City budget nears approval after brief battle over communications jobs

Albuquerque’s $1.5 billion budget is nearly finalized.

At the last of three budget hearings Thursday, the City Council made minor tweaks but largely left Mayor Tim Keller’s proposal intact. Tensions flared over the mayor’s communications staff and concerns about which councilors the administration collaborates with during the budgeting process.

The meeting marked one of the final hurdles in the monthslong process of building a budget. This year, Keller proposed a 2.3% increase from last year that primarily seeks to build on his administration’s efforts around housing, homelessness and policing.

Councilor Renée Grout, who led the council’s budget-building Committee of the Whole, said the effort was difficult, but she felt the budget was solid.

“When we’re done, it will be a budget that works well for the entire city and serves all of us,” Grout said. “I know we all want to work and do the best for all of the citizens of Albuquerque.”

Only one councilor voted against moving the budget to the next step: Dan Lewis.

Toward the end of the two-hour meeting, Lewis called the mayor’s office bloated, and said the budget lacked vision. Still, he acknowledged that it was likely to be approved by the council next week.

“This council gives you guys everything you ask for, and the mayor has nothing to show for it,” Lewis said.

During the meeting, Lewis staked out a position of calling the mayor’s office top-heavy, specifically targeting its communications staff.

At one point, Lewis called for a budget amendment that would’ve limited Keller to 10 public information officers at a time when the city employs at least twice that number. But the move failed to gain support from any other council member.

Grout also accused the mayor’s office of playing favorites, saying they ignored some of her outreach toward the end of the process while welcoming budget discussions with Councilor Klarissa Peña. The issue came to a head during debate over Peña’s amendment to redirect funding toward a city employee cost-of-living increase, a proposal that failed 3–6.

“It’s very disappointing that you will work with some councilors but not the budget chair,” Grout said.

Peña responded that councilors are free to offer amendments individually, without going through the committee chair. Chief Administrative Officer Samantha Sengel added that Peña’s request had been specific, while Grout’s was not.

Ultimately, the council moved the budget forward on an 8-1 vote.

“We did a very good job with what we were given,” Grout said.

The council is set to meet again May 19. There, the budget will be up for a final vote, although councilors will have another opportunity to make changes.