Berry unveils budget proposal

Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry will propose a $481 million general
operating budget for the coming year that includes enough money to
provide 1 percent raises across-the-board to employees.

The proposal doesn’t contain any layoffs or tax increases, he said. It
does include $3 million to continue projects outlined in his “ABQ: The
Plan” capital initiative.

The budget will authorize the filling of some 160 previously vacant
positions, allowing the city to hire more employees for the Animal
Welfare Department, libraries and other programs, Berry said.

The proposal also will incorporate many of the recommendations from the
Matrix company’s evaluation of city operations.

The budget measure now goes the City Council, which has about two
months to make changes and approve a version that’s sent back to the
mayor. The fiscal year starts July 1.

“As the economy continues to bring challenges, balancing the budget is
no easy feat, but it’s a challenge that we take seriously,” Berry said
in a written statement.

I will be going over the budget documents in greater detail this
afternoon and will have a full report in tomorrow’s paper.