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Albuquerque, New Mexico

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Budget Y
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Meetings Y
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Elected Officials Y
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Administrative Officials Y
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Permits, zoning Y
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Audits Y
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Contracts Y
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Lobbying Y
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Public records Y
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Local taxes Y
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Transparency grading process


Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of 2010, according to U.S. census estimates,[1] and ranks as the 34th-largest city in the U.S. As of June 2007, the city was the sixth fastest-growing in America.[2] It has a metropolitan population of 887,077, as of 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Website evaluation

In 2011, the Albuquerque earned a Sunny Award for having a perfect website transparency score.

This website was most recently reviewed 2013-01-31.

The good

  • Budget
    • The most current budget is listed.
    • Budgets are archived for 6 years.[3]
  • Administrative Officials
    • Department heads are listed for each department.[4]
    • Contact information for administrative officials is provided including a mailing address, phone number, and personalized email.
  • Elected Officials
    • Elected officials are listed with a mailing address, phone number and personalized email.[5]
  • Meetings
    • Meeting minutes are archived for 13 years.
    • Meeting agendas are archived for 13 years.[6]
    • A meeting calendar is available and names the times and locations of public meetings.[7]
  • Audits
    • The most recent audit is posted.
    • Audits dating back to 2002 are available.[8]
  • Contracts
    • Bids and RFPs are posted online.
    • Approved contract statements are provided for vendors.[9]
  • Public Records
    • The public information officer is identified and maintained by public records custodians. This person provides a mailing address, phone number and personalized email.[10]
    • A fee schedule for documents is provided.[11]
  • Taxes
    • Tax revenues are broken down by federal, state, and local funding in the budget.
    • Local taxes, like property taxes, are available online in budget documents.[12]
  • Lobbying
    • The city discloses it hires lobbyists and the total amount spent on lobbying.[13]
  • Permits and zoning
    • Zoning ordinances are posted online.[14]
    • Permit applications can be downloaded on the site, along with information on how to apply for the permits.[15]

Budget

Albuquerque 10-year budget trends:[16]

Fiscal
Year
Revenue
Expenses
Difference
2002 $811,337,000 $808,820,000 $2,517,000
2003 $812,567,000 $776,218,000 $36,349,000
2004 $900,299,000 $853,406,000 $46,893,000
2005 $863,085,000 $859,235,000 $3,850,000
2006 $871,142,000 $863,033,000 $8,109,000
2007 $885,867,000 $871,780,000 $14,087,000
2008 $973,084,000 $949,520,000 $23,564,000
2009* $905,305,000 $902,033,000 $3,272,000
2010* $942,374,000 $981,690,000 -$39,316,000
2011* $887,752,000 $891,798,000 -$4,046,000

FY/09 is unaudited actual; FY/10 is Estimated Actual; FY/11 is Approved Budget.[16]

"Current budget by program:"[17]



City Goals 		Percentage
of Total
Budget
FY2011
Budget
Public Safety 28.4% $253,403,000
Public Infrastructure 23.4% $208,335,000
Governmental Excellence 18.8% $168,294,000
Human & Family Development 13.0% $115,776,000
Environmental Protection 9.5% $85,017,000
Sustainable Community Development 4.1% $36,468,000
Community & Cultural Engagement 1.4% $12,343,000
Economic Vitality 1.4% $12,162,000
Totals 100% $891,798,000

Stimulus

Albuquerque has received $591,525,791 from the stimulus package.[18]

Type # of Awards Amount Jobs Reported
Contracts 479 $202,584,279 138.64
Grants 412 $387,441,511 453.01
Loans 2 $1,500,000 4.5
Total 893 $591,525,791 596.15

Public Employees

Elected Officials

City Council

The City Council is the legislative authority of the city. It has the power to adopt all ordinances, resolutions, or other legislation conducive to the welfare of the people of the city. The Council shall have the power to adopt all ordinances, resolutions or other legislation conducive to the welfare of the people of the city and not inconsistent with the City Charter. The Council shall not perform any executive functions except those functions assigned to the Council by the City Charter.[19] The Council is made up of nine members, elected on staggered terms, with four or five districted Councilors elected every two years.[20]

According to the City Charter, City Councilors receive annual salaries equal to one-tenth of the annual salary received by the Mayor. The Council President shall receive double the annual salary received by other Councilors. Currently, this amount is about $10,940.00 for City Councilors and $21,881.00 for the Council President.[21]

Mayor

The City Charter establishes the executive branch of the city government. The Mayor shall control and direct the executive branch. The Mayor is authorized to delegate executive and administrative power within the executive branch. The Mayor shall be the chief executive officer with all executive and administrative powers of the city and the official head of the city for all ceremonial purposes.[19]

The current Mayor of Albuquerque is Republican Richard Berry.[22] His salary is $109,400.[21]

Mayor Berry is asking the council to put a $50 million bond package on the ballot in October that would approve the construction of a sports complex, whitewater rafting pool, a Rio Grande boardwalk and a bicycle loop around the city.[23]

Administrative Officials

Pete Dinelli, a former Director of Public Safety, called his old job "a waste". Public safety unions have said they do not want the position filled.[24]

Albuquerque fighters voted "no confidence" in the Fire Chief James Breen with sixty-four percent voting no confidence.[25]

Salaries

Main article: New Mexico state government salary

The website has a page for salaries of graded employees here and a page for ungraded employees here.

500 non-bargaining city employees received a 1% raise in the 2012 budget. Mayor Berry says the raises were part of the process of restoring salaries after a 2.2% cut last year.[26]

Pensions

Main article: New Mexico public pensions

Qualified city employees are mandated to take part in the Public Employees Retirement Association of New Mexico (PERA).[27]

Lobbying

Main article: New Mexico government sector lobbying

Albuquerque has reported $789,750 spent lobbying since 2000 (see table).

Reported lobbying expenditures, 2000-2009 [28]
Year Amount spent on lobbying
2011 $20,000
2010 $80,000
2009 $80,000
2008 $90,000
2007 $107,000
2006 $72,000
2005 $72,000
2004 $72,000
2003 $116,000
2002 $96,000
2001 $72,500
2000 $72,500

Transparency & public records

The website has a page dedicated to transparency.[29] Among other items it includes monthly reports on what the mayor uses his city issued credit card for.[30]

Mayor Berry has ordered an investigation to see if any city laws were broken when Public Safety Director Darren White opened the medical records of his wife after she had been in a car accident and many had speculated she had been using prescription drugs.[31]

Taxes

The city collects revenue through sales taxes, property taxes, and various fees and charges. It estimates $891,798,000 of total revenue in the 2011 budget.[32]

Revenue Source Amount
Gross Receipts Tax $287,439,000
Property Tax $136,658,000
Other Taxes $41,182,000
Intergovernmental $69,038,000
Enterprise $155,650,000
Interfund and Fund Balance $154,788,000
Charges and Permits $30,982,000
Miscellaneous $16,061,000
Total $891,798,000

External links

References

  1. ↑ [1] |title= Table 1: Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places Over 100,000, Ranked by July 1, 2008 Population: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2008 (SUB-EST2008-01)
  2. ↑ fastest growing cities
  3. ↑ City of Albuquerque, Budget, Accessed: January 6, 2013
  4. ↑ City of Albuquerque, Staff Directory, Accessed: January 6, 2013
  5. ↑ City of Albuquerque, Elected Officials, Accessed: January 6, 2013
  6. ↑ City of Albuquerque, Meeting Minutes and Agendas, Accessed: January 6, 2013
  7. ↑ City of Albuquerque, Meeting Schedule, Accessed: January 6, 2013
  8. ↑ City of Albuquerque, Audits, Accessed: January 6, 2013
  9. ↑ City of Albuquerque, Contracts, Accessed: January 6, 2013
  10. ↑ City of Albuquerque, Public Records Custodians, Accessed: January 6, 2013
  11. ↑ City of Albuquerque, Fee Schedule, Accessed: January 6, 2013
  12. ↑ City of Albuquerque, Tax Information in Budgets, Accessed: January 6, 2013
  13. ↑ City of Albuquerque, Lobbying, Accessed: January 6, 2013
  14. ↑ City of Albuquerque, Zoning, Accessed: January 6, 2013
  15. ↑ City of Albuquerque, Permit, Accessed: January 6, 2013
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 [2]
  17. ↑ current budget
  18. ↑ Recovery
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 [3]
  20. ↑ [4]
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 [5]
  22. ↑ mayor
  23. ↑ KOB "Berry wants city council to greenlight ABQ tourism plan"
  24. ↑ KOAT "Ex-Public Safety Director Calls Job 'A Waste'"
  25. ↑ Fire Rescue "Firefighters give 'no confidence' vote to chief in NM"
  26. ↑ Canadian Business "Some Albuquerque city workers see raises"
  27. ↑ Retirement
  28. ↑ [ Open Secrets]
  29. ↑ Transparency
  30. ↑ Credit Card
  31. ↑ NewsWest "Albuquerque official opens wife's medical records"
  32. ↑ FY11 Budget


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