Live blog: Albuquerque City Council to consider raising gross receipts tax and restricting ICE activity

Albuquerque has a lower gross receipt tax than many cities and communities in the state.

Of the five most populated cities and towns in New Mexico, Albuquerque has the second lowest rate at 7.62%, according to the Tax and Revenue Department. Neighboring Rio Rancho has a lower tax rate by .18%

If raised, Albuquerque’s GRT would still be lower than Santa Fe, Las Cruces, Roswell and Farmington.

In this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes.

The Albuquerque City Council considers tonight whether to raise gross receipts taxes by a fraction of a percent, potentially raising $113 million a year to invest in infrastructure projects, reduce city-imposed fees and give raises to underpaid city employees.

The proposal would raise GRT from 7.62% to 8.1%, a difference of .4875%.

The ordinance is spearheaded by Councilors Joaquín Baca and Brook Bassan.

Meanwhile, community members have flocked to the council meeting to speak either for or against the measure, with more than 30 people signed up for public comment.

Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn attempted to revive a proposal for ranked choice voting in municipal elections Monday night. The revival would have put the ordinance back on the table for discussion at a later meeting.

Under the proposal, ranked choice voting would replace the current system, which often triggers costly run-off elections, with a system in which constituents rank their preferred candidates by number.

The move was quickly shut down by a bloc of conservative-leaning councilors, including Councilors Dan Champine, Dan Lewis, Brooke Bassan and Renée Grout, as well as Council President Klarissa Peña.

The revival failed on a vote of 5-4.

The council chambers are packed with attendees with nearly every seat in the house full.

Even more attendees are standing outside of the chambers watching the meeting on television in the lobby.

A bulk of the attendees are present for the proposed gross receipts tax changes and immigration ordinance, with nearly 70 people signed up to speak.

With a long list of public sign-up list and controversial legislation, expect the meeting to stretch into the late hours of the night.

The Albuquerque City Council convened at 5 p.m. for its fifth meeting of the year.

Tonight, the council will discuss raising the gross receipts tax by a fraction of a percent as well as legislation to restrict Immigration and Customs Enforcement within the city.

The complete meeting agenda is posted online and can be accessed here.