On March 31, the city’s Inspector General Melissa R. Santistevan released a public notice entitled “Update to Citizens of Albuquerque”directed squarely at the Accountability in Government Oversight Committee. At issue at the time was the committee’s failure to make public nine finished internal investigations into alleged misconduct at City Hall. Inspector General Melissa R. Santistevan wrote that the pending reports “deal with fraud, waste, or abuse that impact our City. Some of these reports have been completed for months without citizen awareness.” Santistevan did not disclose fully the topics of the reports. Santistevan’s four-year contract is up for renewal in June, but the city is soliciting applicants for the job.
For Office of Inspector General (OIG) reports to become public, city ordinance requires they be presented to the city’s Accountability in Government Oversight Committee, whose members are appointed by the mayor and City Council. City Councilors also serve on the committee. The five-member volunteer committee had not had a meeting since November 14, 2024 until April 14 . Inspector General Melissa R. Santistevan wrote this in her public notice:
“Unfortunately, a meeting was to be held March 26, after which the reports would have been released to the public. But the meeting was canceled after it began before the reports could be presented.”
Under the city ordinance, the OIG reports become public whether the committee approves them or not.
EDITOR’S NOTE: You can learn more about the duties and responsibilities of the Office of Inspector General and the Accountability in Government Oversight Committee in the postscript below.
The chairperson of the OIG oversight committee is Victor Griego who is a certified public accountant. Griego posted an online response to Inspector General Santistevan which stated in part “in the short time the AGO [accountability in government committee] had available to review these reports, AGO members identified multiple concerns regarding the quality of the reports and the underlying investigations. … [The committee wants to] ensure the accuracy and the quality of published reports. ”
The National Association of Inspectors General stepped in and urged the release of the pending reports “without further delay.” Will Fletcher, president of the New York-based association, wrote this
“For the [oversight committee] not even to hold meetings sends a clear but unfortunate signal that it’s not interested in learning of misconduct within the City of Albuquerque, let alone in formulating solutions to make its government operate more efficiently. … This reluctance holds back the mission of government oversight and inevitably raises questions about the commitment to transparency. An OIG’s ability to present the results of its work to government stakeholders and the public is a cornerstone of effective government oversight. When an oversight committee can essentially block the publication of OIG reports by failing to meet, it fundamentally undermines the very principles that Offices of Inspectors General are designed to uphold and the public ultimately suffers as a result.”
Edward Hollington, the attorney who represents Inspector General Santistevan said that the inspector general’s staff turned over the reports to the administrative assistant for the committee on March 16 for review prior to the meeting. But at a Zoom meeting of the committee on March 26, OIG staff wasn’t even admitted to the meeting.
Hollington said if there were issues with the quality or concerns, the meeting with the inspector general would be the place to express that. At its last meeting in November, the committee voted not to approve the OIG’s report on improper bonuses. The committee contended that the OIG lacked sufficient jurisdiction under the inspector general ordinance to investigate the allegations. The OIG had recommended the city consider recouping the money, but a spokeswoman for the city said that the expenditures were previously approved by the state and “no further action is required.”
Santistevan’s four-year term is up in June, at which time she would be eligible for re-confirmation. The Keller Administration is seeking applicants for the job to replace Santistevan. It will be up to the committee to decide whether to recommend her reconfirmation to the City Council or forward a list of the top three finalists for appointment.
The link to the quoted or relied upon news source is here:
https://www.abqjournal.com/news/article_107b6f83-deb2-4505-ad9c-ed403466ac4d.html
THREE OUT OF NINE OIG REPORTS RELEASED
On Sunday, April 20, it was reported that the city’s Accountability in Government Oversight Committee approved three of nine completed OIG investigative reports, deferring until May six others that have been reportedly ready for public release for months. For the second time in the past month, the volunteer citizens committee put off the public release of investigations into allegations of misconduct or malfeasance completed by the city of Albuquerque Office of Inspector General.
The three investigations released on April 14 after approval by the city Accountability in Government Oversight Committee dealt with an employee’s parking validation; $18,587 in misplaced or lost city property; and an allegation that waste occurred when the city paid for three separate designs for the third-floor renovation of the old City Hall involving three different city managers. If the third design is used, the cost of the first two designs totaling $55,827 was a waste of taxpayers’ dollars, the OIG report stated.
The link to the relied upon or quoted news source is here:
https://www.abqjournal.com/news/article_65d8aad1-3ec9-41ae-8189-85f1f3b32d2e.html
TWO SCATHING REPORTS
There have been two scathing reports issued by the Inspector General that have been highly critical of the Keller Administration and that have raised the ire of the Mayor Keller Administration.
IMPROPER USE OF CHILD CARE STABILIZATION GRANT FUNDS
On November 24, 2024 the Office of Inspector General issued a final Investigation Report with the entitled subject matter “Alleged Improper Use of the Child Care Stabilization Grant Funds by Inappropriately Compensating City Employees Through Bonuses.” The program was supposed to help childcare providers defray unexpected business costs associated with the COVID pandemic.
The grant money was supposed to assist in keeping child care providers’ doors open during the pandemic. The Family & Community Services Department now operates under the umbrella of the city’s Youth and Family Services and Health, Housing and Homelessness departments.
The city of Albuquerque’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigation concluded that a group of city employees, including top administrators in Mayor Tim Keller’s Family & Community Services Department, received more than $280,000 in improper bonuses using money intended to sustain “childcare providers” during the COVID pandemic.
The OIG investigation report states in part as follows:
“Twenty-three out of the 27 employees who received premium pay had annual salaries greater than Preschool staff. Five of those salaries were more than double the Preschool staff’s highest paid salary with one almost tripling the salary of the highest-paid Preschool staff.”
In total, $287,972.77 was distributed to 27 city employees, a majority who worked outside the Family and Community Development Department, which oversees childcare in the city. According to the report, pay ranges for preschool are $32,469 to $42,162 annually.
Twenty-three of the 27 employees received a July 2022 bonus of either $8,533 or $3,878, then in December of the same year, 14 employees received bonuses ranging from $5,400 to $13,000. More than 10 recipients, including top managers, received nearly $20,000 each. Among its findings, the OIG reported bonuses, called premium payments, of up to that $22,498 were paid to employees who earned $32,469 to $123,490 annually. The highest bonus of $22,498 went to the Child and Family Development division manager. The position made $88,000 annually before the “premium pay.”
On January 2, 2025 the Accountability in Government Oversight Committee took the unusual action of voting NO to approve the OIG report released. The Accountability in Accountability In Government Oversight Committee, which is comprised of community members appointed by the mayor and City Council, met on November 14 to review and consider the investigative report. The committee found the OIG “lacked sufficient jurisdiction under the city’s Inspector General ordinance to investigate one or more of the allegations.”
In response to the OIG report, the Keller Administration responded it did not intentionally misuse the federal grant funds and did not have direction from the federal government on where to appropriate the funds.
Associate Chief Administrative Officer Carla Martinez released the following statement:
“These were employees that kept childcare centers open during the COVID crisis, these were not bonuses, and these were not inappropriate. … Once again the OIG is submitting subjective opinions that were unanimously rejected by her own oversight committee comprised of legal and accounting professionals. This grant provided necessary overtime funding for critical early childhood caregiver programs and management during the Covid crisis.”
City Council President Dan Lewis issued the following statement in response to the OIG report saying this:
My office is referring this investigation to the U.S. Attorney due to allegations of federal crimes involving the abuse, misuse, and theft of federal funds allocated to high-ranking members of the Keller administration. These funds, approved by the Council, were intended exclusively for early childhood programs as outlined in the grant’s description. However, they appear to have been unlawfully redirected as cash bonuses for the Mayor’s staff.
Alex Bukoski, spokesperson for Mayor Tim Keller’s office, responded to City Council President Dan Lewis:
“Dan’s comments are at best, a grossly inaccurate overreaction; and worst another in a long line of bitter rants against the Administration since losing his own election bid.”
This is simply a false finding in that according to City Ordinance 2-17-2 in that the Inspector General’s goals includes “to prevent and detect fraud, waste, and abuse in city activities.” The committee voted 5-0 against approval, stating in a “cautionary statement” attached to the investigative report that “readers are advised to review this published report and its content with the understanding that the Committee did not approve this report.”
You can read the entire 24 page Inspector General Report here:
MONEY SPENT ON POLITICAL PROPAGANDA BOOK
On October 30, 2023, the Albuquerque Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a scathing 27 page report that found the Mayor Tim Keller Administration had misused taxpayer money to the tune of more than $97,000 to write, edit, print and publish 598 copies of a book entitled “City at the Crossroads: The Pandemic, Protests, and Public Service in Albuquerque”. The book became controversial when released as critics charged that it was nothing more than political propaganda paid for by taxpayers to promote Mayor Tim Keller and his administration. The book includes a chapter dedicated to Keller called “the Metal Mayor”, several dozen photos of Keller, and an introduction written by Mayor Keller and a foreword written by his wife Elizabeth J. Kistin Keller as first lady of the city.
The Office of inspector General went to far as to label the book “a waste” of taxpayer funds and said this:
“The OIG considered whether it is reasonable to believe, that in the event of another pandemic, someone would seek out and read a book of anecdotal stories as a guide of how to navigate such a crisis. … Obligating the taxpayer’s monies to fund a book that promoted the administrative achievements during the pandemic and where a calculated value may never be known appears to be a waste.”
The report did not find enough evidence supporting claims the city violated its purchasing ordinance or the state’s anti-donation clause producing the book. However, the OIG report suggested evidence of possible favoritism and conflict of interest.
The Albuquerque Journal took special interest in the story and suffered an embarrassment when it was revealed that the book was written by none other than longtime Albuquerque Journal columnist Joline Gutierrez Krueger. It turns out Gutierrez Krueger was paid $44,700, or $60 per hour, by the city of Albuquerque to write the book without her informing the Journal editors nor getting the papers permission. Gutierrez Krueger contracted with the city while still employed by the Albuquerque Journal which was a violation of the papers policy that prohibits moonlighting for government entities to avoid conflicts of interest. The Journal issued the following statement:
“Gutierrez Krueger contracted with the city while still employed by the Journal, a violation of company policy that prohibits moonlighting for government entities to avoid conflicts of interest.”
But for the fact that Gutierrez Krueger was about to retire, her authorship of the book could have likely been used as grounds for termination by the paper.
You can read the entire 27 page OIG report at this link:
https://www.cabq.gov/inspectorgeneral/documents/22-0189-c-report-of-investigation.pdf/view
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
It was the City Council that created the Office of Inspector General to combat waste, fraud and abuse. There is no getting around it. The city’s Accountability in Government Oversight Committee failure to release reports by the Office the Inspector General is nothing short of “political pettiness and vindictiveness”. It is evidence of retaliation against the Inspector General they are seeking to remove. Republican City Councilors Brook Bassaan and Dan Champine are on the Accountability in Government Oversight Committee and they should demand that all of the Inspector General’s report’s be released immediately and without further delay.
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