On April 6, Governor Lujan Grisham signed 3 bills into law enacted by the 2023 New Mexico legislature with strong bipartisan support. The 3 bills are:

House Bill 234 targets organized retail crime. It creates new crimes and penalties to ease the prosecution of gangs or other groups of people stealing from grocery, big box and retail stores in an organized way, terrorizing customers and employees. Albuquerque has had a huge spike in  aggressive shoplifting by well organized, violent  shoplifting gang crews.

House Bill 306 that is directed at “straw purchases” of firearms. It makes it illegal to buy a firearm on behalf of someone who’s not allowed to have it or intends to use in a crime.  It was noted that Albuquerque had to rely on federal prosecutors to step in when officers arrested a man they said was responsible for the purchase of nine weapons tied to 18 shootings.

Senate Bill 133 deals with the theft of catalytic converters that has spiked. The bill requires second hand metal dealers to track from whom they buy used catalytic converters. The vehicle catalytic converters are anti-pollution devices that contain valuable metals, making them favorite targets  of thieves.

2024 CRIME AND GUN CONTROL MEASURES DISCUSSED

After signing the trio of crime fighting measures, Governor Lujan Grisham took the opportunity to be clear she intends to pursue crime and gun measures during the 2024 legislative session.  The 2024 session, unlike the 2023 60 day session, is  a 30 day short session where  lawmakers face restrictions on what non-budgetary bills they may introduce.  During 30 sessions, only legislation the Governor  places on the “Governor’s Call”  agenda are  considered.

The Governor said she intends to pursue at least three firearms proposals during the 2024 session that failed in the 2023 session. The measures listed were:

1. Raising the minimum age to 21 for the purchase of certain firearms.
2. Imposing a 14-day waiting period on the purchase of guns.
3. Banning AR-15-style rifles. Not at all surprising given New Mexico’s pro-gun philosophy,  the assault weapons ban had the fiercest opposition during the 2023 session even among Democrats. Opposition centered on its legality in the wake of recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions and technical questions over how to define what qualifies as an assault weapon.

All 3 gun control measures were fiercely opposed by Republican lawmakers, contending they would target law-abiding gun owners while doing nothing to deter crime.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

It should come as no surprise that Governor Lujan Grisham is already discussing gun control measures, she intends to pursue in the 2024 thirty day legislative session. It is very likely that Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham was very disappointed on how little was accomplished by the 2023 New Mexico legislature with only 2 out of 10 gun control measures making it through, but  she simply does not want to admit it.

In the 2023 New Mexico 60 day legislative session, upwards of 40 gun control measures were introduced, but only 10 were seriously considered and of those 10, only 2 made it through the session to become law.

When the session began on January 17, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham in  her  “State of the State” address  announced  her support of the following 4 gun control measures:

• Banning the sale of AR-15-style rifles.
• Allowing crime victims to sue gun manufacturers.
• Making it a crime to fail to properly secure a firearm that’s accessible to an unsupervised minor.
• Closing a loophole in state law to allow prosecution when a person buys a gun for a someone who isn’t legally able to make the purchase themselves, a transaction known as a straw purchase.

Only two of the four measure’s the Governor endorsed were enacted by the legislature. The two measures enacted and signed into law were:

House Bill  9,   the Bennie Hargrove Gun Safety Act also know as “Bennies Bill” makes it a misdemeanor to negligently allow a child access to a firearm and would make it a felony if that negligence resulted in someone dying or suffering great bodily harm.

House Bill 306 that is directed at “straw purchases” of firearms and making it illegal to buy a firearm on behalf of someone who’s not allowed to have it or intends to use in a crime. During the March 6 signing of House Bill 306 making it law, Lujan Grisham highlighted the role of House Republican Leader Ryan Lane of Aztec in getting the bill passed.  Lane was the lead sponsor of the measure resulting in other Republican support which is an absolute  a rarity for any  firearms legislation.

GUN CONTROL MEASURES THAT FAILED

There were 10 major gun-control measure bills introduced and seriously considered in the New Mexico House or Senate.  Eight of

House Bill 50 would have prohibited magazines with more than 10 rounds.

House Bill 72 would have prohibited the  possession of semiautomatic firearm converter that allows the weapon to fire more rapidly.

House Bill 100 would have  establish a 14-day waiting period for the purchase of any firearm and requires a prospective seller who doesn’t already hold a valid federal firearms license to arrange for someone who does to conduct a federal background check prior to selling a firearm.

House Bill 101 as written would have  made it a fourth-degree felony to purchase, possess, manufacture, import, sell or transfer assault weapons in the state.  It would restrict the sale, manufacture and possession of AR-15-style rifles along with semiautomatic firearms.

Senate Bill 44 would have  made  it a misdemeanor to carry a firearm within 100 feet of a polling location on election day or during early voting. On-duty law enforcement officers and security personnel would be exempt.

Senate Bill 116 would have established  a minimum age of 21 for anyone seeking to purchase or possess an automatic firearm, semiautomatic firearm or firearm capable of accepting a large-capacity magazine. The bill would have  effectively raised the minimum age for buying an AR-15-style rifle from 18 to 21.

Senate Bill 171 sought to ban the manufacture, sale, trade, gift, transfer or acquisition of semiautomatic pistols that have two or more defined characteristics.

Senate Bill 428 would have revised the state’s Unfair Practices Act to target the sale of illegal firearms and parts, allowing the filing of lawsuits to enforce the act.

The failure of the legislation is very difficult to accept.  Democrats in the 2023 legislative session hold a 45-25 majority in the House and a 27-15 in the Senate. It’s a damn shame more was not done and Democrats do look foolish on the issue of failing to enact reasonable and responsible gun control measure that will bring down crime and save lives.

“OMNIBUS VIOLENT CRIME AND GUN CONTROL ACT”

If Governor Lujan Grisham is indeed sincere about reintroducing legislation that did not  make it through the 2023 legislative session  and that it be reintroduced in the 2024 legislative  session, a much different approach needs to be taken because the State’s  crime crisis is very real and will remain until something is done.  All the gun control legislation in the 2023 legislative session  was piecemeal at best. It failed to strike a balance between gun control and enhanced penalties for the commission of crime with guns.

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham should seek the enactment  of  “Omnibus Violent Crime and Gun Control Act” that could be enacted  by the 2024 legislative session.

The “Omnibus Violent Crime and Gun Control Act would include the following gun regulation measures:

• Outlaw possession and sale assault weapon style weapons such as AR-15-style rifles and pistols with magazines of 10 rounds or more making it a third degree felony with a 6 year mandatory sentence.
• Outlaw the sale of “ghost guns” parts.
• Outlaw possession of semiautomatic firearm converters.
• Limit all retail gun purchases of all types of guns per person to one gun per month.
• Institute mandatory extended waiting period to a full month for gun purchases.
• Outlaw the straw purchase of guns for someone who isn’t legally able to make the purchase themselves.
• Outlaw the sale in New Mexico of “bump-fire stocks” and other accessories.
• Allow crime victims to sue gun manufacturers for actual and punitive damages.
• Require the mandatory purchase of “liability insurance” with each gun sold.
• Implement in New Mexico mandatory handgun licensing, permitting, training, and registration requirements.
• Expand gun ownership age limitation to 19 for rifles and shotguns.
• Expand the prohibition of deadly weapons from a school campus to school zones making it a third-degree felony.
• Call for a constitutional amendment to repeal the New Mexico Constitutional provision that allows the “open carry” of firearms. This would require a statewide vote and would ensure a healthy debate.

The following crime and sentencing provisions should be included in the “Omnibus Gun Violence And Gun Control Act”:

• Making possession of a handgun by someone who commits a crime an aggravated third-degree felony mandating a 6-year minimum sentence.
• Increase the firearm enhancement penalties provided for the brandishing a firearm in the commission of a felony from 3 years to 10 years for a first offense and for a second or subsequent felony in which a firearm is brandished 12 years.
• Create a new category of enhanced sentencing for use of a lethal weapon or deadly weapon other than a firearm where there is blandishment of a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony with enhanced sentences of 5 years for a first offense and for second or subsequent felony in which a lethal weapon other than a firearm is brandished 8 years
• Make it a third-degree felony for failure to secure a firearm mandating a 3-year sentence. Gun owners would have to keep their firearms in a locked container and make them inaccessible to anyone but the owner or authorized users.
• Increase the penalty of shooting randomly into a crowded area a second-degree felony mandating a 9-year sentence.
• Allow firearm offenses used in a drug crime to be charged separately.
• Change bail bond to statutorily empower judges with far more discretionary authority to hold and jail those pending trial who have prior violent crime reported incidents without shifting the burden of proof from the prosecution to the defense.
• Mandate public school systems and higher education institutions to “harden” their facilities with more security doors, security windows, security measures, including metal detectors at single entrances designated and alarm systems and security cameras tied directly to law enforcement 911 emergency operations centers.
• Make organized retail crime a specific offense punishable by felony charges when value of goods stolen exceeds certain threshold.
• Cases of juveniles arrested in possession of a weapon are to be referred the District Attorney for automatic prosecution as an adult for sentencing.
• Make it a 3rd degree felony if a person recklessly stores a firearm and a minor gains access to it to threaten or harms someone.

The Omnibus Violent Crime and Gun Control Act must include funding for the criminal justice system. This would include funding District Attorney’s Offices, the Public Defender’s Office, the Courts and the Corrections Department.

Until the New Mexico Legislature, especially Democrats, get serious and aggressive about responsible gun control and crime and punishment, the State will continue to suffer high violent crime rates.

This blog article is an in-depth, point by point, analysis of Mayor Tim Keller’s “Housing Forward ABQ Plan.” It ends with Commentary and Analysis concluding that Keller’s “Housing Forward Plan” and the accompanying amendments to the Integrated Development Ordinance allowing “casitas, “two-family duplex” additions and “motels conversions” are  faux solutions to Keller’s inflated housing crisis shortage. It’s a plan that has been met with extreme public hostility and mistrust and should be rejected by the City Council.

 “HOUSING FORWARD ABQ” PLAN.

On October 18, Mayor Tim Keller announced his “Housing Forward ABQ Plan.” It is a “multifaceted initiative” where Mayor Keller has set the goal of adding 5,000 new housing units across the city by 2025 above and beyond what private industry normally creates each year.  According to Keller, the city is in a major “housing crisis” and the city needs as many as 33,000 new housing units immediately.

During his October 18 news conference announcing his “Housing Forward ABQ Plan” Keller Keller himself used the 33,000 figure to declare a housing crisis.  He emphasized the importance of amending the city’s Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO).  Keller said this:

“Right now our zoning code will never allow us to meet the housing demand in the city … If you want a place to advocate, if you want a place to change policy, if you want a place to argue, it’s all about the IDO [Integrated Development Ordinance] .  …  The proposed changes are intended to be transformative, which is fitting for the crisis facing our local government, thousands of families in our community, and our housing partners.”

The links to relied upon and quoted news sources are  here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2541186/mayor-sets-goal-of-5k-housing-units-by-2025.html

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/city-leaders-propose-major-changes-to-albuquerques-zoning-laws/

https://www.abqjournal.com/2548502/keller-seeks-transformative-changes-to-zoning-code.html

KELLER EXAGGERATS A HOUSING “CRUNCH” INTO  A HOUSING “CRISIS”

When Keller first announced his plan, he said the city has an immediate 33,000 unit need for housing and there is a housing shortage crisis. However city materials distributed to the public say the city needs 13,000 to 28,000 more units. Keller and his city hall minions have never elaborated exactly how the statistics were determined and what surveys or reports were relied upon to declare a “housing crisis.”

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  The housing shortage is related to economics and the development community’s inability to keep up with supply and demand and the public’s inability to purchase housing and qualify for long term housing mortgage loans. There is also a shortage of rental properties, but there is an apartment construction boom going on in the city.

HOMELESS CRISIS USED TO PROMOTE “HOUSING FORWARD ABQ” PLAN

At  two of the public meetings, Keller Administration officials have used the homeless crisis and numbers to promote the “HOUSING FORWARD ABQ Plan ” ignoring that it really has nothing to do with the homeless crisis but everything to do with increasing housing density for all income levels. Over the last 2 years, the Keller Administration has spent $100 million on homeless programs including 2 shelters and city government  subsidized housing.

INFLATING THE NUMBERS

Keller declaring that the city needs 33,000 housing units immediately was an exaggeration based on the City’s actual growth population and what is needed for that population growth. Keller also ignores the apartment construction spike that is going on in the city.

The current metro area population of Albuquerque in 2023 is 955,000, a 1.38% increase from 2022 population of 942,000 or 13,000 increase.

The metro area population of Albuquerque in 2022 was 942,000, a 1.4% increase from 2021 of 929,000.

https://www.macrotrends.net/cities/22908/albuquerque/population#:~:text=The%20metro%20area%20population%20of,a%201.53%25%20increase%20from%202020.

Alan LeSeck, Apartment Association of New Mexico executive director, recently  told the Albuquerque Journal  the current market is “very hot,” due partially to the lack of apartment development dating back to before the pandemic.  Since 2013, and prior to 2020, LaSeck said Albuquerque was averaging about 500 new units a year, below what the city needed to accommodate new residents. LaSeck said that, for every 10,000 new residents, there needs to be about 3,400 apartments since about 34% of people typically rent. 

Keller has never discussed nor revealed to what extent the residential development and apartment development are going on in the city.  Keller simply  declares there is a housing crisis.  At all 5 of the public meetings, city officials did not discuss the extent of residential construction going on in the city.

In November, 2022, it was reported that in the Albuquerque metro area, new permits issued by the city for apartment building construction have spiked dramatically.  Building permits for a total of 4,021 new housing units were issued in the metro area in 2021 of which   35.1%  are for units in buildings with 5 housing units or more with many currently under construction.  

Five years ago only 20.3% of all permits for new housing units were for buildings with at least five units.  The 14.8% point change for new apartment construction from 2016 to 2021 ranks as the 10th largest increase among all U.S. metro areas.

In Albuquerque, about 2,000 units across 12 properties are  already under construction, with an additional 2,485 units planned across 16 properties and 5,143 prospective units.

https://www.apartments.com/markana-uptown-albuquerque-nm/8n8z552/

https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/winrock-finalizing-plans-for-200-unit-high-end-apartment-complex/

PUBLIC MEETINGS HELD

In March and April, the Keller Administration held a series of 5 public meetings scheduled for 1 hour and 30 minutes in the Downtown Area, Southwest Area, Southeast Area, Northeast Area, and the Northwest Area  of the city in order to explain the Housing Foreword ABQ Plan to the public with 4 attended by Pete Dinelli for reporting on www.PeteDinelli.com. The public meetings were open to the public but the city asked that reservations be made on line.

The link to review slide presentation used by the Mayor’s office and city officials is here:

https://documents.cabq.gov/planning/IDO/2022_IDO_AnnualUpdate/LUPZ/HousingForward-Presentation-2023-03-08.pdf

Mayor Tim Keller and all 9 members of the city council did not attend a single meeting. The turnouts were considered high with between 50 and 100 people in attendance at each of the locations. Given the nature of the questioning, attendance consisted predominantly of angry property owners. The city’s slide presentations were made to audiences by various city departments including the Mayor’s Office, the Family and Community Services Department and the Planning Department. A representative of the Albuquerque Police Department attended only the Decemeber meeting.

The presentations were broken down into two sperate areas of concentration. The two areas were:

1. The city’s overall efforts and goals to increase housing supply in the city and promoting access to housing for all income levels and increasing low-income rentals units which would include “motel conversions”. The city wants to acquire existing motels and remodel them and create 1,000 low-income housing units.

 

2. The major proposed zoning change amendments to the Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO) that will allow the construction of “Casitas” and/or “Two Family Home” additions as “permissive uses” and not “conditional uses” and changes increasing height restrictions and eliminating parking restrictions. “Casitas” and “Two Family Home” additions would be allowed on every single existing residential lot that already has single family housing in order to increase density.  According to city officials, there are 120,000 residential lots that have existing residential structures.  With the construction of “casitas” and “two family home” additions, density could double to 240,000 with casita structures alone or triple to 360,000 with both casitas and two family home additions.

The city officials emphasized that the “Housing Forward ABQ Plan” was merely a proposal and ultimately the City Council will decide what to do when it came to amendments to the Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO).

Throughout the presentations, the audiences were advised by the city officials present they were only there to gather information. Notwithstanding what they said, the appearance was that the city officials were promoting  Mayor Keller’s plan and not interested in what the public really had to say.

After the presentations, the audience was allowed to ask questions during the limited amount of time remaining.  Because of time constraints, only those called upon by the City presenters during the allotted time remaining were allowed to ask questions.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

A “conditional use” requires an application process with the city, notice to surrounding property owners with appeal rights. A “permissive use” would give the Planning Department exclusive authority issue permits for construction without notices and hearings. 

City officials said at the public meeting that covenants and restrictions contained in warranty deeds prohibiting construction of casitas and  two family duplex construction on existing housing  were not the city’s concern when it came to issuing permits for  a casita or a  two family duplex development even when covenants and restrictions prohibited such development. The city officials proclaimed enforcement of real property  covenants and restrictions were a private matter for enforcement between adjoining property owners by means of litigation.   

One very offensive argument made by the city official outlining the zoning changes is that many covenants and restrictions  are racist preventing people of color from buying and purchasing real property and living in residential developments. The blunt truth is those covenants and restrictions based on race were declared back in the 1940’s and 1950’s as unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court and are totally unenforceable and were set aside by the court.  Construction, set back restrictions and use covenants are very much enforceable and have absolutely nothing to do with race despite what was being implied by the city official. 

KELLER’S HOUSING FOREWARD ABQ PLAN OUTLINED

The following information was gleaned by the author of this blog article from attending the 4  public meetings sponsored by the Keller Administration and handout materials provided to the public:

To add the 5,000 new housing units across the city by 2025, Keller is proposing that the City of Albuquerque fund and be involved with the construction of new low-income housing.  The strategy includes “motel conversions” and  a zoning code “rebalance” to increase population density. It includes allowing “casitas” which under the zoning code are formally known as “accessory dwelling” units.

Keller wants to allow “different forms of multi-unit housing types” on existing residential properties.  City officials said that 68% of the city’s existing housing is single-family detached homes with 120,000 existing residential lots with already built residences.  The amendment will allow one “casita” and  one “accessory dwelling” unit on all built out lots which could double density to 240,000  housing units  or triple density to 360,000 housing units.

According to Keller’ plan, the city wants to  convert commercial office space into to residential use. The Keller administration is proposing $5 million to offset developer costs with the aim of transitioning 10 commercial  properties  and creating 1,000 new housing units.  The new plan also includes “motel conversations” where the city will purchase,  remodel and update old and existing motels into low income housing.  Keller “Housing Forward ABQ” plan includes  bolstering  the construction workforce and  address current renter concerns.

RESIDENTIAL RENTAL PERMIT ORDINANCE

The Keller Administration made a part of the “Housing Forward ABQ  Plan” the “Residential Rental Permit Ordinance” sponsored by District 7 Albuquerque City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn to protect tenants from “predatory practices such as excessive application fees, clarifying that deposits must be refundable and capping other fees, especially in complexes that accept vouchers”. 

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                                                On March 6 the “Residential Rental Permit Ordinance” failed on a 4-5 vote after strenuous and organized  objections from property owners and the apartment industry.  The private sector argued successfully that  property rights and ownership and contract rights were being infringed upon, that the ordinance and the mandatory fee schedule was excessive and  the ordinance was not needed because of existing state law, including the Unfair Trade Practices Act,  and that ordinance was a form of and  promoted rent control with existing state law protecting both tenant and property owner rights to contract. The New Mexico State legislature has voted NO on enacting rent control legislation. 

INCREASING THE SUPPLY OF HOUSING FOR ALL RESIDENTS

According to materials prepared by the Keller Administration and handed out at the 5 public meetings, the city launched the Housing Forward ABQ Plan  initiative as “an urgent initiative to strengthen access to housing and spur conversion and construction of much-needed new housing for all income levels. The city argues that  addressing the availability of housing is key to the safety of prosperity of residents, to ensuring multigenerational families always have a place … [to] call home …].

The Keller Administrations specific proposals to increasing the city’s housing supply include the following 6  proposals:

1. The city acquiring and allowing the conversion of existing hotel or motel properties for affordable housing. According to the Family and Community Services Department, the city already owns and operates 8 apartment complexes that provides upwards of 500 low income or affordable housing units. The Family Community Services Department is in the process of acquiring the Sure Stay Motel  at Hotel Circle and plans to convert it into low income housing. (SEE MORE BELOW.)                                                                                                                                                                                                                             COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS:                                                                                                                                                                                                           On March 1 it was reported that the City of Albuquerque is moving forward with its plans to transform hotels and motels into housing units for low-income housing by issuing a Request for Information (RIF) from any and all property owners who might be interested in selling their motels or renovating them into affordable housing units. The city is moving forward with the plan despite objections from the private sector, affected business owners, neighborhood associations and  community activist organizations such as “Woman Taking Back Our Neighborhoods”. The city has yet to disclose how many responses they have received to the RIF. The link to the full news report is here:                                      https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/albuquerque-moves-forward-with-plan-to-transform-hotels-motels-into-housing-units/

 

2. Converting existing vacant commercial office buildings to housing. City officials have acknowledged that this will be “heavy lifting” by the city. According to the City, the short supply of housing in Albuquerque is in stark contrast to the large supply of vacant or underutilized commercial and office properties. The city is proposing a $5 million housing conversion fund using city, state and federal funding to facilitate the conversion of at least 10 commercial, office buildings into housing, creating at least 1,000 new residential units by 2025.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Keller pushing to convert commercial office space into to residential is misplaced and presumes that commercial property owners are amenable to replacing their more lucrative commercial property with residential property which is a complete reversal from what happens.  It is far more common for residential property owners to seek commercial zoning changes for their properties. The city has failed to identify what interest commercial property owners have in converting commercial properties into residential property.

3. EXPANDING NUISANCE ABATEMENT LAWS. Under the “Housing Forward Plan” properties that are magnets for crime including drug trafficking, human trafficking and gun violence will be the focus of stronger enforcement of nuisance abatement laws. Where possible and appropriate, these properties will be converted to housing units.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

City Councilor Pat Davis is the sponsor of 023-75 which will amend the city’s current nuisance abatement ordinance to include additional crimes to be added to determine if a property is a nuisance and a city administrative hearing officer component will be added without having to go to court. The current city nuisance abatement ordinance is one of the strongest in the country, it was amended extensively even before City Councilor Davis was elected.  It does not need amending nor strengthening but needs to be enforced as written.

The City of Albuquerque already has one of the strongest nuisance abatement ordinances in the country.  The State of New Mexico has one of the strongest nuisance laws on the books.

Normally, a  nuisance is defined in terms of an “activity” that endangers the public health and safety and welfare. The New Mexico state legislature has enacted a statute that empowers  all municipalities to define and abate a nuisance as they see fit.  Under the Albuquerque  nuisance abatement ordinance, the City Council defines a nuisance in terms of real property, not an activity, both commercial or residential, that is used to assist, promote, facilitate or involved with criminal activity and the real property can be declared a nuisance by a court of law.   The city Planning Department can also take administrative  enforcement action known as a “Notice and Order” where the property is inspected then posted substandard when code violations are found and ordered vacated and boarded up. Property owners are given notice of city code violations and order to make repairs at their own expense.

In 2004, the city’s Nuisance Abetment Ordinance was amended extensively to include all state  felony and misdemeanors as well as all city code violations (plumbing, electrical, gas and construction) in order to be included for consideration to determine that a property is  nuisance.  Reliance is made on the number of calls for service to APD to declare a property a nuisance.

Under state law, a nuisance is defined as a  single act or activities that endangers the public health, safety and welfare.  A public nuisance is a misdemeanor but a civil District Court  injunctive court action under the rules of civil procedure is used to abate such nuisances.

Both the city and state laws are enforced through the State District Courts relying the Rules of Civil Procedure to secure injunctive relief in the form of Temporary, Preliminary or Permanent Injunctions.  Injunctive relief actions are fast tracked by the courts and a temporary restraining order can be secured in within 10 days at the outset.

From 2002 to 2009, the Safe City Strike Force was formed to combat blighted commercial and residential properties and Deputy City Attorney Pete Dinelli was the Director the full 7 years.  Existing city nuisance abatement ordinances and state laws were enforced by filing civil lawsuits in State District Court to abate the nuisances. Thirty (30) to forty-five (40) representatives from the Albuquerque Police Department, the Albuquerque Fire Department, the Fire Marshal’s Office, the Planning Department Code residential and commercial code inspectors, Family Community Services and the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office participated and comprised the strike force.

Seventy (70) to one hundred fifty (150) properties a week, both residential and commercial properties,  would be reviewed by the Safe City Strike Force. The Albuquerque City Council would be given weekly updates on the progress made in their districts on the nuisance properties identified by the Strike Force. The City Attorney’s office routinely conducted interventions with property owners along with their attorneys and would negotiate nuisance abatement agreements as well as voluntary tear down agreements.  The city would contract a private company to do the tear downs and clean ups and a lien would be placed on the property. The Planning Department  Code Enforcement Division component of the Safe City Strike Force routinely prepared condemnation resolutions for enactment by the Albuquerque City Council to tear down substandard buildings, including commercial buildings and private residences.

Over 8 years, the Safe City Strike Force took civil code enforcement action and went to court  against some 6,500 residential property owners and slum lords and commercial property that were nuisance properties and magnets for crime. The net result was that the city was cleaned up on many levels.   Administrative actions and court action were  taken against slum lords, residential home owners , motel and hotels along central, violent bars and convenience stores and flea markets.  8 motels were torn down. The Strike Force had  success rate of 100% when it went to court to enforce the city and state nuisance abatement laws.

It was Mayor Keller who totally defunded and eventually completely disbanded the Safe City Strike Force in 2019, despite  being a nationally recognized best practice,  replacing it with his ineffective Problem Properties Program (PPP) and the “Addressing Dilapidated and Abandoned Property Team” (ADAPT) Program.  The success of these 2  Keller created programs have fallen short of the success of the Safe City Strike Force.

It’s more likely than not that the unintended consequences of the changes proposed by City Councilor Pat Davis and his 023-75 will undermine the city’s enforcement authority and efforts in that there will be less reliance on the District Courts which is a major mistake.  State District Courts have primary jurisdiction, known as in rem jurisdiction, over real property matters and rights. The city’s creation of an administrative “in house” proceeding dealing with property owners and rights will likely be viewed as a conflict of interest and will be a failure and likely challenged in court, as was the case with the city’s now defunct DWI vehicle forfeiture program created  under the city’s nuisance abatement ordinance.

 

4. EXPANDING THE HOUSING WORKFORCE.                                                                                                                                                                              According to the city, one of the biggest challenges to bringing more new or repurposed housing on line is the limited availability of construction crews to complete projects. To expand capacity to carry out needed housing initiatives, Albuquerque will need to attract, train and incentivize more construction crews to carry out small, medium and large projects. Using the Job Training Albuquerque program as a model, as well as other state workforce development programs, the City will work with industry and building trades leaders to ramp up workforce capacity for building additional housing. The goal is to help train at least 250 new housing and construction workers by 2025.

 

5. ALLOWING MORE OPTIONS IN HOUSING TYPE IN CITY ZONING CODE.                                                                                                                                   According to the city, 63% of all housing in Albuquerque is single family detached. The Keller Administration wants to removing barriers to the construction and renovation of more diverse housing types and views it as critical to accommodating the needs of the various populations in our city, from seniors to families and students. One goal of the HOUSING FOREWARD ABQ PLAN is to amend the Integrated Development Ordinance to provide more options and make it more flexible and easier for developers. Three proposed zoning changes are:

 

        A.  INCREASING AVAILABILITY OF CASITAS (ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS ADUS).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          The city is  proposing  modifications to the Integrated Development Ordinance to allow more construction and conversion projects in appropriately zoned areas for smaller living area conversions or “casitas.”  The Keller Administration argues allowing more construction of these units will increase the supply of affordable housing while providing additional income for current property owners. With this change the city hopes the number of ADUs will increase by at least 1,000 units by 2025.

https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/proposed-zoning-changes-could-mean-more-casitas-in-albuquerque/

    B. INCREASING AVAILABILITY OF DIVERSE HOUSING OPTIONS.                                                                                                                                                       According to city officials, the number of multi-unit housing options is far below needed levels to provide residents with the needed range of options in housing type, regardless of whether they are renters or home owners. The city claims that by amending the Integrated Development Ordinance to allow developers more options for housing conversion and construction, residents will be able to find housing that meets their financial and family needs. With the proposed zoning changes, the city is hoping the number of multi-unit housing options will increase by at least 1,000 units by 2025.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

The proposals of increasing availability of casitas and increasing availability of diverse housing options were received at all 5 area meetings with noticeable hostility and mistrust by the general public.  At the Southeast Area public meeting, one known progressive activist declared that Keller’s proposal of casitas was akin to Mayor Richard Berry’s disastrous ART Bus project that has destroyed Central.  She said that Keller’s proposal will destroy the city even  further.  Additional commentary and analysis on casitas and  two family dwellings is below.

        C. ADJUSTING PARKING REQUIREMENTS.                                                                                                                                                                                            Another modification to the Integrate Development Ordinance proposed by the Keller Administration is to allow housing developers to adjust parking requirements in appropriately zoned areas to promote higher density and more infill housing. With this change, the Keller administrations is hoping the number of diverse new housing options increase by at least 1,000units by 2025.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Make no mistake about it. Less parking means more rental units. Developers will always do whatever they can to reduce the availability of needed parking in order to have more land to build upon and to increase their over all profit margins.

6. Creating a Housing Stability Fund with $750,000 funding for a landlord mitigation fund to help Albuquerque landlords rent to prospective tenants who might be considered higher risk based n credit history, income, or other concerns.

MOTEL CONVERSIONS

Mayor Keller’s “Housing Forward ABQ” places great emphasis on “motel conversions”.  A zoning change already enacted by the city council in early 2022 year eased the process for city-funded motel conversions by allowing microwaves or hot plates to serve as a substitute for the standard requirement that every kitchen have a cooking stove or oven. “Motel conversions” includes affordable housing where the City’s Family & Community Services Department will acquire and renovate existing motels to develop low-income affordable housing options. Keller’s plan calls for hotel or motel conversions to house 1,000 people by 2025.

The Keller Administration proclaims that motel conversions are a critical strategy for addressing the city’s housing shortage. The city proclaims motels conversions are a simpler, lower-cost alternative to ground-up construction. It will require city social services to regularly assist residents. The homeless or the near homeless would be offered the housing likely on a first come first served basis and with rules and regulations they will have to agree to.

The existing layout of the motels makes it cost-prohibitive to renovate them into living units with full sized kitchens.  An Integrated Development Ordinance amendment provides an exemption for affordable housing projects funded by the city, allowing kitchens to be small, without full-sized ovens and refrigerators. It will require city social services to regularly assist residents. The homeless or the near homeless would be offered the housing.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

The city offering motel conversion accommodations to the unhoused will likely be just as futile as offering shelter to the unhoused. The city will likely place restrictions on those accommodations such as not having a criminal record or engaging in illicit drug use. Rules and regulations are often rejected by the unhoused.

CITY BUYS “SURE STAY” HOTEL

One area of the city that has been targeted in particular by the Keller Administration for motel conversions is “Hotel Circle” in the North East Heights. The area is considered a “high crime” volume area because of the thousands of APD calls for service to deal with crime at the motels. Located in the area are not only a number of motels but it is also the largest shopping area in SE and NE Albuquerque near I-40. The businesses in the area include Target, Office Depot, Best Buy, Home Store, PetCo and the Mattress Store and restaurants such as Sadies, the Owl Café, and Applebee’s and other businesses.

On February 11 it was reported that the City of Albuquerque has executed a purchase agreement for the purchase of the Sure Stay Hotel located at 10330 Hotel NE for $5.7 million to convert the 104-room hotel into 100 efficiency units. The $5.7 million purchase price for the 104-unit complex translates into $53,807.69 per unit ($5.7 Million ÷ 104 = $53,807.69 per unit).

At a December 6, 2022 meeting on motel conversions, city officials said that the city’s estimated cost is $100,000 per unit to fix up or remodel existing motels. Using the city’s own estimated remodeling costs for the Sure Stay Motel, an additional $10 Million will be needed to remodel the motel for low income housing. ($100,000 per unit X 100 efficiency apartments = $10 Million). Therefore, the entire Sure Stay conversion project will have an estimated cost of $15,700,000.  ($5.7 purchase cost + $10 Million remodeling cost = $15,700,000)

City officials have said the purchase should close this spring and said the project’s total cost, including necessary renovations of the Sure Stay hotel will not be known until later this year as the city still must put the work out to bid. The goal is to have the converted motel open for  housing within a year. City officials have said funding is available for at least one additional motel purchase.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Mayor Tim Keller has given his Family and Community Services Department an astonishing amount of authority and funding to acquire existing motels and hotels and they are doing so with little or no oversight by the Albuquerque City Council. At one of his recent telephone town hall meeting, Keller proclaimed that if he had it his way, the city would purchase all derelict motels along Central and convert them into low-income housing.

Simply put, this is the acquisition of private property to promote a politcal agenda to supplement the housing market and the private sector when the city should be concentrating on providing basic essential services. The biggest issue is does the city have any business getting involved with the motel-hotel conversion business and should there be any limit on the number of housing units the city can have  in its inventory for low-income housing?  The city already owns and operates 8 existing housing facilities with 500 units managed by the Family Community Services Department and Keller wants to triple that number by adding 1,000 units to the city’s inventory of low-income housing.

CITY COUNCIL ORDINANCE 0-22-54

The most controversial provision of Keller’s “Housing Forward ABQ” plan is the introduction and pending consideration by the City Council of City Council Ordinance 0-22-54.  Mayor Keller has called the legislation “transformative” updates to Albuquerque’s Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO) to carry out his “Housing Forward ABQ”.  The one thing transformative about it is that it will transform existing neighborhoods into something unrecognizable.

0-22-54 AMENDMENT HIGHLIGHTS

EDITOR’S SIDEBAR

Under the Integrated Development Ordinance,  a “conditional use”  requires an application process with the city, notice to surrounding property owners with appeal rights. A “permissive use” would give the Planning Department exclusive authority issue permits for construction without notices and hearings. Both Casitas and Two Family Home additions are now “conditional uses” and with the amendment would be “permissive uses”.  Adjoining property owners of or neighborhoods would no longer have appeal rights and would be required to go to court to enforce covenants and restrictions.

Mayor Keller’s  “Housing Forward ABQ” involves  six major amendments embodied in city council resolution  0-22-54  to Albuquerque’s Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO) which is the City’s Zoning laws and now pending before the city council.  The amendments are:

1) Allow two family dwellings (duplexes)  in R-1 residential zones, permissively, with no  public hearing, citywide. 

One of the key proposed zoning amendments to the Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO) is  to allow two-family homes in all R-1 zones citywide, except in small areas where distinct rules apply. Today, two-family homes are allowed in a small fraction of the R-1 zones in Albuquerque. However, the combined total of R-1 zones amount to  68% of zoned properties in Albuquerque.  The Keller Administration argues that by opening up the current restrictive zoning code two-family homes, housing density can increase throughout the city and add more housing options for all income levels.

Currently two-family homes are allowed in R-1A zone. The proposed change would allow two-family homes in all R-1 zones, which would allow conversions and new construction at the scale of single-family houses in neighborhoods throughout the city. Under the proposed amendments, going forward those would be called “two-family homes”.  750 square foot additions would be allowed on  existing residence as a “permissive use” to create a “duplex” or “two family” home.

2) Allow Accessory Dwelling units (ADUs) known as “casitas”  with kitchens in all R-1 residential zones, permissively citywide.

Casitas are small, detached residential homes located on the same lot as an existing single family home.  The amendment as proposed will allow 750 square foot “casitas”  in the R-1 zones citywide, except in small areas where distinct rules apply. Currently casitas with kitchens are only allowed in small areas and just two corridors in R-1 zones. Under the zone change, casitas would be allowed only in the side or rear yard on lots with enough room to meet all setbacks and other requirements. They would be limited to 750 square feet and would require one off-street parking space.

 COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

“R-1” zoning  is  single family home lot zoning.  Upwards of 68% of all residential property zoned in the city is zoned R-1 encompassing 23% of the city’s total geographic area. Currently, only R-1 properties, or single-family home lots, are  allowed to build a casita and those properties are downtown and along parts of Central meeting the proper requirements. The proposed legislation to  allow  both casitas and “two family homes”  will dramatically increase options in “R-1” residential zones. This is speculative and will be contingent on private funding.

The proposed legislation will allow both detached “casitas” up to 750 square feet and 750 square  foot “duplex construction” additions on all existing  residential lots.  This amendment will impact areas zoned for single-family homes by allowing duplexes and “casitas” accessory dwelling units on lots with sufficient available space.

According to city officials, there are 120,000 residential lots that have existing residential structures. With the construction of “casitas” and “two family home” additions, density could double to 240,000 with casita structures alone or triple to 360,000 with both casitas and two-family home additions which will be allowed.  This plan is just plain nuts and it will have a dramatic, negative impact on all existing neighborhoods by increasing density to unacceptable levels.

The Keller Administration is claiming two-family homes are created most often when people convert part of their homes into a separate dwelling units. During the public meetings, Keller City Officials went to great lengths to characterize casitas as “mother in law” quarters, when in fact experience shows such casitas normally are not used personally by the property owner but used for rental income including and small businesses.

A major risk that exists will the  reclassification zoning  of all single family lots  to allow  residential duplex development and  casita development  will  encourage large private investors and real estate developers, including  out-of-state corporate entities, to buy up or lease and covert whole blocks into rental duplexes with substandard rental casitas. This will dramatically degrade the character of neighborhoods and the City as a whole. 

An individual  investor will be able to purchase single family homes for  rental, add a 750 square foot two family home addition and build a separate 750 foot free standing casita and which will result in a one home rental being converted into 3 separate rental units.  Such development will decrease the availability of affordable homes and raise rental prices even higher.

3) Exempt office and hotels that convert to multifamily apartments from having to put in a full kitchen.   The city claims his will simplify plans to convert hotels into affordable housing. It would loosen restrictions that require each unit to have a stove or oven inside with city planners saying there’s a market for it.  This zoning change will make it easier to convert commercial office space into residential dwellings and in particular efficiency apartments or loft apartments with no bedrooms and a single  combined living,  cooking  and sleeping area.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Developers converting non-residential buildings to multi-family housing would not have to meet the existing kitchen standard of having a cooking stove, range or oven in each unit. They would only have to provide a microwave, hotplate or warming device. The bill seeks to extend the existing exemption that currently applies only to city-funded projects to developers to replace the standard kitchen oven or stove with a microwave or hot plate when turning hotels or other commercial buildings into permanent housing.

4) Eliminate building height limits in R-ML and MX(mixed use zones). This would  affect much of the west side, as well as the rest of the City.

Ordinance O-22-54 aims to eliminate building height maximums for multi-family residential development and mixed-use development, except in small areas where distinct  rules apply.  Any commercial or apartment building within 100 feet of a single-family home, townhouse, or duplex can only be a maximum of 30 feet tall. At more than 100 feet away the building height maximum is determined by the zoning.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYIS:

It’s simply astonishing that this proposal gets rid of building height restrictions for multi-family developments. The amendment relaxes rules for apartment development and eliminates height limits for mixed-use development and for multi-family housing such as apartments in the highest-density residential zone. What is happening now is that neighborhoods are already taking issue with multi story apartment complexes being built obstructing views and increasing density affecting traffic patterns and lack of parking.

Currently, height limits in those areas vary. In the high-density residential zone today, caps range from 48 to 65 feet, though certain types of projects earn bonuses that raise the limit to 77 feet. In mixed-use zones, present limits range from 30 to 75 feet, though they could reach 111 feet with structured parking and other project bonuses.

Casitas build in the backyard of existing residents must be the same height of the existing residence. However the building of “casitas”  that are taller than the primary structure will  be allowed  on side lot areas of the property. Eliminating maximum building heights on the side area of a lot  removes a regulatory barrier to development projects as an attempt to increase density and ultimately will have a dramatic impact on existing neighborhoods. 

 5) Exempt affordable housing from parking requirements.

This  would reduce or eliminate street parking requirements for multi-family and affordable housing developments. The city argues the practice of mandating adequate parking spaces contributes significantly to the cost of housing projects and claims mandated parking minimums increase rent or mortgage by $200-$500 per month.   The city argued that reducing parking requirements would allow developers to build more housing for all income levels and allow housing developers to provide what they feel is an appropriate amount of parking for development in mixed-use zones to promote higher density and more infill housing.

COMMENTARY ANALYSIS

The false presumption with this zone change is that low income housing residents do not have their own vehicles they rely upon for transportation to and from work. Eliminating mandatory parking availability is a recipe for disaster.

6) Reduce parking requirements for multi-family/apartments by 75 %.

This sixth proposal also loosens and reduces parking restrictions at affordable housing and apartment complexes.  The amendment will change parking requirements and will exempt projects where at least 20% of the residential units will be affordable housing from providing off-street parking and reduces current requirements for other multi-family and mixed-use developments by 75%.  Under existing zoning requirements, a multi-family development needs 1-1.8 off-street parking spaces per dwelling unit generally based on the number of bedrooms per apartment.

COMMENTARY AND  ANALYSIS

The false presumption with this zone change is that low-income housing residents do not have their own vehicles they rely upon for transportation to and from work. Eliminating mandatory parking availability is another recipe for disaster.

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/city-leaders-propose-major-changes-to-albuquerques-zoning-laws/

CAPPING SHORT TERM RENTAL UNITS

 Another controversial provision of Keller’s “Housing Forward ABQ” plan is the introduction and pending consideration by the City Council of City Council Ordinance 0-23-69 seeking to regulate and cap short term rentals, also known as “Bed and Breakfast” rental units. The Keller Administration argues that there is a need to  protect  existing housing stock to make it available to all permanent residents and future residents so that they will always have access to a safe, stable home. Enacting the proposed changes of Council Bill No. 0-23-69 will:

1. Require all short-term rental units to have a local property manager (or Short-Term Rental Manager, “STRM”) available (within 20 miles of the City limits) to respond to maintenance and security concerns.
2. Limit short-term rental permits to three per natural person.
3. Limit the number of Short-Term Rental permits issued citywide to no more than 1,200, based on current monthly average of active STRs.
4. Increase the civil penalties for non-compliance with the ordinance.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

EDITOR’S DISLOSURE: The below commentary was provided by  Associate Broker Carl Vidal with the Irvie Homes Property Management.

Despite Mayor Keller’s claims that short-term rentals reduce available housing to permanent residents, there is no evidence that  banning  or capping the number  will increase  the city’s overall  housing supply to permanent residents.   AirDNA, a leader in short-term rental data, reports that 66% of short-term rentals in Albuquerque are part-time units. These homes are rented out periodically by locals to support their families and cover monthly bills.  The locals often reside in these homes while they’re not rented. In Albuquerque, short-term rentals account for only 0.007% of the housing inventory, and only 0.003% if we consider just full-time rentals.

Short-term rentals have significantly contributed to Albuquerque’s economy, generating an impressive $216 million in economic impact and creating over 2,280 jobs locally. Moreover, the city, state, and county have collected around $14 million in taxes in 2022 alone from these rentals. With over 2,500 hosts leasing short-term rentals across the city, last year’s 431,000 guests spent an average of $361 per overnight visit. These figures demonstrate the essential role of short-term rentals in the city’s economy, making them a vital asset that should be allowed to exist and thrive..

Short-term rentals play a crucial role in providing housing for transient  workers in various industries, including healthcare traveling nurses and locum doctors, traveling contractors, actors, directors, film workers, and staff from Intel, Facebook, Sandia Labs, and Kirtland Airforce Base. These rentals serve as a lifeline for workers who would otherwise struggle to find affordable housing during their stay. Without short-term rentals, many of these workers simply will not be able to find housing locally, highlighting the critical role these rentals play in supporting the local economy and workforce.

Short-term rentals provide an accessible investment opportunity for local Albuquerque residents, with over 2,000 hosts across the city relying on the income they generate. In contrast, building hotels requires a vast amount of funding that is typically only accessible to the wealthiest members of our society. For instance, a mid-tier 100 room hotel costs an estimated $22.5 million, with a minimum down payment of $4.5 million, making it unaffordable for the vast majority of New Mexicans. As a result, out-of-state corporations often finance these projects, taking profits out of our state. Short-term rentals serve as an investment vehicle for the 99%, ensuring that the income generated stays within our community and benefits local residents.

Limiting short-term rentals to only 1,800 units will strip future generations of New Mexicans of their opportunity to benefit from this innovative and growing sector.   The “Housing Forward ABQ” plan  to limit short term rentals  is a restriction on  commerce and interfere with property owners’ rights.  It  will give an unfair advantage to out-of-state owned hotels in supply and demand economics.  By limiting the number of licenses available, the city is undermining a vital source of income for thousands of locals. Short-term rentals offer a valuable opportunity for the future and should be given a chance to thrive.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Simply put, Keller is using a short-term housing “crunch” to declare it a “housing crisis” in order to shove his “HOUSING FORWARD ABQ PLAN”  down the throats of the city residents and property owners. Keller is using a housing crunch to declare a housing crisis to advocate major zoning changes that will increase density and destroy neighborhoods relying on neighborhoods, investors and developers to increase density by laxing zoning restriction for developers.

Keller’s “HOUSING FORWARD ABQ PLAN” empowers the Planning Department to unilaterally issue “permissive uses” for “casitas” and “two family duplex development” on existing structures.  The Planning Department will be allowed to exclude the general public from the permissible use application and deny adjacent property owners the right to object and appeal  casitas and duplex remodeling. It essentially will require property owners to sue adjoining property owners to enforce covenants and restrictions.

“HOUSING FORWARD ABQ” is an aggressive approach to allow the city Family and Community Services department to become alarmingly involved with acquisition of private property to promote Keller’s politcal agenda to supplement the housing market with low income housing  when the city should be concentrating on providing basic essential services. The Keller Administration is emphasizing the homeless crisis as a rues to promote the  “HOUSING FORWARD ABQ” when the plan has nothing to do with housing the homeless and everything to do with increasing housing density in established neighborhoods

Mayor Tim Keller’s Housing Foreward Abq Plan is a city policy abomination that favors developers and the city’s construction industry.  Given the public’s reaction at all 5 of the public meetings, there exists strong public hostility and mistrust.  Keller’s Housing Foreward Abq Plan is being  rejected outright by city residents and the Albuquerque City Council should do the same.  Keller boldly proclaims his  Housing Foreward Plan is  “transformational.”  The only thing transformational about it is that it will destroy historic neighborhoods and the character of established neighborhoods.

KELLER CATERING TO DEVELOPERS

The IDO was enacted a mere few weeks before Tim Keller was elected Mayor the first time in 2017. When then New Mexico Auditor Tim Keller was running for Mayor he had nothing to say publicly about the IDO and gave no position on it.  He did proclaim he was the most uniquely qualified to be Mayor despite lacking any experience in municipal affairs and city zoning matters.   The likely reason for not taking a position on the IDO was his sure ignorance of municipal land use planning and zoning matters, something he was never exposed to in his career as a State Senator and State Auditor.

Five years later, Keller ostensibly has had some sort of epiphany and education and proclaims the IDO is outdated. It’s very difficult, if not outright laughable, to take Mayor Tim Keller serious when he proclaimed the city’s Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO), which lays out highly complicated zoning and subdivision regulations, as being outdated given that it was enacted in 2017 by the city council on an 8-1 vote.

What is really happening with Mayor Tim Keller’s “transformative changes” to  the Integrated Development Ordinance and his  “Housing Forward Abq” plan is that Keller is catering to the development community as he  pretends  to be an expert in the field of housing development and zoning matters.  Keller is relying on his exaggeration of  the city’s housing crisis and homeless crisis to seek further changes to the city’s zoning code to help the development community and using city funding to do it.

ANOTHER RUSH JOB TO FAVOR DEVELOPERS

Simply put, the IDO is and has always been an abomination that favors developers and the city’s construction industry. The 2017 rewrite was a rush job.  It took a mere 2 years to rewrite the entire zoning code and it emerged as the Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO). It was in late 2017, just a few weeks before the municipal election and the election of Mayor Tim Keller, that the City Council rushed to vote for the final adoption of the IDO comprehensive plan on an 8-1 vote.

The rush job on city zoning to favor developers is happening again. This time, Mayor Tim Keller has City Councilors Isaac Benton, a retired architect, and Republican Trudy Jones, a retired realtor to carry his water for him by sponsoring the legislation.  Both have announced that they will not be seeking reelection this year and are anxious to push through the legislation before they depart on January 1, 2024.

At the Downtown area meeting, city officials essentially admitted all the public meeting and city council meetings and hearings on the amendments to the Integrated Development Ordinance will be completed in the matter of months and a final vote will be taken before the November 8 municipal election where at least 3 new city councilors will be elected.

At a bare minimum, the public should tell their City Councilors to oppose “casitas”, “two-family duplex” additions and  “motel conversions” and denounce them for the zoning abominations that they are which is a threat to established neighborhoods and historical areas of the city.

CONTACT CITY COUNCIL

Voters and residents are urged to contact and voice their opinion and tell all city councilors to vote NO on the amendments.

CITY COUNCIL PHONE: (505) 768-3100

CITY COUNCIL AND SUPPORT STAFF  EMAILS

lesanchez@cabq.gov
louiesanchez@allstate.com
bmaceachen@cabq.gov
ibenton@cabq.gov
namolina@cabq.gov
kpena@cabq.gov,
rmhernandez@cabq.gov
bbassan@cabq.gov
danlewis@cabq.gov
galvarez@cabq.gov
patdavis@cabq.gov
seanforan@cabq.gov
tfiebelkorn@cabq.gov
lrummler@cabq.gov
trudyjones@cabq.gov
azizachavez@cabq.gov
rgrout@cabq.gov
rrmiller@cabq.gov
LEWISABQ@GMAIL.COM
nancymontano@cabq.gov
cortega@cabq.gov
cmelendrez@cabq.gov

 

 

 

 

Friday, April 7, was the last day Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham had to sign into law or veto legislation enacted by the 2023 New Mexico legislature. By the end of the day, the Governor  had veto 36 major legislative initiatives including most of the massive tax reform and reduction package but leaving intact rebates.

TAX PACKAGE LINE-ITEM VETOS

Democrat Governor Lujan Grisham  gutted the  massive tax package carefully crafted by the House describing it as “bloated and fiscally unstable”. Using her line item veto power, she vetoed from the bill a phased-in reduction of the gross receipts  tax New Mexico consumers pay on goods and services, a 20% alcohol tax increase, an electric vehicle tax credit and changes to the state’s personal income tax system aimed at benefiting low-income residents and vetoing 20 other major provisions from the tax bill. Notwithstanding the line item vetoes, the tax package nears $1 billion.

What the Governor left intact was the  $500 tax rebate for individuals and the  $1,000 rebated for married couples filing jointly, expanded child tax credit of up to $600 per child, and  changes to the state’s film incentive program. The child tax credit provides more than $100 million in tax relief for around 214,000 New Mexico families. Those families will be able to claim a larger credit of up to $600 per child after the tax credit was expanded.

The rebates will cost the state upwards of  $670 million in one-time funding and will be available to all taxpayers who filed 2021 tax returns.  New Mexico adults who do not qualify for the tax rebates, either because they did not file tax returns or for another reason, will be able to apply for similarly sized financial relief payments under a separate $15 million appropriation.

The Governor said this of the tax package she signed:

“Every one of these provisions directly helps New Mexicans through supporting working families, bolstering the health care workforce and fostering continued economic growth. …  Expanding the Child Tax Credit will help over 200,000 New Mexico families and broaden our successful effort to reduce child poverty rates, which dropped by a full percentage point between 2019 and 2021.”

According to the state Taxation and Revenue Department, by trimming most of the tax changes from the bill, the recurring cost will drop to $150 million as of the 2024 budget year.  It will then gradually increase to $246 million by 2027, primarily due to the changes to the film incentive program. The  figures do not include the tax rebates, which will be sent out starting in the next several weeks.

The line item vetoes came as a surprise seeing as she had previously advocated for some of the vetoed tax provisions.  She had advocated for the reduction in the gross receipts tax rate that would have gradually dropped the state’s base tax rate from 4.875% to 4.375% over a four-year period.  Notwithstanding her previous support of the tax reduction measures, she expressed concern that the tax package’s recurring annual cost of $1.1 billion to be fully implemented  by 2027  could lead to future spending cuts.

Lujan Grisham said she preferred more gradual changes to the tax code and said this:

“I just want us to be more pragmatic. …  I didn’t think it was prudent to do it all at once.”

As to the proposed alcohol tax increase that was pushed by backers as a way to decrease consumption in a state with the nation’s highest rate of alcohol-related fatalities, the governor simply said the “numbers weren’t quite right” without elaboration.

In her executive  message to lawmakers announcing the veto, the Governor said  the tax bill contained many “laudable tax reform measures,” but said she had “grave concerns about its future sustainability”. The governor said this:

“Given the unpredictable nature of the economy and our state’s reliance on oil and gas revenues, I am not confident this package is fiscally responsible.” 

LEGISLATOR’S REACT

Many  lawmakers and advocates who had pushed for the tax changes amid an unprecedented state revenue windfall expressed irritation with the Governor’s  line item vetoes.

Santa Fe  Democrat Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth who  helped craft the tax package called the vetoes disappointing, but said lawmakers would continue working to improve the state’s tax code. Wirth said this:

“There were a lot of things in there that I believe are important to the state … and it’s frustrating when those get taken away.” 

Notwithstanding his disappointment, Senator Wirth said the  Senate  would not pursue a veto override on the tax package.  Since taking office in 2019, the Democratic-controlled Legislature has not tried to override any of Lujan Grisham’s vetoes, but threatened to do so and came close when she vetoed 2 years ago the legislatures capital improvement bill.

Sandia Pueblo Democrat Representative Derrick Lente,  the chairman of the House Taxation and Revenue Committee also expressed dissatisfaction with the vetoes  saying  this year’s tax package was carefully crafted. Lente said this:

“It is disappointing that we will not be able to reduce the tax burden on local businesses, educators, veterans and everyday New Mexicans, or help our state improve access to rural health care and reach our climate goals.”

Links to quoted news sources are here:

https://www.koat.com/article/new-mexico-2023-tax-rebates/43541723

https://www.krqe.com/news/new-mexico/new-mexicans-to-get-another-round-of-tax-rebates-in-2023/

https://www.abqjournal.com/2588887/governor-leaves-500-rebates-intact-but-slices-tax-cuts-and-other-changes-from-massive-package.html

NOTEWORTHY VETOES

In addition to the tax package line item vetoes, Governor Lujan Grisham issued 35 vetoes. Among the most noteworthy vetoes included vetoing the  bipartisan proposals to revise high school graduation requirements and establishing  a civil rights office under the  state Attorney General and overhauling  New Mexico’s dysfunctional Game Commission.

The high-profile vetoes included the following:

Senate Bill 426: Establish a civil rights office under the state attorney general. The bill was one of several bills aimed at strengthening oversight of the Children, Youth and Families Department all of which either failed to pass the Legislature or were blocked by the governor.  The governor did not sign the bill thereby  killing it through a pocket veto without a public explanation.  The Governor said she had mixed feelings about  the bill describing the concept as valid but saying prosecutors already have tools to investigate neglect and abuse. Attorney General Raul Torrez for his part had pushed for creation of the office as a way to protect the rights of children in state custody, such as foster care. Torrez argued his office could investigate broader patterns of abuse or address problems that aren’t solved through civil litigation.

House Bill 126: Revise school graduation requirements. The proposal would’ve lowered the total credits needed to graduate from 24 to 22. It also got rid of the Algebra 2 requirement. This bill was jointly sponsored by Albuquerque Democrat Representative G. Andrés Romero, an APS teacher, and House Minority Leader Ryan Lane, R-Aztec.  The bill would have given students more flexibility to pursue off-campus learning, such as career and technical education. Local teacher union leaders disagreed with the veto. Whitney Holland, president of American Federation of Teachers New Mexico, said this:

“I think we’re approaching this in two really different perspectives. … Our approach to this was the removal of Algebra 2, that was what made this bill so enticing, and I think for families we heard and from educators, practitioners, that has been a barrier to high school graduation. So I think that was overlooked a little bit in the message.”

House Bill 184: Overhaul appointment and removal process for Game Commission which sets hunting and fishing regulations.  The commission has had extensive turnover as a result of the Governor removing appointees to the extent that vacancies have left it without a quorum.  The bill was intended to stabilize and strengthen the commission by  prohibiting the removal of a member except for incompetence, malfeasance or neglect.

Senate Bill 2: Raise judges’ pay.  This was a rejection to boost judicial salaries for the second consecutive year. It would have brought NM Supreme Court justice pay to $214,000, equal to a federal magistrate. Supporters argued the pay increase  would have helped diversify the court and expand the pool of applicants.

Senate Bill 84: Change system for probation and parole violations.  The bill would have reduced the number of people imprisoned for technical violations of parole.

Senate Bill 187: Exclude drug possession from sentencing enhancements for habitual offenders.  This bill would have  ended  sentencing enhancements for drug possession in certain cases.

https://www.abqjournal.com/2589075/with-uptick-in-vetoes-lujan-grisham-blocks-legislation-on-graduation-requirements-parole-violations.htmlBottom of Form

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/what-did-gov-lujan-grisham-veto-from-the-legislative-session/

WHAT THE GOVERNOR DID SIGN

The governor signed the enacted  $9.6 billion budget plan for the fiscal year that begins on June1.  The budget will boost state spending to record-high levels for the third consecutive year amid a revenue windfall.  The Governor did line item  veto  $21 million from the spending plan before signing it and vetoed  some budget language that she said intruded into the executive branch’s authority.

The signed budget bill includes $100 million to bolster a law enforcement officer recruitment fund,  $100 million to set up two new funds for conservation programs and upwards of  $90 million to increase reimbursement rates for Medicaid providers. The budget also provides funding to give 6% pay raises to state employees and teachers, starting in July.

The states historic oil and gas revenue surplus allowed lawmakers to increase state spending and approve the tax package.  The historic revenue surge was  fueled by an uptick in consumer spending and surging oil production in the Permian Basin.  New Mexico is now  the nation’s second-highest oil producer in the country.

The governor also signed bills intended to expand access to health care in a state that’s long struggled with a provider shortage.  The measures include emergency legislation to revise New Mexico’s medical malpractice law to ensure independent outpatient clinics can obtain the insurance they need to keep operating next year. Also approved were bills intended to help rural hospitals and address high prescription drug costs.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

The Governor’s line-item veto’s of the massive tax package and leaving intake the tax rebates amount to a lost opportunity.  The $500 and $1,000 tax rebates make a terrific sound bite for a political add or political reelection flyer but in the long-term amount to a negligible amount of money for the individual taxpayer. The upwards of $1 Billion distributed to some 214,000 New Mexico family’s and taxpayer’s for a one time financial gain is short sighted and the money could have been better spent on projects that could have made a real difference in the state’s quality of life.

NO TAX  “PYRAMIDING” PROPOSAL

What was glaring from review of  the massive tax bill that was hailed as tax reform was any provision on eliminating tax pyramiding.  The widely discussed  proposed tax exemption for accountants, architects and other professional services that had been proposed as a way to reduce tax “pyramiding,” or taxes being levied several times on the same goods or services was nowhere to be found.  The tax “pyramiding” legislation had bipartisan support and the Governor’s support. The tax pyramiding provision proposal drew  fierce opposition from Albuquerque and other New Mexico cities and counties, as city officials argued it would reduce their revenue streams and complicate efforts to hire more police officers.

LOST OPPORTUNITY

When  the Legislative Finance Committee released its Consensus Revenue Estimate for fiscal year 2024 it was reported that New Mexico’s revenues  ballooned with the  state’s revenues from oil and gas production increasing at record levels.  The estimates released projected the state would have an astonishing $3.6 billion in “new” money available for the budget year that starts on July 1, 2023.

When the record amount of surplus revenue was reported, top budget and finance officials in Lujan Grisham’s administration and the Legislative Finance Committee finance officials urged the Governor and lawmakers to use the windfall on one-time expenditures due to the risk of future revenue dips.  They urged that the surplus be used for one-time major capital outlays that could be transformative. Instead, the Governor concentrated on tax reform and rebates costing upwards of $1 Billion. The Governor after first supporting tax reductions now claims the tax cuts were not sustainable but she keeps the rebates with little to no explanation.

There is a lengthy list on what the surplus could have been spent upon, but instead will now go to rebates. The list includes major infrastructure needs such as roads and major bridge repair across some of the most rural parts of the state with an estimated cost of $500 million, funding for wastewater projects, dams and acequia projects, the courts, law enforcement and the criminal justice system, funding for our behavioral health care system, job creation endeavors, economic development programs, funding for the Public Employee Retirement funds to deal with underfunded liabilities and benefits.

Not at all surprising, lawmakers called for spending restraint and tax reform despite the revenue windfall, saying a drop in oil prices and a possible global recession could mean a big drop in state revenue collections within the next several years.  What is also not at all surprising are fiscal conservatives, especially Republicans, calling for tax cuts and rebates.  Whenever surpluses in state revenues occur, such as this year especially, Republicans always begin to salivate and proclaim all taxation is bad and that rebates and tax reform are desperately needed and the only way to go.

The Republican tired and old political dogma has always been that tax revenues are the people’s money and anything in excess of what is actually needed over and above essential government services should be returned to the taxpayer.  Governor Lujan Grisham bought into the political rhetoric. It is a short-sighted philosophy believing that only essential, basic services should be funded with taxpayer money such as public safety or that rebates should be made.  If that were the case, there would be no public libraries, no museums, no zoos no mass transit expansions and no outdoor sculptures and  art exhibits.

The reality is that all of the major new  programs now funded by the enacted 2023 budget will require reoccurring funding and revenues from taxation  which is probably one of the biggest reasons the Governor declared the tax cuts were not sustainable.  What all too often is totally ignored because lack of revenues are major capital outlay projects that are for the benefit of the general public and that improve the overall quality of life. Roads and water projects are such priorities, but are not exclusive.

It is very disappointing that Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and the New Mexico legislature totally ignored advocating for major capital outlay projects that could be transformative for the state.  Projects that could improve the overall quality of life.

Given the sure magnitude of the surplus, municipalities, citizens and interest groups asked for funding for special capital projects such as swimming pools, parks, recreation facilities, sport facilities, such soccer stadiums, and entertainment venues. Some lawmakers put forward different ideas on how to spend some of the state’s budget surplus, including the building of a high-speed train crisscrossing New Mexico from north to south. The Governor and the legislature pretty much ignored funding such projects.  This year, Albuquerque area Democrat State Senator Bill Tallman suggested a state funded Albuquerque downtown stadium or arena to revitalize the area and he was given the cold shoulder.

For the last two years, the New Mexico United soccer team has been trying to get taxpayer money to build a soccer stadium. In 2020, the soccer team was able to secure $4 million in state funds.  In 2021, Albuquerque taxpayers were asked to support a bond to pay for the stadium, but it was rejected. With a $3.8 in surplus revenue, the legislature could have fully funded the facility which will be around $16 million.

Other major capital outlay facilities and projects that has been discussed for decades is improving the New Mexico State Fair and all of its aging facilities.  In particular, demolishing the 60-year-old Tingly Coliseum and building a multipurpose entertainment and sports facility with the capacity of upwards of 20,000 has been a dream of many a Governor, State Fair Commission and Fair Managers.

On February 25, 2019 it was reported that there is a need for such a facility and EXPO New Mexico was in  the final stages of conducting a feasibility study on the construction of a new arena on the state fairgrounds.  Tingley Coliseum has been around since 1957 with capacity for 11,000. Over the years it’s been remodeled and upgraded but it is still a state fair rodeo venue. The state and Albuquerque for decades has needed a large capacity, multipurpose entertainment venue of upwards of 20,000.

Now that the 2023 legislative session has come and gone, preparations are now on the way for the 2024 legislative session with the Governor already indicating priorities she will seek in the 30 day short session where she will set  the agenda. It is very likely that the state revenue historic surpluses will continue. The Governor should seek to identify major transformative capital improvement projects that will have long term impacts on the states quality of life and not on another round of short term benefit tax rebates.

On March 14, it was reported with great fanfare that Mayor Tim Keller was reviving up one of his  pre-pandemic programs targeting the most dangerous and problematic buildings in the city. The home at 1828 Mary Ellen NE  was targeted by the city’s Problematic Property Program (PPP)  having been abandoned for roughly 20 years and increasingly become a burden on city services.  As a  backhoe was preparing to demolish the severely dilapidated and deteriorating, city officials found a homeless person sleeping inside.

In the last year, the northeast Albuquerque home had been the subject of 54 calls to Albuquerque police, seven fire calls and has been boarded up 10 times. Neighbors who gathered to watch the demolition said that for decades the house had been a source of shootings, drug deals, fires, among other things, and they were happy to see it go.

Keller said this:

“In the last 12 months this particular building has had 54 APD calls, it’s had seven fire calls, and it’s been boarded up 10 times. We …  know that these buildings are being burned down all the time by squatters, so it’s a safety hazard for them, and of course for the neighbors.  … It should not take 20 years to deal with a building like this. … There was actually somebody sleeping in here this morning. … Fortunately, we were able to try and connect him with services.  We try and secure properties but at some point, if we cannot secure the property and the owner can’t secure the property, then we have to resort to things like demolition. [The city has razed]  32 other buildings …  deemed a threat to safety in the past year.  It’s not a number that we’re proud of, because it reflects broader problems in our community, we know that. …  There is a huge backlog, but we are working it and in due time and legal appropriateness.”

There are currently five in the pipeline that are expected to be torn down in the near future. Under the Problematic Property Program,  the City Planning Department identifies  and demolishes  dilapidated buildings that often magnets for crime and other safety concerns to Albuquerque neighborhoods.

City Planning Department Director Alan Varela  said the city has  five upcoming emergency demolitions and another seven properties under review that could get added to the list. Varela said this:

“Most of the time, we can encourage and nudge the owner into taking them down themselves, it’s much less expensive for the owner to do it. … If the city takes it down, the city bills it back to the property owner, we put a lien on the property, and if the liens are large enough, then we look at foreclosure actions as well.”

Varela noted that  the troubled Ambassador Inn near I-25 and Menaul is an example of a problematic property where the owner is cooperating with the city. Varela said

“The owner has taken upon themselves to start doing renovations and so it’s our understanding that they’ve completed renovations on at least one of the floors. And they’re working their way through the building in order to clean it up and run it the way it should be run.”

City councilors are working on a plan to speed up the nuisance abatement program. The city says there are five more emergency demolitions planned in the future and seven more properties that are under review.

The links to quoted news source material are here:

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/city-to-begin-demolishing-problematic-properties-in-albuquerque/

https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/city-of-albuquerque-begins-demolition-of-problem-properties/#:~:text=ALBUQUERQUE%2C%20N.M.%20(KRQE)%20%E2%80%93,on%20hold%20during%20the%20pandemic.

https://www.abqjournal.com/2581757/problematic-abandoned-home-in-the-northeast-heights-demolished.html

PPP PROGRAM EXPLAINED

It was on  June 9, 2021 that Mayor Tim held a news conference to reveal his   “Problem Properties Program” (PPP) to deal with substandard or vacant commercial and residential properties that have become magnets for crime and that bring down property values. The program it consisted  of an online roster administered by the City’s Code Enforcement Division of Albuquerque’s “Top 15 Problematic Properties.

When announce on June 21, 2021Albuquerque’s code enforcement division claimed the city metro area had upwards of 300 vacant, substandard and uninhabitable residential homes. There is a percentage of the properties that require a high level of city code enforcement. It will be these properties that will make up the new the new “Top 15 Problematic Properties” list. The overall goal is an effort to expedite city action on the properties to get them into code compliance whether through rehabilitation or demolition.

According to city officials, the PPP Program is intended to raise the profile of substandard properties in order to encourage property owners maintain their propertied and make repairs to bring them up to mandated housing codes to allow occupancy. The intent is to also to show neighbors that the city is aware of the properties and is attempting to address them through effective code enforcement.

When originally announced, the Problematic Properties Program included a webpage highlighting the 15 worst dilapidated, neglected, or abandoned residential properties. The public could  scroll through the list of properties and see the city’s current mitigation efforts, if the structures are being remodeled or being sold. The City had hoped that the PPP site would  help the city get in contact with property owners, who can sometimes be hard to track down and restore the buildings faster.

The link to the city PPP Program web site listing the 15 properties and giving photos of the properties, addresses and status is here:

https://www.cabq.gov/planning/code-enforcement-zoning/problematic-properties-program

Links to news sources and quotes are here:

https://www.krqe.com/news/politics-government/watch-live-albuquerque-officials-introduce-problematic-properties-program/

https://www.koat.com/article/grossed-out-by-properties-in-abq/36678463

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/albuquerque-city-council-votes-to-condemn-3-properties/6135075/?cat=500

https://www.abqjournal.com/2398437/city-highlights-problematic-properties-ex-demolition-or-rehabilitation-are-among-possible-options.html

CONDEMNATION PROCESS

When condemnations occur, the Planning Department city code enforcement division prepares condemnation resolutions that are presented to the City Council that make findings that the structures on the property are an immediate danger or threat to the public health, safety and welfare and constitute and attractive nuisance and have become magnets for crime. The resolutions usually include findings of structural damage and code violations that render the buiding “substandard” to the extent that they cannot be occupied nor repaired.

The Keller Administration gives the owner at least one year before pursuing demolition of a substandard property, but it often takes longer than that. Ultimately, the city’s goal is compliance to avoid tear downs with code enforcement working with owners who express a willingness to address violations.

During the June 9, 2021  news conference revealing the PPP program, then Planning Director Brennon Williams, who oversaw  the City Code Enforcement Division,  had this to say:

“At least 12 months has to be provided to a property owner that has a property like this and that’s a requirement not only state statute but under the uniform housing code. This is a long process, and it’s a long process intentionally. When we’re talking about knocking down somebody’s house or apartment building. We want to give that property owner every opportunity to come forward. … We make every effort from an enforcement standpoint to let a property owner know what the issue is and what can be done to correct it. It’s only when we don’t get any communication back and forth … [and] good faith efforts are not made that we take action.”

During the June 9 press conference, City officials said dealing with these properties can take up to six years. Never one to miss a photo op, Mayor Tim Keller stood in front of 400 Mesilla St SE, 404 Mesilla St SE to take credit for the PPP Program and demolitions and had this to say:

“Folks will be able to view where the progress is and also understand what the mitigation efforts are. Maybe if we shine a light on this, things will change faster than (in) six years. … ”

 ADAPT PROGRAM

It was 4 years ago in July, 2019 that Mayor Tim Keller announced the creation of the “Addressing Dilapidated and Abandoned Property Team” (ADAPT). The ADAPT program supposedly relies on new data to target the worst 100 properties in the city. ADAPT is a program in the Fire Marshal’s Office that focuses on abandoned and dilapidated properties that have a pattern of serious criminal activity or pose an immediate threat to public health, safety and welfare.

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/program-targeting-nuisance-properties-sees-early-success-/5636532/

According the city’s web site for the ADAPT Program:

“Utilizing the ArcGIS mapping system, ADAPT will compile and filter information from the data systems of Albuquerque Fire Rescue, Albuquerque Police Department, the Code Enforcement Division of the Planning Department, 311, and other referrals. ADAPT will assign a point value to each specific response type based on the severity. Properties [are] in four sub- categories:

 Residential
Multifamily
Non Residential
Undeveloped

Each category has a different point value threshold that will be considered critical. This point system will be a fair and equitable way to help identify criminal nuisance properties that will be placed into the ADAPT program.

ADAPT … leads a full inspection of the property with other City departments. The first step is to attempt to work with property owners to clearly identify the source of the criminal activity, and to assist in establishing a plan of action to correct any violations and to improve the property. If the owner cannot improve the property or fails to meet the plan of action goals, ADAPT will move to legal action.

Nuisance properties that do not rise to the level of the ADAPT program are referred to the Code Enforcement Division of the Planning Department to address the deficiencies or problems affecting it. Suspected criminal activity may also be referred to APD.”

https://www.cabq.gov/fire/adapt-program

SAFE CITY STRIKE FORCE SUCCESS

From 2002 to 2009, the Safe City Strike Force was formed to combat blighted commercial and residential properties and Deputy City Attorney Pete Dinelli was the Director the full 7 years.

Thirty (30) to forty-five (40) representatives from the Albuquerque Police Department, the Albuquerque Fire Department, the Fire Marshal’s Office, the Planning Department Code residential and commercial code inspectors, Family Community Services and the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office participated and comprised the strike force.

Seventy (70) to one hundred fifty (150) properties a week, both residential and commercial properties would be reviewed by the Safe City Strike Force.

The Albuquerque City Council would be given weekly updates on the progress made in their districts on the nuisance properties identified by the Strike Force. The City Attorney’s office routinely conducted interventions with property owners along with their attorneys and would negotiate nuisance abatement agreements as well as voluntary tear down agreements. The Code Enforcement Division component of the Safe City Strike Force routinely prepared condemnation resolutions for enactment by the Albuquerque City Council to tear down substandard buildings, including commercial buildings.

Over 8 years, the Safe City Strike Force took civil enforcement action against some 6,500 properties, both commercial and residential properties.

The success of the Safe City Strike Force is clear and unmistakable and can be summarized.

TEAR-DOWNS AND BOARD UPS

One of the most effective tools to deal with substandard residential and commercial properties was the City Attorney component of the Safe City Strike Force to negotiate voluntary board ups and tear downs of structures where the property owner gave permission for the city to do the work and then place a lien on the property. The liens would allow the city to be reimbursed upon sale.

The Safe City Strike Force was responsible for the tear down of an entire residential block of homes located at 5th Street and Summer in the Wells Park neighborhood area located north of downtown Albuquerque. It was done without a condemnation action but a voluntary tear down agreement. It took 2 months to negotiate the agreement and to tear down the substandard residences on the property, including one commercial building. There were a total of 21 abandoned and vacant, boarded up properties that could not be repaired, owned by one elderly woman who agreed allowed a tear down of the structures by the City.

A voluntary tear down of an entire strip mall was negotiated by the Strike Force. The strip mall had been boarded up for years, beyond repair, located near the former Octopus Car Wash on Menaul Street and Eubank. The strip mall was constantly being broken into, with fires being set by the homeless, and at one time a dead body was found at the location.

Two long vacant and vandalized restaurants, the Purple Plum and a Furr’s cafeteria, both on far North-East heights Montgomery, were also torn down by the Safe City Strike Force using voluntary tear down agreements.

One year, Albuquerque experienced a large spike in meth labs where almost 90 meth labs were found and identified and where the Safe City Strike Force was asked for assistance with contamination clean up. A few of those residential properties were torn down with negotiated tear down agreements.

CENTRAL MOTELS

The Safe City Strike Force required commercial property and motel owners to make repairs and they were required to reduce calls for service and address security on their properties.

The Safe City Strike Force took code enforcement action against 48 of the 150 motels along central and forced compliance with building codes and mandated repairs to the properties. The Central motels that were demolished were not designated historical and were beyond repair as a result of years of neglect and failure to maintain and make improvements.

Central motels that had historical significance to Route 66 were purchased by the City for renovation and redevelopment.

The Central motels that the Safe City Strike Force took action against include the Gaslight (demolished), The Zia Motel (demolished), The Royal Inn (demolished), Route 66 (demolished), the Aztec Motel (demolished), the Hacienda, Cibola Court, Super-8 (renovated by owner), the Travel Inn (renovated by owner), Nob Hill Motel (renovated by owner), the Premier Motel (renovated by owner) the De Anza (purchased by City for historical significance), the No Name, the Canyon Road (demolished), Hill Top Lodge, American Inn (demolished), the El Vado (purchased by City for historical significance), the Interstate Inn (demolished).

The Safe City Strike Force was responsible for the demolition of at least seven (7) blighted motels that were beyond repair. When people were displaced by enforcement actions taken by the Safe City Strike Force, the City’s Family and Community Services Department would provide vouchers to the displaced and assist in locating temporary housing for them.

VIOLENT BARS

The Safe City Strike Force took action against violent bars on Central that were magnets for crime. Many Central bars have hundreds of calls for service a year placing a drain on law enforcement resources.

A few of the bars located on or near Central that were closed or torn down by the Safe City Strike Force include the Blue Spruce Bar, Rusty’s Cork and Bottle, the Last Chance Bar and Grill and Club 7. The Safe City Strike Force closed Club 7 and the owner was convicted of commercial code violations.

The city attorney’s office in conjunction with the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s office brought criminal charges against and convicted the Club 7 downtown Central Avenue bar owner that hosted a “rave” that allowed under age participants to mingle with adults and where a young girl was killed.

CONVENIENCE STORES

The Safe City Strike Force took enforcement action against a number of convenience stores on Central that had substantial calls for service to APD. In 2005, The Safe City Strike Force identified convenience stores that had an unacceptable number of “calls for service” which resulted in the convenience stores being considered a public nuisance by the Albuquerque Police Department (APD). Outdoor phones at the convenience stores used for illicit drug transactions were identified.

APD felt the convenience stores were relying upon APD to provide security at taxpayer’s expense rather than hiring their own private security company. In 2005, the Strike Force negotiate a stipulated settlement agreement with three major convenience store corporate owners of seventeen (17) convenience stores throughout Albuquerque and they agreed to pay for private security patrols.

FLEA MARKETS

The Safe City Strike Force was responsible for the closure of Louie’s Flea Market and the Star Flea Market, two Westside flea markets both on Old Coors Road South of Central. The flea markets brought down property values. Both flea markets had been around for decades and caused extreme traffic congestion on weekends they operated causing problems for the established or developing residential areas. Both flea markets were found by the Albuquerque Police Department to be locations where stolen property was being sold and both had an excessive number of calls for service.
In 2010, the previous administration began to dismantle and reduce funding for the Safe City Strike Force. At the beginning of 2018, the Safe City Strike Force had one employee, its director, and the Safe City Strike Force existed in name only.

Today in the Mayor Tim Keller Administration, the Safe City Strike Force no longer exists.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

The more things change with the Mayor Tim Keller administration dealing with problem properties and  magnets for crime, the more things stay the same: press conferences and photo ops with little progress. Mayor Tim Keller’s ADAPT program and the PPP Program are nothing more than extensively watered-down versions of the Safe City Strike Force.

It absolutely false when  Mayor Tim Keller says  that substandard properties can take one to six years to deal with problem properties and tear downs.   Keller wants the public to believe condemnation by the city council is the only line of offense for tear downs. If it takes 1 to 6 years for a tear down, or for that matter 20 years  as was the case with the abandoned 1828 Mary Ellen NE  it’s because of sure laziness and failed commitment and leadership to get the job done.

The Safe City Strike Force and City Attorney’s office repeatedly met with many residential and commercial property owners and was able secure permission and voluntary tear down of substandard and residential and commercial properties without any need for a condemnation action. The City would do the teardowns and place a lien on the property and when it was sold, the city would be reimbursed.

The City of Albuquerque and the State of New Mexico have some of the strongest nuisance abatement laws in the county. Crime rates can be brought down with civil nuisance abatement actions that protect the public health, safety and welfare of the public.

WEAK PROGRAMS

Confidential sources within City Hall have said that Mayor Tim Keller felt the Safe City Strike Force had too much of an “aggressive sounding title”, he and others did not like it as fitting into his “ONE ABQ” slogan and the city wanted to soften the approach to nuisance abatement. Confidential sources  said Mayor Keller’s first Planning Director David Campbell made it known to the housing code inspectors he felt housing code inspections and posting residential homes as “substandard” was not a priority. The former Planning Director was reluctant or refused to allow inspectors to file misdemeanor charges as was done in the past.

ADAPT is essentially a “passive aggressive” approach by the Planning Department which really has not worked, or has little success and the number of vacated, abandoned and substandard properties needing to be demolished in the city has only increased in the last 12 years. Truth be know is that it is likely there are far more than the 300 vacant properties that city hall wants to acknowledge.

When dealing with meth labs, crack houses and magnets for crime, legal action by the city attorney’s office is in fact the most effective approach to crime and slumlords. What Keller fails to understand is that for residential property owners who feel the sting of crime in their neighborhoods and living next door to magnets for crime, a slogan of One ABQ is meaningless when their own quality of life is affected, not to mention a reduction in property values.

SENDING THE WRONG MESSAGE

Mayor Keller’s ADAPT program and the PPP Program sends the wrong message that he wants city residents and property owners to be content and ADAPT to the fact the city really does not want to do anything at all about nuisance, substandard and abandoned properties, or at least drag things out for as long as possible. What Keller should do is to reinstate the Safe City Strike Force.

It is very disappointing that Mayor Tim Keller reneged on his decision to reinstate the Safe City Strike Force when the decision was made to replace the Safe City Strike Force with his own ADAPT program. The Strike Force was a proven and effective program and was recognized as a best practice nationally.

When it comes to Mayor Tim Keller, images and press conferences have always been his go to crutch to promote himself  and what  is important to him.  On more than one occasion he has appeared on TV news casts to take credit for “teardowns” done by the city.  Someone should tell him he can do another press conference announcing he is reinstituting the Safe City Strike Force and maybe that will motivate him to do it.

 

On April 5, the online news outlet New Mexico Sun published the following news article:

Headline: Emails topic of city council meeting, Bassan says constituents ‘very upset’ on issue

By T.H. Lawrence

Apr 5, 2023

Emails from blogger Pete Dinelli to city of Albuquerque addresses were incorrectly blocked because of security concerns, a city IT staffer told the Albuquerque City Council on Monday, but the error was recognized and corrected.

Two city councilors expressed their doubts.

Mark Leech, the director of the city’s Department of Technology and Innovation, said millions of emails are blocked because they are seen as suspicious and potentially harmful to the city’s electronic infrastructure. That’s what happened to Dinelli’s emails, Leech said.

“It looked like it could have been an attack. We had a very short window of time in which to make a decision,” he said. “We made the decision in order to keep the city assets safe. It was a very quick decision.”

Dinelli, a former Albuquerque city councilman who writes a news and commentary blog, www.PeteDinelli.com, previously told the New Mexico Sun his emails were blocked to more than 250 Albuquerque city officials and employees from March 22-27. He said he doesn’t believe the reasons offered by city staff last week and again Monday.

“The IT director read a statement giving general remarks about IT security and costs associated but not addressing the real issue of blocking city councilors from receiving or screening emails from public,” Dinelli told New Mexico Sun.

Albuquerque Digital Engagement Manager Erika Eddy previously told the New Mexico Sun that Dinelli’s email address was identified as a potential phishing expedition on March 22 and it was blocked. Eddy said the block was removed March 27 once it was determined the earlier assessment was incorrect.

On Monday night, City Councilor Brook Bassan said it’s clear many Albuquerque residents are angry about this apparent censorship of ideas and commentary.

“I would like to make sure to be very clear that I never directed anyone to block my emails for the city so I would be prevented from … I don’t want to sit there and pick and choose who I hear from from my constituents,” Bassan said during a lively and contentious question-and-answer period with city administration. “And they’re very upset.”

Leech said a tidal wave of emails arrives daily, and city staff does its best to let legitimate messages through, while stopping harmful missives from entering the system. He said 8 million emails were received by the city in the last quarter, and 40% of them, or 3 million, were blocked. Another 700 were reported by city staff as spam or phishing attempts.

He also stated that cities and counties across the country are spending millions to secure their IT systems from harmful attacks, including Ransomware, using “well-established security protocols.”

Bassan asked how the city can reassure citizens that city staff and elected officials will listen and respond to them and their views are not being censored.

“They’re very angry, and I frankly am as well,” she said. “I also respect that we have to be safe and keep the city protected. But we’re here to serve.”

Leech said city staff will reflect on what happened and try to learn from it. Emails are only blocked if they are deemed harmful or suspected as malware or are of malicious origin.

Councilor Louie Sanchez tried, once again, to pin down who exactly blocked Dinelli’s emails.

“Who permitted it? Why did it happen? We’re asking a specific question,” Sanchez said. “Councilor Bassan asked a specific question about who does it, who makes the blocks, who permitted it, how is it decided to do so and why is it done without the permission of the owner of the email.”

Leech said it’s done by the system because an email address is deemed suspicious or potentially harmful. He said hackers often use what appear to be private email addresses in an attempt to gain entry into a system.

Sanchez, without mentioning Dinelli by name, said a blogger’s email address was blocked after he published a column critical of some city actions. Sanchez noted numerous emails have come from that same address many times. Why was it blocked this time?

Leech had no direct response to that.

Sanchez said the council was not getting a straight answer.

“This happens over and over and over again. This body up here, we’re the City Council. We’re the legislative body, the City Council,” he said. “Our job is to check and balance the administration so we need to know exactly what is going on, and we don’t get those answers.”

Leech said he didn’t want to go into details and tip the city’s hand on how it operates its IT security system. He said it was a hasty decision, and once it was determined this was not from a dangerous address, it was unblocked.

Sanchez was unconvinced and said it still appears suspicious.

“It sounds very, very fishy to me,” he said. “That’s what it looks like to us.”

Chief Administrative Officer Lawrence Rael dismissed the idea that this was politically motivated. Rael said the use of spam blockers and other IT defense mechanisms are common techniques.

“Yes, we do block some emails from time to time whenever it is determined either through the systems in our IT world that actually flag those as phishing expeditions or whatever the term may be in that world of IT, that could signal that there could be some folks are trying to phish information, etc., out of our system,” he said. “Once it was determined it wasn’t a phishing expedition, it was unblocked,” he said.

Rael said he had no clue this was happening, and he played no part in the process. He said Mayor Tim Keller was not involved, either.

“It has nothing to do with politics, Councilor Sanchez,” Rael said.

Councilor Klarissa Peña said she appreciated the discussion and was glad the councilors had finally received the emails. Peña asked Rael and Mayor Keller to examine the city’s email policy to ensure citizens are confident their voices are being heard.

Dinelli told New Mexico Sun he watched the meeting and was pleased four councilors pressed city officials on the email issue. But he said more could have been done.

“It was just discussed with Bassan and Sanchez asking questions and administration tapping around with no explanation who blocked and why,” he said. “Only generalities and no disclosure as to exactly how my emails were Malware or malicious. Sanchez called it fishy, but no one asked that the inspector general or internal audit look at.”

The link to the New Mexico Sun article is here:

https://newmexicosun.com/stories/640735495-emails-topic-of-city-council-meeting-bassan-says-constituents-very-up-set-on%20issue

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

The New Mexico Sun made contact with  Digital Engagement Manager Erika Eddy and she said the email block was removed March 27. Erika Eddy said the block was put in place after a “misunderstanding” and she told New Mexico Sun this:

“The Department of Technology and Innovation has not received any requests to block Pete Dinelli’s emails and also does not block any emails based on requests. … On March 22, 2023, DTI used its normal security protocols to review an email that was flagged as attempted phishing. The email appeared to fit many criteria for a phishing attempt and was blocked, with the block removed yesterday once it was determined to be non-malicious. DTI has the primary responsibly to keep all city digital assets secure, including the roughly 1.5 million emails sent to the city each month.”

The term “phishing” when it comes to an organization’s internet communications system is generally defined as “A fraudulent practice or  technique of sending emails or other messages purporting to be from reputable source  in order to induce individuals to reveal personal information or sensitive data, such as bank account numbers, through a fraudulent solicitation in email or on a web site  in which the perpetrator masquerades as a legitimate business or reputable person.”

https://csrc.nist.gov/glossary/term/phishing

The explanations given at the April 3 city Council meeting   by  Mark Leech, the Director of the Department of Technology and Innovation, and Chief Administrative Officer Lawrence Rael should not be believed by the public and members of the city council. The simple emails transmitting links to articles on news and comment do not met the definition criteria for “phishing”.

For over 6 years, transmittal emails with links to www.PeteDinelli.com  articles on various city hall issues  have been sent to city councilors and government employees without a single block.  The emails were not a solicitation of any kind, requested no response and did not ask for disclosure of confidential information.  Ostensibly someone was screening what they wanted City Councilors and government employees to see. And that goes for Mayor Tim Keller and his administration.

The on line news agency ABQ Raw is currently in litigation with the City of Albuquerque over being denied access to public documents and information they are entitled to and not being recognized as news agency.  ABQ Raw has an extensive history of negative interactions with APD Spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos.  A source at ABQ Raw has revealed that discovery in the civil case shows that APD Spokesman Gilbert Gallegos has been given unprecedented “off site” access to the city Information Technology (IT) and he has access to all emails sent and received by city employees including all APD employees and elected officials and that he has the ability to block emails. Gallegos was not available for questioning by the City Council at the Aril 3 meeting and no one knows if he had anything to do with the blocking of emails.

The biggest question is did Gilbert Gallegos block Dinelli  emails and if not who at City IT did and was it at the direction of Mayor Tim Keller, Chief Administrative Officer Lawrence Rael or Chief Harold Medina? It’s a question the the City’s Inspector General or Internal Audit Department should be asking and demanding a response.

 

The City of Albuquerque employs between 30 and 35 Public Information Officers (PI0s) who are paid as low as  $35,000 a year and as high as $65,000 a year. Some are classified employees who can only be terminated for cause while others are at will employees and can be terminated without cause and for no reason at the discretion of the Keller Administration. The function of PIO’s is to interreact with the press and the public and distribute accurate information to the public and the press and give interviews where necessary. The APD  Spokespersons  historically have  been sworn police officers assigned APD vehicles with the rational that they understand the duties and responsibilities of police work and  they  wear a police uniform when being interviewed by the press.

Gilbert Gallegos is the current APD Public Information Officer. He is a civilian at will employee and is paid $120,000 a year. Gallegos has no law enforcement training, he is a former Albuquerque Tribune reporter and worked for Governor Bill Richardson and  Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham when she was a congresswoman. When Governor Richardson left office, Governor Susan Martinez terminated him.

BLOCKED EMAILS

The on line news agency ABQ Raw is currently in litigation with the City of Albuquerque over being denied access to public documents and information they are entitled to and not being recognized as news agency.  ABQ Raw has an extensive history of negative  interactions with APD Spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos.  A source at ABQ Raw has revealed that discovery in the civil case shows that APD Spokesman Gilbert Gallegos has been given unprecedented “off site” access to the city Information Technology (IT) and he has access to all emails sent and received by city employees including all  APD employees and elected officials and that he has the ability to block emails.

On March 22 it was reported that  251 emails forwarding articles published on www.PeteDinelli.com to city employees  critical of APD and the Keller Administration  were blocked without any warning and without giving any reason or justification to www.PeteDinelli.com. The blocks occurred after a blog article reporting on APD overtime pay abuses in the millions giving salaries and overtime paid to 250 top paid city hall employees giving names, titles and amounts paid in 2022.   The City IT blocks included the email addresses of all 9 city councilors, the APD Chief’s command staff and many area commanders, captains and lieutenants.

At the April 3 meeting of the Albuquerque City Council, City Councilor Brook Bassan asked why APD Spokesman Gilbert Gallegos was not present and she  was given no particular reason even though APD Chief Medina gave a presentation along with an APD  commander.  Under questioning by city councilors, City IT Deputy Director Mark Leech and  Chief Administrative Officer Lawrence Rael would not answer and declined to state who specifically was  responsible for the blocking of Dinelli emails, what the specific  criteria was used for the blocking  and who ordered  the blocking. It is unknown if APD Spokesman Gilbert Gallegos was involved with the blocking in that he was unavailable for questioning by the City Council.

APD SPOKESMAN GILBERT GALLEGOS TAKEN TO TASK OVER SOCIAL MEDIA BULLYING

On February 3 and March 22,  KOAT TV Target 7 investigation took to task the Albuquerque Police Department (APD)  for its social media posts that were considered by many as inappropriate. It constituted intimidation and harassment of the general public. APD for its part made no apologies for official tweets on its TWITTER and FACEBOOK page. The source of APDs posts was APD Spokesman Gilbert Gallegos.

The links to the news sources are here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2570384/albuquerque-police-tweets-slammed-by-some-as-intimidation

https://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-police-twitter-tweets/42748358

https://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-police-mean-tweets/43387226

On April 4, the Albuquerque City Council at its regularly scheduled meeting took to task the Keller Administration and what it considered the nefarious conduct of APD Public Information Officer Gilbert Gallegos. Below are the April  4 published reports by the on-line news agency ABQ Raw and KOAT TV Target 7  on APD Police Spokesman Gilbert Gallegos.  Both articles are followed by the link to a related Dinelli blog article entitled “APD Public Relations Flack Gilbert Gallegos And Chief Harold Medina Engage In Social Media Bullying To Vilify Citizens And Judges …  Done With Backing Of Mayor Tim Keller”

ABQ Raw: “CITY COUNCIL LOOKING TO DEFUND APD’S TWITTER AND THE TROLL WHO RUNS IT”

“Albuquerque, NM – On April 3^rd, 2023 at 5PM, the Albuquerque City Council had it’s monthly meeting to discuss city matters. During the question-and-answer period, City Councilors can ask the Mayor’s office and its department heads any questions they feel are necessary to address during open government.

District 9 City Councilor and Vice President of Council Renee Grout wasted no time during the question-and-answer period to ask the administration about an offensive tweet posted by Director of Communications Gilbert Gallegos. She showed on the big screen a tweet that showed Gallegos attacking one of the largest landowners and business men in Albuquerque, Doug Peterson, who owns Peterson Properties.

Councilor and Vice President Grout questioned Chief Administration Officer Lawrence Rael about the behavior of Gallegos’s tweets and if it was considered good customer service.

Rael stammered with his answer and said he had already reviewed his response.

“Look, I have gotten the point of what you all have made and we will visit with that. I am in the opinion we should always be professional and stick to the subject matter,” said Rael.

Rael then went on to back Gallegos saying he was a very dedicated individual public employee and thanked the Councilor for bringing it to his attention.

Council President and District 6 Councilor Pat Davis then called APD Chief Harold Medina to the podium to answer questions about Gallegos’s behavior and why they have not disciplined him for violating APD’s social media policy. Davis asked who Gallegos reports to and followed up who has access to the APD’s PIO Twitter account.

“He answers to the Chief of Police. I would say there is about three who could have access to the PIO account,” said Chief Medina.

Sources tell us that Gallegos is the sole person who has exclusive access to all of the APD run PIO Twitter accounts and changed the login credentials when he came into power for the position. The Tweets and response tweets indicate Gallegos is the sole person running the account. On October 24^th, 2022, ABQ RAW posted an editorial about Gallegos behavior. The account responded to a person in a mocking manner saying #recallGilbertGallegos.

Davis then went on to say in the public forum that himself and Rael have talked about Gallegos behavior at least 6 times prior to this meeting. He addressed Rael and Chief Medina with a stern and emotional tone about Gallegos’s behavior.

“This issue has been going on for quite some time. We have had personal conversations and news stories. It is very clear this account that engages with our community is disruptive and unhelpful in engaging the community. It is time to stop! Will you commit that person will no longer be allowed to operate that account until they are retrained or will you continue to allow this person to do so in violation of policy that specifically says they must treat people with respect,” said President of Council Councilor Davis.

Rael responded with: the city will have more conversations with Gallegos about being professional. Davis then doubled down about the Twitter and Gallegos behavior.

“I will work personally to defund that position, to defund that account, and prohibit the City from using Twitter in that way if we continue to not solve this problem. We are not going to pick a fight with people online in social media. We are not Qanon trolls but we are participating in it and encouraging it, and elevating all those people by responding to it and it is beneath the dignity of you, and this department. We do not make fun of our former Police Chief’s health conditions on Twitter and that is too far, and someone needed to be disciplined for it and as far as I can tell it hasn’t happened,” said Davis.

Chief Medina would not confirm if Gallegos was ever disciplined or there is any plan to put Gallegos in remedial training. When Gallegos is brought concerning the tweets the Chief spins it to say people are attacking his officers and this is a way to fight back. He never answers council directly about Gallegos’s job performance.

“All of our responses are geared to facts and our responses are geared toward supporting our officers,” said Chief Medina in response back to City Council.

Gallegos has so much support from Keller and Police Chief he was issued a new police SUV complete with lights and sirens. Gallegos uses this vehicle quite often speeding from his residence in the gated community of Tanoan to crime scenes where he has no purpose speeding and using his emergency lights on the vehicle. This vehicle is disguised with a civilian license plate to conceal his employment as a government official.

It is unclear why a civilian PIO needs a police SUV with red and blue lights when other civilians have no take home police cars, no lights, and no sirens at all. We and others have noticed on several instances where Gallegos arrives on scene passing all established crime scene boundaries with his lights engaged.

APD Standard Operating Procedure states only sworn personnel are allowed to use lights engaged in the Use of Emergency Warning Equipment:

2-6-2 Policy

 It is the policy of the Department to adhere to statutory restrictions on the use of emergency warning equipment. Emergency warning equipment is employed only under authorized conditions and circumstances in order to minimize the risk of crashes or injuries to personnel or the community.

 2-6-3 Definitions

 1. Authorized Emergency Vehicle. An authorized law enforcement vehicle displaying a government-issued license plate that is equipped with authorized emergency warning equipment and other emergency warning devices required by New Mexico state statute and used for emergency response situations.

 2. Authorized Emergency Warning Equipment. Equipment on authorized emergency vehicles that emits audible or visual signals in order to warn others that law enforcement services are in the process of being delivered, such as a siren, flashing or rotating red and blue lights, or amber lights.

It is also unclear why PIO Gallegos needs to get to scenes in a hurry and who if anyone actually authorizes his use of emergency lights to scenes or on scenes.

Gallegos’s typical uniform consists of a polo shirt identical to high-ranking officials with “gold” lettering signifying rank and importance. The polo shirts also have affixed the official gold supervisor police patch that sworn supervisory officers wear. All other civilians, such as PSA’s, wear a light blue uniform with a civilian city patch. He could be mistaken and probably is continuously as a sworn law enforcement officer dressed in his current outfit. The practice of driving a police car with lights and siren in a police type uniform hinges on impersonation of an officer and places the city at great risk for lawsuits.

A couple weeks ago there was an officer involved shooting and media personnel saw Gallegos arrive on scene at about 8:15PM with his lights and siren and we waited in great anticipation for a statement from him about what had happened.

Gallegos was not once seen during the hours that media waited on scene patiently for a statement or update and it is unclear what his purpose on scene even was. It seems that Gallegos’s presence was useless, since he made no statement to media whatsoever. Eventually after several delays Chief Medina did make a statement to an unknown solo entity while we along with other stations were oblivious to it. It was a perfect example of PIO Gallegos abusing his powers when he showed up on scene shortly after the smoke of the shooting had cleared.

Gallegos has an office next to the chief on the fifth floor. Gallegos also has a police radio with a call sign, and a police badge, just like Mayor Keller’s. Gallegos is also assigned an assistant director of communications Rebecca Atkins, and he also has two other sworn PIO’s at his disposal. Officer Daren De Aguero and Officer Chase Jewell are the sworn PIO’s however, none of the sworn PIO’s nor Atkins are allowed to make independent comments publicly unless Gallegos has approved it, making the other staff useless.

The sworn officer PIO practice had been in place up until recently when Mayor Keller under his first administration appointed civilian PIO Gilbert Gallegos to the position of “director of communications” for the Albuquerque Police Department. The pay for this civilian PIO position is now comparable to that of a very high-ranking commander at over $100,000 per year. Gallegos, nevertheless, is not of any sworn rank, but he is instead an “at will” disposable employee.

Gallegos is apparently not accountable to the city taxpayers who pay his salary. Not once has Gallegos had to answer to anyone of authority in the Keller administration about his actions. Gallegos has never faced consequences for his actions.

For as long as recent history can remember, the Albuquerque Police Department has employed a spokesperson to deal with the media on behalf of the Chief of Police and its department. For the first few decades, APD relied on internal employees who were sworn officers within the rank and file to serve as the Public Information Officer, AKA PIO. The officer assigned would be trained by PR firms or internal specialists on how to deal with the public and media station inquiries.

This formula worked for decades because people for the most part trusted a sworn member of the police department to be honest and forthcoming about incidents that were of significance to the public’s safety. As we know, upon graduation from a police academy, officers swear an oath to the U.S. Constitution that they will be honest and will be held accountable up to termination if untruthful. By Keller hiring a civilian PIO to replace sworn PIO’s, the position in now not accountable to the US Constitution or any rules or ethics. The civilian PIO is now allowed to constantly lie to the public without consequence to their employment or to anyone else.

This civilian PIO is the same city employee that’s been highlighted by ABQ RAW for years and now recently KOAT for his unacceptable behavior on social media. The behavior consists of harassing business owners, chastising a crime victim’s family, he’s been rude to other Albuquerque residents just for making comments on Twitter, and he’s made inflammatory and derogatory comments, all of which does not reflect well on the City of Albuquerque or the Albuquerque Police Department.

Questions still remain as to why a full-time, high paid PIO is even needed if they only speak during sporadic press conferences. It seems the old way of having a sworn officer fill in these duties would suffice.”

The link to the ABQ Raw article is here:

https://www.abqraw.com/post/city-council-looking-to-defund-apd-s-twitter-and-the-troll-who-runs-it

MEDINA DEFENDS  GALLEGOS OUT OF LOYALTY

In an interview with the Albuquerque Journal on Tuesday April 4, Chief Administrative Officer Lawrence Rael described Gallegos as a “dedicated” public employee but said he and Chief Medina have had, and would continue to have, conversations with Gallegos about remaining professional.

Chief Medina for his part told the city  council he feels his department is caught in the crossfire of a “very big political battle” waged by people who loathe Mayor Tim Keller. He said the goal is to defend officers’ work and successes but that the department will do that differently moving forward.  Medina said Gallegos has not been disciplined, nor will he be. He said he had allowed the spokesman to “push back” on some people he believed to be spreading misinformation. Medina said this:

“I have a lot of loyalty from Gilbert. I have a lot of loyalty from my staff. … Anytime somebody threatens to make me look bad, they’re always there to defend me and this department, because they like the direction we’re going.”

The link to the quoted Journal report is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2588040/albuquerque-city-councilors-want-police-spokesman-gilbert-gallegos-to-rein-in-unacceptable-tweets.html

KOAT TV  TARGET 7 REPORT

Following is the April 4 KOAT Channel 7 report on APD Spokesman Gilbert Gallegos:

“Albuquerque City Council President Pat Davis gave the police department an ultimatum: either stop the mean tweets they have directed toward people complaining about APD or he will do everything in his power to defund the department’s public information officer position.

“Let me make this clear,” Davis said during Monday’s city council meeting. ”I will work personally to defund that position, to defund that account, and to prohibit the city from using Twitter in that way If we continue to not solve this problem, we are not there to pick a fight with people online on social media.”

A Target 7 investigation has found the Albuquerque Police Department’s public information officer’s Twitter account has been used to poke fun at a former chief’s rumored dementia, attacked property owners who have complained about crime and made fun of crime in an affluent neighborhood.

So far Police Chief Harold Medina and Mayor Tim Keller have taken no action to stop the tweets and have said they have no problem with the responses even though they acknowledge it violates city policy which states when replying to posts on city accounts, city employees are supposed to, “keep it professional and avoid confrontation.”

City officials have said APD public information officer Gilbert Gallegos is behind these tweets. Gallegos is a former Albuquerque Tribune reporter and worked for Governor Bill Richardson and Michelle Lujan Grisham when she was a congresswoman.

“We are not QAnon trolls, but we are participating in it and we are encouraging it and we are elevating all of those people by responding to it,” Davis said. “And it is beneath the dignity of you in this department and everything you’re working on.”

APD had a news conference last week announcing that property crime had dropped 40%.

Former APD officer and attorney Tom Grover took to social media and said, “or another way to look at this is under Chief Geier there was a 23% drop in property crime while under @abqpolicechief there was only 12%”

The APD PIO Twitter responded to Grover’s tweet, “ask your client who is responsible for lower property crime? Oh wait, he probably isn’t aware.”

It has been rumored that Geier had dementia. Grover has said it is not true.

“And we’ve had this conversation. People are allowed to disagree with us,” Davis said. “We do not make fun of our former police chief’s health conditions on Twitter. That is too far and someone needed to be disciplined for it. As near as I can tell, it hasn’t happened. That’s enough. We’ve done with this.”

When asked recently if their tweets followed city policy, Medina told Target 7, “some of them may not, but some of them bluntly point out differences. And I’m okay with that.”

The mayor’s office told Target 7 multiple times they “support the department in their efforts to push back against misinformation on social media.”

[City councilor Pat Davis had this to say]:

“It is very clear that this account in the way it engages with our community is disruptive, is unhelpful to our engaging with the community and our positive relations. … It is not that we are just bringing this to your attention. We have brought it to your attention. Channel seven has brought it to your attention.”

Other councilors also took issue.

“I think it’s unacceptable,” Councilor Renee Grout said. “And, I wouldn’t put up with it in my business, an employee that I had. And, so it needs to change.”

Grout told Medina and Rael she was getting complaints from her constituents and even showed this tweet when Gallegos poked fun at crime in the gated community of Tanoan.

“We are all here to serve the citizens of Albuquerque. Do you think that that response is good customer service,” Grout asked.

“I’ve gotten the point that you all have made, okay. And we will certainly visit with that,” Albuquerque Chief Administrative Officer Lawrence Rael said to Grout. “Look, I have always been of the opinion that we should be professional.”

This time Rael said things were going to change.

“I would commit to you that we will have the conversation with the individual and with the utmost importance that it is about being professional and treating people with respect as you requested,” Rael said.

Target 7 obtained documents that show that more than a year ago a local journalist filed a complaint against Gallegos after he was blocked by a city account and called a troll.

The board found that Gallegos violated three different APD policies.

It’s not clear if Gallegos was ever disciplined. Target 7 filed an open records request and has yet to hear back.”

The link to the KOAT TV report is here:

https://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-city-council-police-mean-tweets/43511199#

DINELLI BLOG ARTICLE

Relevant portions of  the March 28  Dinelli blog article  entitled “APD Public Relations Flack Gilbert Gallegos And Chief Harold Medina Engage In Social Media Bullying To Vilify Citizens And Judges; Stoop To All Time Low; Done With Backing Of Mayor Tim Keller” merit quoting:

APD SPOKEMAN POKES FUN OF FORMER CHIEF’S RUMORED DEMENTIA

On March 22, KOAT TV Target 7 Investigation reported for a second time that APD’s nasty little tweets were continuing from Public Information Officer flack Gilbert Gallegos and that he had reach a new low.  This time the tweets poked fun at former APD Chief Michael Geier and rumored dementia as well as crime in affluent Tanoan.

EDITOR’S SIDEBAR: Least anyone forgets, former APD Chief Geier was forced to retire on September 10, 2020, some would say terminated, by Mayor Tim Keller and replaced him with APD Chief Harold Medina.  It was  Geier who recruited Medina to return to APD as a Deputy Chief of Field Services. A few days after Geier “retired” it was revealed that Geier was indeed forced out by Mayor Tim Keller.  Chief Geier was summoned to a city park by Mayor Tim Keller during the September 5 Labor Day Holiday weekend where Geier was told that his services were no longer needed. It was also revealed then First Deputy Chief Harold Medina helped orchestrate Geier’s removal. He did so  with the help of  then CAO Sarita Nair.   Medina became insubordinate to Geier and learning Geier was going to take disciplinary action against him and demote and transfer him, Medina struck back.   Geier also hired Gilbert Gallegos as an APD Spokesman and Gallegos was a Medina loyalist.  As soon as Gieir left, Gallegos and Medina both unleashed a torrent of criticism of Chief Geier blaming him for all of APD’s mismanagement all the while Medina himself refused to take any  responsibility for any of his mismanagement as Deputy Chief of the Field Services.

The latest TWITTER exchange began on  March 16, 2023 when APD held a press conference to release the city’s  2022 crime statistics  and announced  that property crime had dropped 40%.  Former APD officer and now private attorney Tom Grover who represents former APD Chief Michael Geier  posted a response on TWITTER to APD’s statistics.

Grover posted this about the crime stats:

“or another way to look at this is under Chief Geier there was a 23% drop in property crime while under @abqpolicechief there was only 12%”

APD Spokesman Gilbert Gallego’s responded to Grover’s post on TWITTER saying this:

“ask your client who is responsible for lower property crime? Oh wait, he probably isn’t aware.”

In an interview with Target 7, Grover said this about APD’s TWEET:

“There’s been this really disgusting theory that somehow Chief Geier has dementia or pre-onset Alzheimer’s and that he was forgetful on certain occasions. … They’re just these grotesque aspersions towards the chief. He [Gilbert Gallegos]  was making fun and he was acting in a manner totally inconsistent with what we would expect from the largest law enforcement agency in the state.”

On the same day APD released the city’s crime stats, downtown property owner Doug Peterson tweeted that the crime stats released by Gilbert an “absolute joke.”

APD Spokesman Gilbert Gallego’s responded to Peterson’s TWEET by posting “how’s crime in Tanoan” referring to the affluent gated community

KOAT Target 7 contacted former Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White, who was also an APD police officer, and asked him about the APD Tanoan TWEET and APDs policy of “pushing back” on social media .  After seeing the APD TWEET, White said this:

I don’t think the family of James Hogan who was murdered in a home invasion in Tanoan would think this tweet is funny. … Which I felt was completely insensitive. …  Pointing out the failures of the mayor and the chief is not misinformation. It’s just criticism.  You’re going to be criticized no matter what you do, good or bad. There are always going to be people that criticize you. And that’s just part of the game.”

Target 7 reached out to the mayor’s office and specifically asked if the mayor condoned tweets that were reportedly making light of someone’s alleged medical condition and crime in an affluent neighborhood. A spokeswoman for Mayor Keller said in an email:

“As stated previously, we support the department in their efforts to push back against misinformation on social media.”

VILLIFYING THE COURTS WITH DANGEROUS DRIVEL

APD Chief Harold Medina’s and APD Spokesman Gilbert Gallego’s social media attacks have not been confined to private citizens that may have legitimate complaints against APD and its job performance. They have been known to go after the courts on social media and level sharp criticism to court rulings attacking and degrading judges for decisions they have rendered and that they disagree with.

CASE IN POINT

In March, 2022, Defendant Adrian Avila was accused  and arrested for allegedly killing 2 people in two separate Albuquerque shootings that occurred 6 months apart. The first is an August 2020 case where a teen was killed during a gun robbery. The second is a February 2021 case where a man was killed in front of his home by his brother’s kidnappers.

Under the law, the prosecution has the burden of proof to make the case that a defendant charged with a violent crime is too dangerous to release from jail pending trial. After an evidentiary hearing, 2nd Judicial District Judge Stanley Whitaker ruled that prosecutors had credible evidence to charge Adrian Avila for the crimes, but prosecutors did not prove “no conditions of release could protect the community.”

Second Judicial District Judge Stan Whitaker granted Avila’s release on strict conditions, including GPS monitoring and a curfew. In addition to wearing a GPS ankle monitor, Whitaker ordered that Avila remain under house arrest and be allowed to leave his mother’s home only to attend a charter high school and for educational purposes. Judge Whitaker’s decision to release Adrian Avila on house arrest with a GPS monitor pending trial drew immediate vilification from APD Chief Harold Medina. APD Spokesman flack  Gilbert Gallegos followed Medina’s lead and on  social media  vilifief the court’s decision.

APD Chief Harold Medina said this in a TV interview:

“These people are accused of killing somebody and we’re counting on an ankle bracelet to protect the community. … [Adrain Avila is] at the root of gun violence. … [His release is] ridiculous.”

The link to the news interview is here:

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/albuquerque-teen-accused-of-2-murders-released-with-gps-ankle-monitor/6425548/?cat=500

On Thursday, March 22, at 2:07 pm,  public relations flack Gilbert Gallegos posted on APD’s official FACEBOOK page a photo of Defendant Adrian Avila with the following post:

“A judge released a murder suspect from jail today on an ankle monitor. Adrian Avila is charged for 2 separate murders. Think about that. Two murders. This suspect is at the root of the gun violence we’re seeing in Albuquerque and the record number of homicides.  Our officers and detectives are doing everything possible to investigate and arrest the people who are terrorizing our neighborhoods committing robberies and homicides with stolen guns. At the same time, we are getting reports of violent suspects cutting off their ankle monitors and left to roam the streets until we re-arrest them. This is beyond upsetting. This jeopardizes the safety of our community, including our officers.”

On March 22,  Gallegos posted on APD’s  TWITTER account a photo of Defendant Adrian Avila with part of the same text:

“A judge released a murder suspect from jail today on an ankle monitor. Adrian Avila is charged for 2 separate murders. Think about that. Two murders. This suspect is at the root of the gun violence we’re seeing in Albuquerque and the record number of homicides.”

Gsllegos also posted a follow up TWEET:

“This is beyond upsetting. This jeopardizes the safety of our community, including our officers.”

FACEBOOK COMMENTS REVEAL VILIFICATION OF JUDGE

As a result of the posts, APD’s FACEBOOK page was inundated with over 2,200 overwhelmingly “angry emoji” reactions, over 1,900 shares and over 718 comments. The overwhelming majority of the comments were negative, derogatory and personal attacks on Judge Stan Whitiker.

Below are just a few of the posted public comments on the judge:

Judges who release dangerous criminals need to be held accountable if they commit any crimes!

Yep… that’s New Mexico for you. The criminals have more rights than law abiding citizens.

As a community we need to band together and victims of the crimes of these criminals need to start suing the judges and metro court for releasing them into our community this is ridiculous already

What a slap in the face for the family, friends & law enforcement that have all done their jobs. I’ve lost all faith in the judicial system.

Chief Harold Medina needs to be in the judge’s chambers in front of judge Stan Whitaker and DEMAND answers. How can we hold the criminals accountable when the judge’s themselves aren’t held accountable?

So agreed!!! Unbelievable to see these judges that are a contributing reason for the high crime rate. You officers risk your lives and these judges pour more gasoline on the fire, called crime. I thank you for all you do, and wish we could hold these judges accountable for what do or don’t do!!!

These judges be smoking crack! Jail for life is where people like this need to be. Streets are not safe anymore. AlbuCrazy!!!

That judge should be arrested next.

The fact that this was posted by the APD says alot… I’m sure they are tired of beating the same dam dead horse too. Risking their lives to bring these people in just to have them released.

Y’all need to be in that judge’s chambers asking why. No excuse for that and until we hold judges accountable when they think they are God we’ll see no improvement

So glad we live in a safe city with murders going free!

The people will eventually get tired and start taking them out them self

Expose these judges. Make the public aware of their decisions individually.

This creep committed multiple other crimes and hasn’t been charged! If he had been disciplined in 2018 when he carjacked our boys, maybe these other families would not have had to bury their children. The entire system is a mess!!!

The judges should be the ones to sit and listen to the families of lost family members to gun violence! How many bodies are needed for these “judges” to snap!!?

The judges only care about the criminals they don’t care about y’all or us

Get rid of the judges.

Our justice system is so irresponsible and culpable. These judges are putting us all in danger, including our law enforcement officers, and the police are frustrated because their hands are basically tied. God help us all!!!

What would one of these judges do if one of their family members were murdered? They’d make certain the criminal was not released into the public.

You guys should promote people carrying firearms since the left is already against you guys might as well get the more triggered.

Hopes someone will take care of him.

Someone needs to handle that judge. We’ r Nuevo Mexico.

People like him are the reason why abortion should stay legal, it’s a real shame he didn’t meet the business end of a coat hanger or at the very least have the courtesy to take themselves out lol

Obviously, this judge is a friend of his family. This kind of corruption needs to stop.

THE DEFENSE ATTORNEY REVEALS MEDINA’S INVOLVEMENT

Criminal defense Attorney Ahmad Assed, who represents Adrian Avila said it was not the law that failed but law enforcement and the prosecutors who have failed to prove their case and that his client is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Assed argued in his response to the prosecution motions to detain pending trial that the prosecution’s evidence against Avila in the August 2020 homicide was circumstantial evidence and based largely on cellphone and Snapchat account records that did not reliably establish his involvement. In other words, there was no direct evidence such as eyewitness testimony nor forensic evidence such as fingerprints and ballistic testing linking him to the crime.

Assed said this about his client:

“[My client has] no criminal history, no history of failure to appears, he’s got a family that he’s associated with that are law-abiding citizens, hard-working folks, he reached out to law enforcement and sought out the turn-in on his own, and quite frankly conditions have never been in place where we can say he’s ever violated conditions of the court. … We don’t decide cases based on innuendo and DA’s closing arguments geared toward the eye of the media. That was the whole deal today, was just those notion of a closing argument or opening statement for the media’s purposes. It’s not for the court or the judge to discuss the details of the case. The judge must follow the law, and the law clearly requires the state to act. If the state does not act, and in this case, the state did not act, the court must follow the law.”

With respect to Chief Medina, attorney Assed said Medina’s comments were “irresponsible and reckless” statements having the potential to poison a jury pool and raise questions about APD’s ability to investigate crimes objectively and he said this:

“It’s outrageous for Albuquerque’s chief law enforcement officer, who wasn’t even at the hearing, to make a knee-jerk comment that is purely reactionary and pandering.”

Attorney Assed added that Chef Medina and he personally negotiated Avila’s surrender to APD. There was no disclosure if Medina ever asked Assad that his client be held in jail pending trial, yet Medina objects when a judge makes a finding that there was insufficient evidence to hold the accused in jail pending trial.

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/albuquerque-teen-accused-of-2-murders-released-with-gps-ankle-monitor/6425548/?cat=500

https://www.abqjournal.com/2481710/apd-slams-judge-for-releasing-man-facing-2-homicide-charges.html

APD Spokesman Gilbert Gallegos was asked why Medina believed Avila was the root of gun violence. In response, Gallegos said there is probable cause to believe Adrian Avila committed 2 homicides, and the community has a right to be concerned about the release of someone who faces such serious charges. Gallegos in a statement wrote:

“Mr. Assed is entitled to his opinion. He is a defense attorney and he is understandably concerned about the murder charges against his client. … Chief Medina is focused on the safety of the community and getting justice for the murder victims and their families.”

https://www.abqjournal.com/2482782/attorney-for-murder-suspect-alleges-apd-chief-libeled-his-client.html

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

APD Chief Medina’s blind loyalty to APD politcal flack spokesman Gilbert Gallegos has allowed Gallegos to engage in outrageous conduct that should not be tolerated of any public employee and would normally be grounds for termination. There is no doubt that APD Chief Harold Medina and his APD Public Information flack Gilbert Gallegos know exactly what they are  doing with their social media propaganda releases attacking private citizens and judges. They are both taking it to an all-time low level. They know damn well their social media posts generate extreme hostility and mistrust towards private citizens and judges by those who support APD and we have a Mayor who is allowing them to get away with it.

The condescending drivel and very dismissive remarks by APD Spokesman Gilbert Gallego’s questioning the motives of private citizens, private attorneys and also attacking judges for their decisions is dangerous.   It’s the dangerous drivel coming from APD Spokesman Gilbert Gallegos and Chief Medina that reflect what is so very, very wrong with APD on so many levels.

A citizen who has what they believe are legitimate complaints about APD does not mean APD has the right to vilify them or take issue with them and just presume that what they say is  inaccurate requiring a public “push back”. It does not mean APD has the right to engage in libel and slander nor violate people’s first amendment rights of free speech nor for that matter due process of law when it comes to the criminally charged.

IRRESPONSIBLE HYPERBOLE TO VILIFY AND SLANDER

From a public information standpoint, there is no problem with law enforcement giving interviews and posting on social media information regarding law enforcement initiatives, the status of an investigation and even arrests. However, when it comes to pending criminal prosecutions, APD has no business posting on social media anything that will jeopardize the successful prosecution of a case and anything that vilifies a judge who must decide that case.  Medina and APD posting on social media to express “opinions” regarding a judge’s decision to release a defendant pending trial was irresponsible hyperbole to inflame the public against the court and in a real sense it placed a judge in harm’s way.

Chief Medina and APD Spokesman Gilbert Gallegos also have a warped misunderstanding of their role when it comes to dealing with the general public and processing citizens’ complaints and talking to citizens in general.  Their attitude as reflected by the TWIITER posts is that unless you agree with APD and all of its actions, you are “anti cop” and you are a “cop hater”.  Chief Medina and APD Spokesman Gallegos taking to social media to respond to what’s posted on a public forum that they personally disagree is irresponsible and it is dangerous and eventually it is  going to get someone hurt.

It’s a practice Mayor Tim Keller should not tolerate from his Chief let alone a public relations flack like Gilbert Gallegos as APD spokesperson. Mayor Tim Keller should tell both his Chief and the APD Spokesperson to tone it down and show more respect to the public that they are supposed to “serve and protect” not “vilify and slander.”

Keller should also rescind APD’s social media policy and instruct the city attorney’s office to review and approve all of  APD’s social media posts to ensure that its not engaging in libel and slander of private citizens.

The City Inspector General and Internal Audit should open an investigation to determine who has City IT access and if city policy is being violated.

When an APD Spokesman becomes the news as opposed to reporting the news, it is  time to ask them to move on. The time has come for Mayor Tim Keller to thank APD Spokesman Gilbert Gallegos for his services and that his services are no longer needed by the City. That probably should include Chief Harold Medina, but Mayor Keller Keller will never admit  the poor job he is doing.