Albuquerque mayoral election could decide fate of controversial Downtown BID

The fate of a proposed Downtown Business Improvement District could hinge on the city’s mayoral runoff next week, as supporters and opponents watch to see how the next leader of Albuquerque might influence the controversial effort.

“I think it’ll be significant,” Albuquerque attorney and BID proponent Bill Keleher said. Voters will decide between Mayor Tim Keller and challenger Darren White in a runoff on Dec. 9.

Albuquerque is one of the largest U.S. cities without a BID, a mechanism through which property owners pool their resources and pay money into the BID to support services such as cleaning, maintenance, security and marketing within the district.

The city of Albuquerque already provides some of these services, but property owners say it isn’t enough. Some local leaders and property owners are betting big on the idea that a BID is what Downtown Albuquerque needs to combat challenges of crime and safety, and revitalize the area as a walkable hub for living, working and recreating.

A petition to create a Downtown BID can only move forward to City Council for approval if it receives signatures from at least 51% of the proposed district’s property owners. Downtown’s proposed BID has more than 180 property owners and 30%, totaling 50 signatures, had signed the petition as of Wednesday, according to Keleher, who’s leading the BID effort.

“We are 60% of the way to where we need to be to get enough signatures and there are plenty of property owners (left) to talk to,” Keleher said.

Candidate take

The Keller administration has backed the push for a Downtown BID, touting it as complementary to Downtown’s Tax Increment Financing District, or TIF, approved by the City Council in December. The TIF allows the city to capture up to 75% of the growth of gross receipts and property taxes collected Downtown for reinvestment into the district.

“When growth is led by local stakeholders, it can take off and be sustained regardless of changes in government or politics,” Keller wrote in an email to the Journal. “A BID helps ensure continuity, momentum, and a shared sense of ownership over downtown’s future, and that’s what we need to keep moving Albuquerque forward.”

White did not directly say whether he would support the creation of a Downtown BID as mayor, but said his plans to tackle crime and homelessness would offer “meaningful relief” to Downtown business and property owners.

He added he was “troubled by” Keller’s comments about the BID, saying he believed Keller is using the proposal as “a way to wash his hands of downtown’s crime and safety issues by shifting responsibility to property owners.”

“My biggest concern is the disconnect among downtown building owners,” White said. “If this process is going to succeed, we need a more intentional effort to bring all stakeholders together. Without that, the BID risks failing again and deepening divisions rather than solving problems.”

Not only does the BID have to go through City Council for approval, but it also hinges its success on both the city and county agreeing to financially contribute due to the number of government buildings located Downtown.

Governmental agencies are exempt from tax assessments; however, they can still participate by entering into a “fee for services agreement” to pay for the BID’s services, according to the Downtown BID website.

“This BID is being formed with the expectation that the City and County will contribute their fair share,” the website says.

Both Keller and White said they would support the city contributing if property owners create the BID.

If Keller wins, Douglas Peterson, one of Downtown’s largest real estate holders, believes it’ll be a boost for BID advocates to re-up their efforts. While he doesn’t know exactly where White stands on the issue, Peterson said conversations with the mayoral candidate have led him to believe White is “a rational person” who wouldn’t be in favor of “something that’s illegal and that’s failed in the past.”

Downtown Albuquerque once had a BID from 2000 to 2014, but a judge ruled that the district was improperly renewed using signatures from unauthorized individuals, dissolving that BID.

Keleher and supporters have said the new BID is much different than the previous one, making improvements to what they’ve said was a faulty structure.

Difficulties getting a hold of some property owners and “misunderstandings about how a BID works” have presented challenges during the signature-collection process, Keleher said. His team recently addressed the latter by launching a website about the Downtown Albuquerque BID.

The website, which went live in November, includes general information about the BID, blog entries from BID advocates and answers to frequently asked questions, including who runs the BID, who pays into it and what property owners will receive for their investment.

“It’s ongoing community education,” Keleher said. “I think if the fence sitters that I’ve talked to — once they understand the benefits and sign, then we’ll have enough to go forward.”

Keleher expects his team to collect the majority signatures needed by February, as the effort will slow down over the holidays.

‘Footing the bill’

Staunch BID opponents remain unconvinced and are as committed to stopping the formation of the Downtown BID as the advocates are to getting it past the finish line.

Peterson has spent the last several months gathering signatures from those opposed to the BID. Peterson said he had collected roughly 60 signatures as of Tuesday.

One of those opponents is Eric Kilmer, who has owned property Downtown since the 1980s.

“It’s just another mechanism for them to extract money from property owners Downtown that (doesn’t) need to be extracted,” Kilmer said.

In Kilmer’s view, property owners already pay enough in taxes for city services and in personal expenses for security services and repairs to crime-related damages. Kilmer believes extra investment in Downtown should come from the city and state through grants and designated funding, not the property owners.

“The people that own property in Downtown are the ones that really invest in Albuquerque,” Kilmer said. “We’re the ones that are footing the bill basically and they’re asking us to foot more of the bill when they should be wanting to help us.”

Both Kilmer and Peterson said they would take legal action before paying a dime into the Downtown BID.

In addition to doubting its efficacy, Peterson challenges the legality of the BID, claiming the current proposal isn’t in alignment with state statute. A proposed BID must have at least three-quarters of its area zoned and used for business or mixed commercial or retail use, the statute says.

Peterson said the proposed Downtown BID doesn’t meet that requirement, with government buildings taking up a significant portion of the district.

The Downtown BID website says that the statute does not define what “used for business” means and contends that a “reasonable understanding of the statute is that having operating government buildings in which people work and provide services does not prevent formation of a business district.”

Peterson said the outcome of the mayoral runoff will “be real determinative about whether or not (a legal fight is) necessary.”

Keleher said he hopes White will support the BID if elected, but added he remains confident regardless of the outcome.

“We hope the city will continue to support the effort, but this is an effort of property owners, so whether the administration supports it or not, we still need a good Downtown,” Keleher said.