City Council Crafts Budget Amendment to Add $3.5 Million to CAO Operating Budget to Ensure Transparency and Clarity within City Government Operations

ALBUQUERQUE – On Monday night, the City Council moved and passed a balanced City Budget, but not before amending it, to ensure further accountability and transparency.

The full Council’s consideration of the budget began with the Council Budget Staff's thorough examination of the Mayor's Administration organizational chart. The presentation identified several positions on the Mayor/CAO’s internal organizational chart not clearly delineated in the chain of command and funded from other departments. Council President Lewis’s amendment identified all these positions, reassigned them into the CAO’s office and then provided the funding for the positions by moving them from the various departments’ budgets to the CAO office budget.

The Chief Administrative Officer’s budget went from $3.1M to $6.6M, a $3.5M increase.

Attached is the amendment that passed unanimously by Council before passing the budget as a whole.

“This amendment brings accountability and transparency to the Mayor’s office,” Council President Lewis said. “By identifying staff who report directly to the CAO and Mayor, we can better work with them to do the business for all residents of Albuquerque.”

The $1.4 billion dollar FY 25 budget takes effect on July 1 and funds all the operations of the City of Albuquerque.