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Sunday, April 24, 2011
Tough Times No Reason To Postpone Big Plans
By Richard J. Berry
Albuquerque Mayor
Times are tough, we all feel it. We have made difficult decisions at City Hall in the past year, including reducing the size of government by 6 percent and cutting more than $130 million in spending.
We haven't raised taxes, we have kept our valuable employees on the job and have kept services to the community intact. If we continue to control spending, I believe we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make game-changing improvements to our community and region.
These are times when it would be easy to tread water and wait to plan for the future, but that would be a mistake. Cities never stay the same; they invest in themselves and thrive, or they stagnate.
That is why I am proposing that together, as a community, we develop a long-range plan for public sector investments that not only improve our quality of life, but entice private sector investment, enhance tourism opportunities and foster economic development and job creation. Think Isotopes Stadium, Balloon Fiesta Park and Sandia Peak Tram as examples of game-changing private and public sector projects.
We can look to other cities with public sector investments that have paid tremendous dividends. The right projects can make Albuquerque a desirable destination for folks from all over — just think about the economic driver the Balloon Fiesta is for our city. This would not be possible if Albuquerque had not invested in Balloon Fiesta Park.
What could these investments look like? They could be regional competition sports parks for baseball, softball, soccer, basketball, volleyball and other sports. They could be projects that bring the Rio Grande more into our lives. We could kick-start the Paseo Del Norte and I-25 interchange improvements or add Bus Rapid Transit services on Central from Tramway to 98th Street — tying east to west with the next logical step in mass transit. We could team with the state to improve the fairgrounds, making it a "central park" for our city and state with equestrian and other facilities.
We could tie existing bike trails together into a 50-mile city loop. We could provide a much-needed face-lift for the Convention Center and Civic Plaza to attract more conventioneers to Albuquerque. A cultural trail could tie together our tremendous assets such as the National Hispanic Cultural Center, Route 66, the KiMo Theatre, Old Town and our museums, the BioPark and the Rail Yards.
The opportunities are endless.
Maybe we can build only a few at a time, but if we plan ahead and are wise with our investments, these projects could change the face of Albuquerque.
The question is, can we afford to get a few of these large-scale projects off the ground now and put financing mechanisms in place for future projects? Can we make these investments without an increase in taxes? I believe the answer is yes, if we continue to control the cost of city government, use creative and resourceful financing techniques, develop meaningful private sector and inter-government partnerships and offset operational costs by treating these investments as enterprises.
But this can't be just the mayor's or the City Council's plan. This has to be an Albuquerque plan, visualized, crafted and embraced by our citizens, community leaders and our public and private sector partners.
In the coming months I will be out in the community, along with city councilors and our staff, to get input from our boss — that's you, the citizens of Albuquerque. Let us know what you think, share your ideas. If this is a plan the community believes in, we will take the next steps toward implementation.
If we do our homework, control government costs, get community input, are smart about our financing and choose the right projects, we can put in place a long-range strategy that could survive from one administration to the next. We can change the discussion from "should we invest in our community" to "what will we invest in during this and future administrations."
Yes, times are tough. But now is the time to plan for a brighter future for Albuquerque.
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