Albuquerque Secures Needed Capital Outlay During Legislative Session

Last month, the New Mexico State Legislature finished its 30 day session, during which Mayor Keller and the City of Albuquerque pursued an agenda focused on public safety, housing and homelessness, and placemaking in our communities. For the third year in a row, the City and its partners pushed for changes to the public safety system outlined in the Metro Crime Initiative. While some incremental progress was made on these priorities, there is still much work to be done and the City will continue to push for fixes to the criminal justice system. The City did secure capital outlay to fund quality of life improvements, public safety, and community resources.

“We appreciate the important progress that was made, but it’s clear that there is still a lot of work to be done.” said Mayor Tim Keller. “As the largest city in the state, we serve and care for people from all around New Mexico, which is why we need the state to step up and take care of the critical parts of the criminal justice and behavioral health systems for which they are responsible. We’ll take the wins we got and invest in a better quality of life for our families, but we will not stop pushing for the help that we need to address homelessness and crime.”

• Public safety policy priorities that passed in the 30-day session and were signed into law by the Governor include:
• Removal of the bond option for repeat felony offenders.
• Seven day waiting period for gun purchases.
• Various incentives to improve officer retention.
• Stronger penalties for 2nd degree murder and attempted murder.
• Ban guns from polling places.

The City secured capital outlay for numerous projects during the session. Priority projects funded by the legislature include:

Public Safety

• Southwest Public Safety Center construction - $1,700,000
• APD helicopter - $3,045,000
• Fire station renovation and construction - $3,959,900
• Road projects and infrastructure throughout Albuquerque - $3,800,000
• Paseo del Norte and Unser expansion - $2,800,000

Housing and Homelessness

• Housing Navigation Construction - $1,645,000
• Affordable Housing Construction - $2,205,000

Placemaking

• Balloon Fiesta Park improvement projects such as restrooms; water, sewer and electrical upgrades; road, parking lot and walkway improvements to increase access and safety; additional parking; and protection of balloon landing sites - $15,725,000
• Rail Yards renovations for the film academy – $10,130,000
• Albuquerque Museum Education Center construction - $1,585,000
• Cibola Loop Multigenerational Center construction - $1,200,000 
• North Domingo Baca Aquatic Center construction - $1,050,000 
• Rio Grande State Park improvement - $1,635,000 
• Park improvement and construction throughout Albuquerque - $11,445,000
• Library renovations - $2,105,000