractuals.

The contractuals that we have in order to have that operational for the department to move forward.

So that's just a few things, Councilor Basan, and hopefully that answers your question.

Thank you.

So would you say that with the uh what you just described as far as new officers in the academy?

Would you say that APD's recruitment related appropriations are not necessary?

Say that again, counselor.

So this is this amendment specifically says in the uh explanation that it's pulling money from neighborhood policing, APD recruitment related, vacancy related or projected underutilized recruitment appropriations.

Are you underutilizing and do not need recruitment appropriations?

We do need recruitment appropriations.

Okay, thank you, sir.

Councilor Feblecorn.

Thank you, um, Madam President.

So I just want to go over the numbers one more time.

Um, Mr.

Motsko, what is APD's full budget this year in the per in the budget before us?

Madam President, Counselor Feeblecorn, um, it's not in the resolution, so I have to do some quick public math.

It is uh I believe it's two hundred and eighty-seven ish million dollars.

We're getting that number right now.

280 five million two hundred and eighty-five million, three hundred and thirty-five thousand is the number of APD's budget.

Um, if you take two and a half million and you figure out what percentage that is, it is.

I just don't believe that that is true, and I think that that is incredible to say with a straight face, given what these other departments that are vital to our community have experienced in this budget process, counselor Teas.

Thank you, Madam President.

I just I um we are uh Chief, can you tell us what we are as far as number of cadet graduates mid-year currently and what the um uh expectation was for FY26?

Madam President and Counselor Teas, I'm gonna defer to DC Hernandez.

So, Madam President and Counselor Teas.

Um, your question was for this fiscal year, how many cadets we have graduated?

What was our what was your recruitment goal and how many um cadets have you graduated?

I don't have the numbers right off the top of my head, but I can get those for you.

Okay, thank you.

Um thank you, uh DC and Madam uh President.

I didn't have those numbers either, but what I did have was from FY23, there was a goal that was funded for 1100 officers.

FY24 reduced that expectation to 1,040 officers.

Um we did not hit that, it was 64 graduates is what we got to.

FY25 continued aggressive recruitment goals, but I don't know what those goals were, but we did have 95 cadets graduate.

Um FY26, I believe, was a hundred um was a actually I don't know what the goal was, but mid-year we have 59.

So again, this is not a question about it's a return on investment and reinvesting where in services and programs that we know have a measurable impact right now while also allowing us to do some objective and outcome measures so that we can properly identify where the gaps exist in our recruitment process, because we have for one, two, three, four, four fiscal years not hit the goal, so we have to fix that, and that's what this amendment allows us to do because again, as I mentioned, it has a requirement for um oversight so that we can identify what is really happening, how can we better improve recruitment strategies, but in the meantime, let's use less than one percent toward funding activities and programs for public safety that actually work now, because what we're doing with that 2.5 isn't working now, but we can hopefully figure out a way to do it at the same time.

Madam President, may I respond?

Um, sure.

Madam President and Counselor Teas, um, I would just like to note that our recruiting, while we do get numbers in some of those numbers as far as our sworn staffing goes down due to retirements and resignations, and so it's not only um because of the recruiting numbers.

Um, and then I have spoken um with director um Escabel, and um I do think youth programs are very important.

We have talked about that, but I would also um just remind council that there are grant programs um available for those as well.

And then if Mrs.

Long can please speak um very quickly, thank you.

President and Council Tayas.

I want to clarify the academy is not funded in FSB, they are under the office of the superintendent, so it is a different line item within the budget that I would like us to be careful of because if you take it out of SB, I am running them very thin as far as their operating budget.

The recruitment is done out of the academy.

The unions have you're talking about specialty pay and certain things that are line item, they're within the union contract.

I cannot back out of that.

I have that liability to pay, so there's certain things you brought up I am concerned about.

I'd be glad to speak with you and work with you on the specialty pay and where it's line item, but we do need to make sure that it's not coming out of FSB, but in the right program that the money is sitting in.

Thank you, good morning.

I would like to see if we can get everybody to dinner break in the next five minutes.

So, Councilor Teas, um, followed by Counselor Lewis, followed by Councillor Champagne, followed by Counselor Rogers.

Madam Chair, thank you.

To be very clear, this does not touch any FSB funding.

Nothing at all.

It to it comes from neighborhood policing again, directly related to recruitment related, vacancy related, or projected underutilized recruitment appropriations.

So we're not touching any pay or any collective bargaining matters that are seeped into that budget.

Um again, this is less than one percent to go to programs that will work immediately while we collect information and data to figure out how we can give you that less than one percent back for better recruitment strategies in the next fiscal year.

Um, and you know, so that's that's the purpose.

That's how it was designed.

Um again, it's not it's not to take away permanently, it's again just to reallocate to increase public safety immediately while we figure out how we can better utilize your recruitment funds to make your recruitment better and more effective.

Um, so quite frankly, it's a win-win for public safety and for direct uh addressing the recruitment um challenges that we're having and finding opportunities how to make that better.

Thank you.

Councilor Lewis, thank you, Madam Chair.

I'm not gonna move your money around, I don't support this, but um uh I do think it reveals something about um just your budget categories.

Um when you have 140 million dollars out of a 280 million dollar budget, that's called community policing, and you're not doing community policing, um I think I think we we lost the definition of community policing.

Um I know the uh and and uh that's what I would recommend.

I guess let's let's divide your budget down into a little bit more practical um definitions of what you're really spending.

Um because if you call everything community policing, uh then it means nothing, especially when you're not doing community policing.

Um I think you could probably make a case that you're doing aspects of it and but recruitment is not community policing really according to the original definition.

But you know, the mayor came up with that, you know, I guess 10 years ago, eight years ago, and it was a very specific definition of what policing looks like within a neighborhood, you know, within a community.

And when you have 10 officers on the streets at any given time in an entire northwest district or any district in our, I mean, there's just no way you're gonna get anywhere close to community policing.

So maybe it's the hope of community policing, um, but it's definitely not.

I honestly I found that pretty pretty incredible.

That's a major category, it's a hundred and forty million dollars in community policing, is uh is is pretty is pretty wild there, but um thank you, Vice President Champagne.

Thank you.

Um it says neighborhood policing program, it's different than the community policing program, correct?

Yes, okay.

Um, your 280 million dollars that you have, how much is payroll?

I didn't hear the question, I apologize.

I'm sorry, I'll speak a little closer to the mic.

Um of your 285 million 335,000, I think is what it was.

How much is payroll?

Madam President, Councilor Champagne, we're gonna pull that up for you right now.

And I want an exact number.

Okay.

This is the estimate, right?

Um, president and vice president, the amount that we're estimated to be 225 million dollars is payroll.

So payroll is 225 million out of 285.

So you run a department on roughly 60 million dollars.

And that includes uh the 40 million with shots butter, 35 million for shots butter, that includes fuel for your cars if you have cars, the ammunition training, correct, canine horses, because I think a canine's about 15 grand now, isn't it?

Yeah, uh overtime stuff like that.

So you run a department on 60 million dollars.

All right, and we're advocating, we always talk about how you know we need to pay our fire, we need to pay police, we need to pay, well, we don't have to deal with teachers, but those uh as well.

We they need better pay.

We need to be able to recruit, we need to be able to better pay.

So roughly, uh yeah, so great job with 60 million dollars.

Thank you.

Um Counselor Rogers.

Thank you, Madam President.

I just had a question just clarifying what this money will be.

Is it just to the sponsor?

I think is it just data collection and like reporting that data out?

Is that what we're saying we're gonna use this funding for?

So we did a little bit of this uh analysis when I was in equity and inclusion with APD, I was the equity liaison, and one of my tasks was to look at recruitment and find out where the gaps were.

It didn't cost us two million dollars to do that then three years ago, and we were able to pinpoint what the gaps were, and we made three recommendations to the department.

Uh one recommendation was to change the scantron reading test to actually bring it up to um electronic, you know, technology of the 2000s, which the department has done, which helped us recruit more officers.

Not that we made it easier for them to read or those types of things.

Um, the other there was other two other recommendations the department did not implement, but it didn't cost us two million dollars to do that.

So I just wanted to know what specifically is it just data collection and visualizing data, or what exactly will we spend it on?

Thank you, Counselor Rogers.

Um Madam President.

Uh no, so the overight would be quarterly reporting on recruitment expenditures, um, academy enrollment, um, graduation, vacancy rate, attrition, retention, cost per successful hire, requiring outcome reporting um on the reinvested funds while also identifying um uh market um what's the word we don't get out in market analysis?

Market analysis regarding recruitment between other agencies such as Rio Rancho Um PD, State PD, um any other similar uh public safety um organizations so that we can succeed we can identify where are the gaps and why we may not be recruiting and we're could potentially be losing out to recruits going to other um organizations and how we can better address that so we can increase um our recruitment processes and make sure that our recruitment expenditures and our recruitment strategies work in such a way that we actually recruit and retain.

Sure.

Thank you, Madam President.

My last question for APD the amount that you gave for personnel is that is that just the the officers we already have on staff, or is that for the whole $1,100 officers?

That's for the full $1,100 officers.

Okay, so what is it without the vacancies?

What is your, because obviously we're not paying that out if we haven't hired eleven hundred officers?

So how much is payroll for current already hired uh sworn officers and cadets?

I mean, together.

As of right now in this year's budget, yes.

One second.

Because we know the 1100 is not what we're actually going to spend, so I'm just curious.

We need we need help.

I ratify it.

We're at the five-minute mark, so just source ma'am.

As the president and council Rogers, as of May 5th, we had spent 173 million dollars.

As estimate that does not have the projection, that's actual spent.

Perfect.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, Councillor Tis to close.

Thank you, Madam President.

Again, this is um really important.

Again, we did talk about how vacancies are spent.

Um there is a mem memo back from April 2nd of 2025 between um our committee of the whole chair and um our then chief police Medina about how um vacancy funds are spent.

Um, and I'll let you guys look at that when you have a chance.

You may actually remember that.

Um, but again, this all of this does is gives us an opportunity to reinvest less than one percent of funds that are currently not being utilized to their best um efficiencies and effectiveness to programs for public safety that have been proven to immediately increase public safety to their best and effective measures while we get a chance to identify how we can better improve recruitment strategies and develop that so then we can give this money back.

Um so I urge your support.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Councilor Teas.

So we are on floor amendment number 19.

Um all those in favor say yes and raise your hand.

Opposed say motion.

No.

That uh fails on a seven two.

Did I get that right?

Okay, so now we are back on our 17 as amended 19 times.

We are gonna take a break and we're gonna come back with public comment.

So and we will have to table it.

Do we have to table?

Okay, so we're gonna have to table it.

So give it give us a second, folks.

Um, and we will return back at 945.

And so um, Council Grove.

May I like to table um, oh, let's see, R2617.

There's a motion and second to table R17 by Vice President Champagne.

All those in favor say yes and raise your hand.

Yes, opposed, say motion, motion carries.

Oh my lord, my neighbors.

Um, we're only looking at the end of the time, and we're gonna make a commissioner, and I don't know.

Welcome.

Welcome back, everyone.

We are back on um R seventeen, and I would like to untable.

Um, make a motion to untable R seventeen.

Is there a second?

There's a second by Vice President Champagne.

All those in favor, raise your hand and say yes.

Yes.

Opposed say motion.

Motion carries unanimous.

So now um, I think before we go to public comment, we're gonna make an adjustment, and this is um, Councilor Grout.

Madam President, I'd like to suspend the rules.

It's a motion to reconsider amendment seventeen.

Okay, I'd like to make a motion to reconsider motion.

Um, for amendment number seventeen.

So there's a motion and a second to reconsider floor amendment number seventeen by Vice President Champagne, Councilor Grout.

So we just need to vote on we have to vote on it.

Oh yes.

Um all those in favor say yes and raise your hand.

Yes, opposed same motion.

Thank you.

Madam President, can I see the hands again?

Yes, and raise your hand.

Thank you.

Okay, Madam President, um, I'd like to um offer a floor amendment two to floor amendment seventeen.

We need to increase the um amount to one million dollars, and this so that we will have um a balanced budget.

And it should be on the screen.