Berry: My Budget, Council Budget Pretty Similar

Albuquerque’s mayor won’t say whether he plans to use line-item veto power.

Mayor Richard Berry says he and the City Council agree on “99.3 percent” of the city’s proposed operating budget.

But he wasn’t ready to say yet whether he will use his line-item veto power to reject parts of the $455 million spending plan, which was approved by councilors this week.

One key point of contention is a section in the budget bill that explains the council’s “desire” for how to trim labor costs. The section outlines plans for a combination of unpaid holidays and a 1.5 percent wage cut for most city employees.

Berry said Tuesday that labor cuts must be settled through the formal negotiating process with city unions. He didn’t say whether he supports the concept of unpaid holidays.

Berry’s proposal to councilors last month called for an average 3 percent pay cut, with no mention of whether unpaid holidays would be used to help reach that figure.

The council’s budget, meanwhile, calls for a 2.2 percent wage cut, with some of that coming in the form of unpaid holidays. Workers making under $30,000 a year wouldn’t see any cut under that plan.

Berry has about two weeks to issue a veto, then councilors will have a chance to try for an override.

Berry said the council plan is pretty similar to his own proposal. Neither, for instance, raises taxes or diverts property tax revenue away from construction projects.