On April 20, it was reported that 7 of Governor Mitchell Lujan Grisham’s  top appointees were given pay raises averaging 22% that coincided with her 2022 election to a second term.  They all are “at will” employees, can be terminated at any time without cause by the Governor and serve at the pleasure of the Governor.

The total yearly amount of the raises for the 7  is upwards of $162,000 a year.  Each raise exceeded 17% and one reached 31%. One raise added $37,850 to an individual’s salary while another added $41,100.  The 7 now make between $150,000 and  $170,000 a year.

The 6 individuals, their titles and the amounts of the raises are as follows:

Holly Agajanian,  Governor’s General Counsel: $135,908 to $150,000, a $14,091 (10%) pay raise. 

Diego Arecon, Deputy Chief of Staff: $146,782 to $175,000 a $38,218 (19%)  pay raise. Ricon retired from the Albuquerque Fire Department as a “pipeman” over 5 years ago and for a number of years was the president of the Firefighters union. It is common knowledge that Rincon over many years has had a strong working relationship with the Governor and that he has been within her “inner circle” giving advice and support to her during her years as a Bernalillo County Commissioner and as a United States Congresswoman. Before becoming a Bernalillo  County Commissioner, the Governor worked for the Arecon as a lobbyist for the Firefighters union.

Daniel Schlegel, Chief of Staff: $112,476 to $185,000 a  $72,524 (64%) pay raise. EDITOR’S NOTE: Schlegel was Director Of Strategic Plan & Initiative.  It was on January 5, 2023 that Schlegal was promoted to the position of Chief of Staff replacing Interim Chief of Staff Courtney Kerster.  Schlegel has been with the Governor since day one when she  was sworn in for her first term.  He has steadily risen through the ranks within the Governor’s office cultivating good relations with legislators.

https://www.governor.state.nm.us/2023/01/05/governors-office-announces-new-chief-of-staff/#:~:text=SANTA%20FE%20%E2%80%93%20The%20Office%20of,and%20director%20of%20federal%20affairs.

Caroline Buerkle,  Director of Cabinet Affairs: $146,781 to $175,000,  a $28,218 (19%) pay raise. Editors Note: Buerkle is known to be a close personal friend and is a long time ally of the Governor, she has established strong  working relationships with the Governor’s cabinet and frequently travels with her.

Teresa Casados, Chief Operating Officer: $158,758 to $185,000,  a $26,241 (16%) pay raise. 

Courtney Kerster, Senior Advisor:  $133,900 $175,000, a $41,100 (30%) pay raise. EDITOR’S NOTE:   This  was the largest increase among the 5.  Kerster served temporarily as the Governor’s  Chief of Staff before returning to her job in January as a Senior Adviser to the Governor and Director of Federal Affairs.

Mariana Padilla, Cabinet Director:  $133,900 to  $171,750,  a $37,850 (28%) pay raise.  

 RANK AND FILE PAY RAISES

The 2022 approve New Mexico State  budget and  authorized by lawmakers last year had funding for raises averaging about 7%. It included a 3% across-the-board increase in April last year and an average of 4% starting three months later, in July.

The 2023 New Mexico legislature enacted a $9.6 billion budget that will commence on July 1 and it contains funding for 6% raise for state employees and educators.

REACTION TO PAY RAISES

Lujan Grisham spokeswoman Maddy Hayden said the raises are justified and reflect the long hours and holidays worked by the governor’s staff. Hayden said this:

“These increases came at the end of the governor’s first four years in office.  Merit-based raises are standard practice across virtually every workplace, and the governor recognizes the extremely hard work employees in her office do every day, which routinely includes work on holidays, late into the evening and over weekends, to serve the people of New Mexico.”

House Minority Leader Ryan Lane, R-Aztec questioned the  the size and timing of the pay In doing so, Lane  noted the governor vetoed legislation for a second time in two years  that would have sharply boosted judicial salaries. Lane said this:

“[The salary increase] are as much as hard-working New Mexicans make in a single year, and that should cause some concern. … It’s also puzzling to me that the governor would veto salary increases for our judicial branch but also give large pay increases to select members of her staff.”

The governor’s staff pay increases did not show up on the state payroll  at the same time for every employee as reflected by the states Sunshine Portal which publishes government pay once a month. The seven did have pay raises last summer when state employees more broadly received an average 4% raise.  Casados and Arencón saw a pay raise of  4% in the August payroll data.  None of the other five political appointees saw their job title change.

The link to the quoted news sources are here:

https://ssp3.sunshineportalnm.com/#employees

https://www.abqjournal.com/2592157/top-staffers-under-governor-draw-big-pay-increases-see-whose-pay-increased-and-by-how-much.html

NOT THE FIRST TIME

This is not the first time the Governor has given large raises to members of her executive staff where the raises  have been called into question and seriously criticized.

On February 4, 2021, it was reported that Governor Michell Lujan Grisham had  given $7,400 to $18,000 pay increases to her personal staff while at the same time she and legislators were taking back a 4% raises promised to teachers, state employees and essential workers. The Governor also issued a hiring freeze for state government as a cost saving measure.

In 2021, 8 of Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s executive staff received salary increases totaling $92,000 over the previous year. The raises took effect in April, 2020, before the special session to deal with the budget shortfall. The increases range from 8% to 21%. All 8 of the executive staff were again exempt, at will  employees who serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The new salary pay  ranges then were from $101,088 to $146,000.

Five  of the eight were given 8% salary increases while the other 3 were given 21%, 15%, and 10% respectively. Following is  a listing of the 8  salary increases given in 2021:

Tripp Stelnicki, Director of Communications, went from a salary of $88,399 paid in January 2020 to a salary of $107,000 in January, 2021, or 21% salary increase. Stelnicki is no longer with the Governor and had been replaced by Maddy Hayden as the Governors Spokes person and Director of Communications.

Melisa Salazar, Director of Boards and Commissions, went from a salary of $78,000 in January 2020 to a salary of $90,000 in January, 2021 or a 15% salary increase.

Matthew Garcia, Chief of Staff, went from a salary of $133,120 in January 2020 to a salary of $146, 016 in January, 2021 or a 10% salary increase. Note that newly appointed Chief of Staff Daniel Schlegel is paid $185,000 a year.

Teresa Cosados, Chief Operating Officer, went from a salary of $135,200 in January 2020 to a salary of $146,016 in January, 2021 or an 8% salary increase. Note that Teresa Casados is now paid $185,000 a year.

Dominic Cabello, Cabinet Director, went from a salary of $133,120 in January 2020 to a salary of $143,770 in January, 2021 or an 8% salary increase. Cabello is no longer with the Governor and is a politcal consultant in the private sector managing campaigns.

Diego Arencon, Deputy Chief of Staff, went from a salary of $125,001 in January 2020 to a salary of $135,001 in January, 2021 or an 8% salary increase. Note that Arecon is now being paid $185,000 a year.

Carolyn Buerkle, Deputy Chief Operations Officer, went from a salary of $125,001 in January 2020 to a salary of $135,001 in January, 2021 or an 8% salary increase. Note that Buerkle is now being paid $175,000 a year.

Victor Reyes, Director of Legislative Affairs, went from a salary of $93,600 in January 2020 to a salary of $101,088 in January, 2021 or an 8% salary increase. Reyes is no longer with the Governor having resign in 2021 to run for congress.

The link to a related blog article is here:

https://www.petedinelli.com/2021/02/04/the-greedy-8-in-governors-office-pay-raises-of-8-to-21-given-to-governors-political-operatives-while-state-workers-get-1-pay-increases/

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

There is no getting around it. No matter what anyone says about how hard working those who got the raises are working, it’s very difficult to justify 20% pay raises let alone 64% pay raises. It’s called “grab the money and run” syndrome.

The job duties have likely changed very little over 5 years.  Handing out such astronomical pay increases to political operatives is one sure way to lose credibility with the public and all other state employees and legislator’s, but its done all the time.

The Governor’s political operatives need to seriously ask themselves is it really worth it?  Public service was never meant to be lucrative and they knew what they were getting into when they went to work for this Governor. Because of sure greed, its likely all 7 of those who got the recent raises think they are worth every penny of it and deserve it ignoring lost credibility and the public’s hostile reaction.

They also know their time is limited, they need to get what they can now, because come January 1, 2025, if not sooner, when a new Governor is sworn in,  they will likely be looking for employment.

The April 20 front page headlines of the Albuquerque Journal blared out:

“Members of New Mexico Civil Guard get $300K from city in settlement”

“ABQ settles lawsuits with NM Civil Guard filed in wake of 2020 Tigue Park Protest”

Below the headlines was a photo of two armed members of the New Mexico Civil Guard on their knees, one with his hands tied behind his back and the other with is hands and arms up over his head as two heavily armed APD Officers, likely SWAT,  dressed in tactical gear were holding tactical weapons on the two men.  The headlines and the photo were truly astonishing taken together. It turns out the headlines and the photo were very misleading as to civil rights violations, but nonetheless the story was very damaging to the city for what the $300,000 was paid for: violations of the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act!

The link to the quoted Journal article is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2591948/new-mexico-civil-guard-gets-300k-from-albuquerque.html

LITIGATION FILED

Six members of New Mexico Civil Guard, a private militia group, claimed their constitutional rights were violated when they were arrested after a protest turned violent at Tiguex Park in June 2020.  The event that triggered the litigation was when members of New Mexico Civil Guard  wearing camouflage suits and body armor brought sidearms and rifles to “keep the peace” at the June 15, 2020, protest at which organizers called for removal of the statue of Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate. The members were not charged criminally but were detained for hours as Albuquerque police investigated a non-fatal shooting that occurred during a scuffle between protesters and people who opposed damaging the statue. A man not affiliated with the militia, Steven Ray Baca,was arrested on aggravated assault charges in the non-fatal shooting. He is set for a jury trial June 20.

Three separate federal civil rights lawsuits were filed by Devon Bay, John Burks, Daniel Espinosa, Craig Fitzgerald, Joel Mason and David Rice. They were represented by former New Mexico Supreme Court Justice Paul Kennedy.  According to the Journal story, their federal civil rights lawsuit maintained that after the shooting, militia members were arrested and forcibly detained in handcuffs for hours without probable cause. Police were accused of using excessive force and causing serious injuries to the militia members while they were detained.  The lawsuit alleged that prior to the June 2020 protests, officials in the Albuquerque Police Department including then Deputy Chief of Field Services Harold Medina, Mayor Tim Keller and his then Chief Administrative Officer Sarita Nair targeted the militia members for arrest.

FEDERAL COURT RULES NO VIOLATION OF CIVIL RIGHTS

The federal lawsuits were assigned to United States District Judge Kea Riggs of Albuquerque. Last November, Judge Riggs ruled and found that the arrest of the 6 militia members did not violate their civil rights and that excessive force was not used by APD.  U.S. District Judge Kea Riggs wrote in part:

“Mr. Baca fired multiple shots, creating an unsafe situation for both officers and bystanders. …  Because the plaintiffs were armed, the circumstances warranted officers to zip tie or handcuff the plaintiffs and secure their weapons.”

Judge Kea Riggs ruled against the militia members on all but one claim of municipal liability, which was still outstanding at the time of settlement. She also found no proof that Mayor Tim  Keller, CAO  Sarita Nair nor Deputy Chief  Harold Medina were involved in the decision to arrest or take the militia members into custody or created a policy to cause them “constitutional harm.”

https://www.abqjournal.com/2591948/new-mexico-civil-guard-gets-300k-from-albuquerque.html

INJUNCTION SECURED AGAINST NEW MEXICO CIVIL GUARD

After the Tiguex Park protest, then 2nd Judicial District Attorney Raúl Torrez, who was elected Attorney General in November, filed a lawsuit alleging the presence of the heavily armed group helped incite the non-fatal shooting at the protest and violated New Mexico law. Torrez succeeded in obtaining an injunction barring the New Mexico Civil Guard from organizing or operating in public as part of a military unit that isn’t activated by the governor of New Mexico, and from assuming law enforcement functions by projecting the ability to use organized force at protests and public gatherings.

NEW MEXICO INSPECTION OF PUBLIC RECORDS ACT

Under the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act, “every person has a right to inspect public records”.  A requester of public records can seek damages and attorney’s fees if the responsive documents aren’t produced by a governmental agency in compliance with state law. Under the IPRA records maintained by the government, including phone records and police offense reports are a matter of public record and can be reviewed.

The Inspection of Public Records Act provides in part:

A custodian receiving a written inspection of public records request shall permit the inspection immediately or as soon as is practicable under the circumstances, but not later than 15 days after receiving a written request. If the inspection is not permitted within 3 business days, the custodian shall explain in writing when the records will be available for inspection or when the public body will respond to the request.

The Inspection of Public Records Act also provides for the award of damages for failure to provide inspection of documents:

“A custodian who does not deliver or mail a written explanation of denial within fifteen days after receipt of a written request for inspection is subject to an action to enforce the provisions of the Inspection of Public Records Act and the requester may be awarded damages. Damages shall:

(1) be awarded if the failure to provide a timely explanation of denial is determined to be unreasonable;

(2) not exceed one hundred dollars ($100) per day;

(3) accrue from the day the public body is in noncompliance until a written denial is issued; and

(4) be payable from the funds of the public body”

There are 7 broad exemptions under the IPRA, including one governing law enforcement records that reveal confidential sources, methods, information or individuals accused but not charged with a crime, and one dealing tactical response plans or procedures, but those exemptions can be overcome by redacting the sensitive information.

A link to the Attorney General IPRA compliance guide is here:

Click to access Inspection-of-Public-Records-Compliance-Guide-2015.pdf

INSPECTION OF PUBLIC RECORDS ACT REQUESTS

While the 3 federal lawsuits were pending and before the federal courts rulings that there were no violations of civil rights, the Plaintiff members of the New Mexico Civil Guard filed Inspection of Public Records Act  (IPRA) requests  seeking release of records of all “non-personal calls”, including text messages, on Mayor Tim Keller’s personal cellphone for the month of June 2020.   The city in turn hired a private law firm to represent Keller and to fight the release of the cell phone records maintaining that disclosure of “personal communication records” was “outside any possible relevance” to the IPRA request.

In their first IPRA case, militia members sought records relating to APD’s preparation for and response to the demonstration. As quoted, under IPRA,  records are required to be produced in 15 days, unless a specific exemption applies.  Four months passed before the City Clerk’s office produced 2 redacted documents.  One was  a heavily redacted “Operation Plan” and one was an “Event Action Plan.” The city claimed the redactions in the “Operation Plan” were proper to protect the identities of undercover officers.

To settle the IPRA request litigation, State District Judge Joshua Allison last fall reviewed a copy of the redacted “Operation Plan” provided to him by the city and found it contained “substantially fewer redactions” than the redacted version provided to the militia members who filed suit.  The city subsequently withdrew its exemption claim and provided the plan with only one redaction Judge Allison found appropriate.

The second IPRA lawsuit claimed the city violated the law in failing to adequately respond to a request for cellphone records of Keller, Nair and then-Deputy Chief Medina. City Clerk Ethan Watson contended the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the ability of his office to efficiently handle IPRA requests.

CITY SETTLES 

The city agreed to settle for $300,000 the federal civil rights lawsuit filed by the New Mexico Civil Guard as well as two other lawsuits alleging the city failed to turn over public records about the incident in violation of the state Inspection of Public Records Act.

City Attorney Lauren Keefe said in a statement on the city decided to settle all three lawsuits to avoid the risk of incurring any further expense, including the costs of a likely appeal. Keefe said this:

“The settlement amount is largely reflective of the City’s potential liability related to the public records requests.”

The city also revealed it paid $17,000 to hire Santa Fe lawyer Kate Ferlic to represent Mayor Keller after the militia group members made multiple requests for his personal cellphone records.

BIG BUCKS FOR NOT RELEASING PUBLIC DOCUMENTS

With the $300,000 now reported paid to the New Mexico Civil Guard for IPRA violations, the city has now paid out $630,000 over the last two years for IPRA violations and not releasing documents in a timely manner. It turns out cities, small towns and school districts across  the state are paying out hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer  money because a court says they aren’t following the law. Other large payouts over the past few years include Albuquerque Public Schools which had to pay out $600,000 and the city of Jal paid $400,000.

On April 13, KOAT TV Targe 7 reported in part as follows:

“Government agencies across the state are being sued, accused of not following the state’s Inspection of Public Records Act. By law, with some exceptions, it means that government has to turn over most documents to anyone who asks for it. If they don’t, and a judge decides they violated the law, the government has to pay out $100 for every day they did not release the record. The City of Albuquerque has paid out more than $330,000 in past two years[for IPRA violations].

Shannon Kunkel, executive director of the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government said this:

“It’s pretty unbelievable. I mean, these are taxpayer dollars,” said “The public is entitled to these records and we’re squandering away money fighting lawsuits that aren’t going to be won. … It is the state statute that guarantees that the public has access to government records and records could be things like emails, text messages, video photographs.”

“(IPRA) is my favorite four-letter word,” said attorney Tom Grover, who has sued the city of Albuquerque seven times for not following IPRA. “Transparency comes hand-in-hand with legitimacy. And that’s what IPRA was all about.”

Grover’s clients — mostly APD officers suing the department — have won more than $266,000.

About a year ago, the city of Albuquerque paid out one of Grover’s clients, former officer Jeremy Dear, $85,000. He was the officer who shot and killed 19-year-old Mary Hawkes. The city said he was fired because he did not repeatedly turn on his lapel camera. He wanted copies of memos and emails about an investigation into his work.

Grover said this:

“What happens is the city fails to provide the documents, and by and large, these are these are garden variety documents.  These aren’t anything, you know, discreet or sublime or regular course of business documents.”

Other people who have sued over allegations of violating the state open records law–include the media. An Albuquerque parent won $40,000 dollars because APS wouldn’t turn over enrollment numbers during the pandemic.

Another man, who was arrested at a protest after he showed up with a rifle, won $20,000 because the city wouldn’t turn over police reports. The District Attorney’s Office dropped charges against him.

Paul Gessing of the taxpayer watch group Rio Grande foundation sued to try to get emails about how mayor Tim Keller was using the city website to push people to vote for a controversial Democracy Dollars.

That program would have given every Albuquerque voter a $25 coupon to spend to support a politician running for office.

By the time Gessing won the IPRA suit election was over. Democracy dollars failed. Gessing said this:

“So, we figure we got this payout and it was to the benefit of my organization and the attorneys. … I wish we could have done more to actually influence future policy decisions by this and other administrations.”

Albuquerque City Clerk Ethan Watson is responsible for making sure documents releasable by law are released. It was just two years ago – when the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government gave him their highest honor as being one of the most transparent in government.

When KOAT asked for an interview, Watson sent us this statement saying:

“The City received over 22,474 requests for public records between January 1, 2020 and today. This is likely more than any other public body in New Mexico. The volume of requests has been increasing annually at a rate of between ten and thirty percent per year. In addition, during COVID, it became more difficult to process requests. Our staff has been working overtime to address this increased volume and we have also brought on temporary employees during this time period. The administration has requested two additional positions for the Clerk’s Office for next fiscal year to assist us in addressing this significant growth in public records requests.”

The link to view the entire content of the KOAT 7 report is here:

https://www.koat.com/article/government-is-paying-out-big-bucks-for-not-releasing-public-documents/39714674

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

The city paying out a $300,000 settlement to a citizens militia group for IPRA violations falls squarely into the category “When the hell will they ever learn?” The New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA) has been around for decades and the New Mexico Attorney General goes so far as to advise public agencies how it works and how it is enforced. Keller himself as a former State Senator and State Auditor likely knows full well how the IPRA law works.

It is difficult to understand why the city felt it was necessary to hire a private attorney to represent Mayor Tim Keller to the tune of $17,000 to defend him on cell phone records.  It’s likely the cell phone records would reveal very little on the days leading up to and including the protest, unless of course private calls were being made to people that would prove embarrassing to Keller. What was  also embarrassing is  State District Judge Joshua Allison reviewing  a copy of the redacted “Operation Plan” provided to him by the city and found it contained “substantially fewer redactions” than the redacted version provided to the militia members who filed suit.

The bottom line is City Attorney Lauren Keefe’s explanation as to why the city would settle and pay $300,000 to as  citizens militia group was embarrassing and the city’s conduct of  not adhering to the Inspection of Public Records Act was inexcusable

On October 18, declaring that the city is in need of between 13,000 and 28,000 housing units to address the city’s short supply of housing, 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 developments and the construction industry normally creates each year. The multifaceted initiatives include major amendments to the Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO) to allow the construction of  750 square foot “casitas” and duplexes on all existing single family homes and “motel conversions”.   According to Keller, the city needs to work in close conjunction with the city’s residential and commercial real estate developers to solve the city’s housing shortage crisis.

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.  According to the Keller Administration, the cost per unit for new construction is $300,000, while the cost per unit for a renovated motel conversion is $100,000.

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.

On March 1 it was reported that the City of Albuquerque is moving forward with its plans to transform existing 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 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/

The Keller Administration has already made it known it wants to add 1,000 housing units to it already existing 500-unit inventory and it intends to buy 5 more motels to renovate them into low income housing. Informed city sources have said that the city has had at least 15 motel owners who have expressed an interest in selling their motels. However, the city has not disclosed the properties not the amounts. The city source also confirmed that none of the 15 motels are in motel circle.

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.  On April 17, Mayor Tim Keller held a press conference and announced the city had  finalized purchase of the Sure Stay Hotel and the city intended  to renovate the building into 100 apartments for low and moderate-earning households. Keller said the new apartments will help address the housing shortage while providing a quality living situation.

Keller said this about the Sure Stay Hotel purchase and renovation:

“We think this particular area of town has had a lot of crime challenges and I want to remind people in the surrounding areas, we’re going to take care of this property. … This is going to be sustainable housing. It’s going to be much better than transient hotel situations we’ve had in this area.  … We’re doing limited things to the rooms. We’re going to make sure there’s kitchen appliances, then they’re ready to go. … A lot of these hotels have community space. It has a swimming pool that we’ll probably keep, so these will be great places to live.”

City officials said that $3-4 million has been earmarked for renovations. City officials said that converting and remodeling the property is much cheaper than building a new structure. Dan Jiron, with the city’s Family and Community Services Department said this:

“If we wanted to build a new 100-unit apartment community, it would cost between 20 and 25 million dollars. …. This is substantially less and gets online quicker.”

The construction is expected to take between six and nine months. Keller said that this is just the beginning and that the city intends to purchase other motels for conversions.

Links to quoted news sources are here:

https://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-hotel-affordable-housing/43625253

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/city-of-albuquerque-plans-to-convert-hotel-into-100-apartments/

COMMUNITY MEETING HELD ON SURE STAY MOTEL CONVERSION

On April 18, the City of Albuquerque held a community meeting at the Manzano Mesa Multigenerational Center to make a presentation on the motel conversion by the city of the Sure Stay motel. Present were representative of the city including Family and Community Services Director Carol Pierce, the Mayor’s Office and the APD Area Commander as well as 3 representatives of Monarch Properties, the private  property management company that has been contracted to manage the property. Family Community Services Director Carol Pierce  announced that the city is conducting a contest to rename the motel.

Public attendance at the April 18 meeting  was somewhat sparse with about 12 people in attendance. A number of the attendees expressed open hostility towards the city making the purchase and proceeding to with motel conversions. Notwithstanding, the city proceeded with its presentation.

ABOUT MONARCH PROPETIES

Monarch Properties, Inc was established in 1982 and it specializes managing local, reginal and federal funded low income housing, including USDA, HUD, LIHT funding. Currently, Monarch manages properties in 96 communities containing over 8,000 housing units with upwards of 24 property owners throughout the country.  Monarch Property Management has a 20 year history of doing business with the City of Albuquerque and currently manages the 500 housing units the city already has in its inventory owned and rents to low income and government housed subsidized tenants.

Once renovations of the Sure Stay Motel are completed, Monarch will add the 100 units to the inventory it already manages for the city.  Monarch’s current property management contract will expire in about two years subject to renewal. According to Monarch Officials, it will charge the city 4% to 6% of the total yearly gross rental income from the property as its management fee which is standard within the industry. The City and Monarch Properties made it clear that the property will not be operated to turn a profit for the city  but will be managed and operated at a “break even” level. As it stands, no proposed operating budget is in place but is expected to be developed over the coming months.

PROPERTY OVERVIEW

The city gave the following property overview of the motel:

The Stay Motel was purchased on April 10, 2023 for $5.7 Million using funding from HUD and the State of New Mexico.

The property was purchased by the city because it is considered above average in conditions and was properly maintained. The facility is structurally sound and  up to all city codes needing very little if any major repairs to the overall facility.  The motel was purchased with all furnishings.

The facility has 104 hotel rooms, approximately 250 square feet each.

Existing amenities include the following:

A dining room

Small conference room

Indoor pool

Fitness room

Courtyard

TIME LINE GIVEN

During the April 18 community meeting, the city gave the following time line:

April 10: City acquires the property after about 6 months of negotiations

April 10: Monarch Property Management is put in place

April 14: 24/7 security plan is established until construction concludes

May 5:  The city completes installation of permanent rod iron fencing for security

May: Renovations will commence

December: First phase of construction will be completed

January, 2024: Phase One of the leasing will begin with all units leased over a 6 to 9 month period.

VISION FOR THE CONVERSION

According to city officials, the goal is to convert the 104 existing motel units into 90 to 100 single room efficiency apartments or one-bedroom apartments. Architectural design plans exhibited reflected single room studio efficiency apartments or one bedroom and a separate living room area apartment.  The facility will be owned debt free by the city but managed by a professional property management company with Monarch Property Management selected. The facility will be a “mixed-income” community and it will have an “on-site” government services coordinator. The financial stability of the tenants will be a major goal.

TARGETED CLIENTELE

According to city officials, those who might live in the efficiency apartments would include the following:

A person who is exiting homelessness and who ostensibly has secured steady employment and who can pay some rent

A single parent with a full time job and a young child

A person with a disability who is living on disability benefits

A senior on social security

A full-time college or graduate student with a full-time job

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE LEASE

During the April 18 community meeting, Monarch Property Management outlined the screening process it will use to rent the motel conversion and the terms and conditions of the leases.  Monarch Proprieties declined to state with any certainty what the studio apartments and efficiency apartments will rent for a month stating that the rents still need to be determined.  The motel conversion market is new terrain for the company and cannot be compared to the existing city property it is managing.

According to Monarch official’s, a screening process for potential tenants will be implemented. The following will be required:

Written applications will be required

Low income qualifying levels will be established with affordability of rent below market a major goal

Federal government subsidized housing will be accepted

There will be no screening nor requirement for United States citizenship in that federal law prohibits such screening to prevent  the undocumented from renting

Credit checks will be required, not as a qualifying factor with a minimum credit score,  but to determine ability to pay rent

Criminal background checks will be required but only recent convictions of 5 years or less, depending on the type of crimes such as violent crime, will be considered as disqualifying

Registered sex offenders will not be allowed to lease.

Deposits will be required but deposit amounts  based on ability to pay and deposits will not be the same for all tenants

One year leases will required with no “week to week”  and no “month to month” leases

Utilities will be included for all rental units

There will be no maintenance fees for exterior maintenance or courtyard area

There will no fees charged for use of the property’s amenities (indoor pool, fitness room, dining room)

Rules and regulations for occupancy will be established

The standard breach of lease provisions and “notice of eviction” process as provided for in the New Mexico Owner- Resident Relations Act will be implemented

CITY’S FINANCIAL COMMITMENT TO LOW INCOME SUBSIDIZED HOUSING

An examination of the City of Albuquerque’s  financial commitment to affordable and supportive housing is in order. It is the Family and Community’s Services Department that is funded each year by the City Council  to provide  affordable and supportive housing to the low income, those that live in poverty and the near homeless.

In fiscal year 2021-2022,  the Family and Community Services Department and the Keller Administration spent upwards of $30 Million to benefit the homeless or near homeless. The 2021 enacted city budget lists 31 separate contracts  for affordable housing and community housing totaling $18,191,960,  twenty (20) separate emergency shelter contracts which included motel vouchers totaling  $6,421,898,  twenty nine (29) separate homeless support services contracts totaling $3,624,213 for a total of $28,238,071.

The link to the 2021-2022 city approved budget is here:

https://www.cabq.gov/dfa/documents/fy22-approved-budget-numbered-w-hyperlinks-final.pdf

Mayor Keller’s 2022-2023 approved budget significantly increased the Family and Community Services budget by $24,353,064 to assist the homeless or near homeless by going from $35,145,851 to $59,498,915.   A breakdown of the amounts to help the those in need of housing assistance included 33 separate contracts totaling  $42,598,361 for affordable housing and community contracts,  nineteen (19)  emergency shelter contracts, including motel vouchers, totaling $6,025,544 for a total of $48,623,905.  The 2022-2023 adopted city contains $4 million in recurring funding and $2 million in one-time funding for supportive housing programs in the City’s Housing First model and $24 million in Emergency Rental Assistance from the federal government.

The link to the 2022-2023 budget it here:

https://www.cabq.gov/dfa/documents/fy23-proposed-final-web-version.pdf

On April 1, 2023, Mayor Tim Keller submitted to the City Council for its review and approval his 2023-2024 proposed budget. The Fiscal Year 2024 budget includes $14 million in non-recurring funding for supportive housing programs in the City’s Housing First model. The Family and Community Services proposed budget lists forty five (45) separate affordable housing contracts totaling $39,580,738, fifteen (15) separate emergency shelter contracts totaling $5,575,690,  and twenty seven (27) separate homeless support service contracts totaling $5,104,938 for a total of $50,261,366.

The link to the 2023-2024 proposed  budget it here:

https://www.cabq.gov/dfa/documents/fy24-proposed-web-version.pdf

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, motel conversions is the acquisition of private property to promote a politcal agenda to supplement the housing market and the private sector when the city is already spending $50 to $60 million each year for low income and affordable housing. The city already owns and operates 8 existing housing facilities with 500 units managed by the Family Community Services Department and Monarch properties. Mayor Keller wants to triple that number by adding 1,000 units to the city’s inventory of low-income housing. When is enough enough?

At issue and what must not be overlooked is the astronomical cost of motel conversions. The purchase of the Sure Stay Motel is a prime example.  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).  City officials said that the city’s estimated cost is $100,000 per unit to fix up or remodel existing motels. The city is now saying it has said aside $3 to $4 million for renovations of the Sure Stay Motel, but the amount is difficult to believe as being be enough.

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 likely have a final cost of $15,700,000.  ($5.7 purchase cost + $10 Million remodeling cost = $15,700,000)

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?

On April 17, the Albuquerque City Council unanimously approved a $200 million infrastructure bond package that will be placed on November 7 municipal ballot for voter approval.  The approval of the bond package took more time than usual as the city councilors went back and forth on various projects reducing and adding to the bond package.  Also on the November 7 ballot will be the election of the  4  even numbered  City Council District  seats of  2,4,6 and 8.

THE GIVE AND TAKE OF COMPROMISE

Final council votes were taken on diverse projects such as city swimming pools, flood control projects, animal shelter rehabilitation projects, the new Gibson Gateway Homeless Shelter, the Albuquerque and Unser Museums, and APD facilities,  the rail yard development and new road ways. Projects that the Keller Administration initially requested and then were removed were again restored.

The Gibson Health Hub and the Albuquerque Museum’s planned education center were two such projects that were initially removed and then restored by the council. The council restored $5 million for the future Gateway Center homeless shelter. The council  also put back $2.5 million of the $3.25 million the Keller Administration  had sought for the Albuquerque Museum education center.

What has been revealed is that the renovations of the old  Gibson Lovelace Medical Center into the new  Gateway Homeless Shelter  is now a $73 million project inside the old Lovelace hospital. It was on April 6, 2021, Mayor Tim Keller officially announced the city had bought the massive 572,000 square-foot building that has a 201-bed capacity, for $15 million.  Keller announced that the massive facility would be transformed into the Gateway Center Homeless Shelter. Interior demolition and remodeling has been going on months to prepare the facility for a homeless shelter which has yet to open. Recently, asbestos was found during the renovations and asbestos removal has delayed the project further.

During the April 17 bond package debate, Council President Pat Davis questioned the Keller administration about the Gibson Health Hub. Davis wanted to put the $5 million in Gibson money toward boosting the infrastructure package’s $7.5 million affordable housing allocation. Davis said it  was important so people would  have an exit path out of the homeless shelter and services hub. Davis said this:

“We don’t have housing [for them]. We’re not doing those on parallel tracks, and I think that’s my concern”.   

Davis ended up voting to restore the $5 million for Gibson after finding no council support.

The city councilors removed some bond funding for the Albuquerque Police Department and the Albuquerque Fire and Rescue Department but still maintained over $21 million for public safety projects.  The council deleted all $1.7 million it planned to allocate for new city buses  because the Transit Department has millions of dollars already set aside  for bus purchases.

The City Council  reduced the amount of “set-aside” money each city councilor gets for the small projects they identify in their individual districts.  Initially, the Council wanted $2 million in set aside funding for each council district or $18 million total.   The Keller Administration proposed reducing that to $1 million each or $9 million total.  The council ultimately decided on $1.3 million per District or $11.7 Million total.

BREAKDOWN OF  BOND PACKAGE APPROVED

The largest portion of the city bond package approved by the city council for voter approval is for $43.9 million in roadway upgrades.  The specific roadway projects include the following:

■ $7 million total for a series of West Side roadways: Paseo del Norte, Unser and McMahon

■ $2 million for the University/Lomas intersection

■ $2 million for citywide Americans With Disabilities Act sidewalk improvements

■ $2 million for citywide street lighting projects

■ $1 million for Alameda/Barstow

The city council also voted to place on the November 7 bond ballot the following:

■ $5 million for a series of flood control projects in Southeast Albuquerque

■ $5 million for the North Domingo Baca pool planned for the Northeast Heights

■ $4.9 million for Little League field rehabilitation

■ $4 million to move the Unser Museum — currently a nonprofit in Los Ranchos — into the city

■ $4 million for the Westgate Community Center

■ $3.2 million for library materials

■ $3 million for the Cibola Loop Multigenerational Center in Northwest Albuquerque

■ $2.5 million to renovate the city’s animal shelters

■ $2 million for the Rail Yards redevelopment

The link to the quoted news source is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2591670/city-councilors-find-agreement-on-200-million-infrastructure-plan.html

CITY ANNOUNCES FUNDING SECURED IN 2023 NEW MEXICO LEGISLATIVE SESSION

On April 7,  declaring “We got more funding than we have ever gotten before”  Mayor Tim Keller held a press conference to announce the funding the city had secured from the New Mexico 2023 legislative session.  In all, Albuquerque was allocated $100 million in state funding for some high priority projects.  The funding can be broken into three categories: public safety, housing and homelessness, and  cultural improvements.

The funding highlights Keller announced included the following:

PUBLIC SAFETY 

Southeast Area APD facilities $1,500,000 

Southwest Public Safety Center -$2,985,000

Coronado Park Fire Rescue Training and Response Center  $5,225,000

Westside & Eastside Animal Shelters – $1,480,000 

Regarding the $5.5 million that will  go toward a new fire rescue training and response center at Coronado Park, was in August of last year that Keller closed down Coronado Park as the city’s de facto homeless encampment where upwards of 150 homeless would camp each night. The camp was closed because of violent crime and ground contamination.

HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS 

Gateway Center, medical respite facility, sobering center and first responder drop-off – $9,926,490  According to Keller, the $10 million will allow the city to  finish out phase one of the project  and will allow the design for phase two

Construction of affordable housing – $6,460,810* 

Albuquerque Youth Shelter – $1,558,490

Preschool facility construction for families experiencing homelessness – $1,356,490 

$1.5 million for a youth homeless shelter.

CULTURAL IMPROVEMENTS

$1.96  million will go to the redevelop of  the now-vacant Walmart on San Mateo and Central. Walmart wants to take six months to try and sell it, then the city can step in and buy it. Keller claimed  the city will  take the next six months, look at the funding the has , work with the community and come up with a proposal.

Facilities for youth programs – $1,091,490 

Albuquerque Museum Education Center – $1,440,000

Explora Science Center and Children’s Museum – $2,223,114

Performing Arts and Education Center -$2,900,000 

Alameda Pedestrian Trail – $3,000,000

Balloon Fiesta Park landing sites and improvements – $7,315,000

North Domingo Baca Aquatics Center – $6,165,000

The link to the quoted news source is here:

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/albuquerque-lands-state-funding-for-public-safety-homelessness/

COMMENATARY AND ANALYSIS

$300 million in combined funding for major projects is not too shabby by any means. Now it up to the voters to approve the $200 million in bonds come November 7 and if history is any indication, the funding will be approved.

What is really staggering is the revelation that the Gibson Lovelace Medical Center renovations into the new Gateway Homeless Shelter is now a $73 million project yet nothing is said by the Keller Administration where that money has come from.

On April 12, the Albuquerque City Council Land Use and Zoning Committee held their first meeting on the yearly amendments to the Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO). The committee of 5 consists of conservative Republicans Trudy Jones, Dan Lewis and Renee Grout, and progressive Democrats Isaac Benton, and Tammy Fiebelkorn.  Progressive Democrat Council President Pat Davis appointed Fiebelkorn committee chair even though she has been a city councilor a mere 16 months and has very little if any understanding of the city’s zoning laws and land use policy.

Among the more controversial amendments considered were Mayor Keller’s proposed zoning code changes to allow the construction of 750 square foot casitas and 750 square foot duplex additions on every single existing residential lot that already has single family house in order to increase density.   According to city officials, there are 120,000 residential lots that have existing homes.  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 duplex home additions.

The zoning code amendments would make both casitas and duplex additions “permissive uses” and not “conditional uses” as they are now and have always been historically.  A “conditional use” requires an application process with the city Planning Department, notice to surrounding property owners and affected neighborhood associations and provides for appeal rights. A “permissive use” would give the Planning Department exclusive authority issue permits for construction without notices and hearings and with a no appeal process. Objecting property owners and neighborhood associations to the permissive casita and duplex  uses would be relegated to filing lawsuits to enforce covenants and restrictions.

The amendments are part of Mayor Tim Keller’s “Housing Forward ABQ Plan.” Keller proclaims the city is in a major “housing crisis” and the city has an immediate demand for 13,000 to 28,000 housing units including rental units.  Keller wants to allow “different forms of multi-unit housing types” on existing residential properties.  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 developments and the construction industry normally creates each year.

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. The cost of residential developments impacts what can be developed and the return on investment is reflected by  the market by the rents and  appraised values. The cost of construction has soared the last two years fueled by inflation.  Construction costs in the city  are  driven up further by the city building code requirements.

There is also a shortage of rental properties resulting in dramatic increases in rents. Apartments are currently experiencing a 95% occupancy rate. In November, 2022, it was reported that in the Albuquerque metro area, new 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.  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 proposed.

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/

KELLER ADMINITRATION PUBLIC RELATIONS CAMPAIGN

In March and April, the Keller Administration held a series of 5 public meetings scheduled for 1 hour and 30 minutes in the Downtown, Southwest, Southeast, Northeast, and the Northwest areas of the city to explain the Housing Foreword ABQ Plan to the public and cultivate public  support.  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.

CITY COUNCILOR GROUT SHUT OUT BY COMMITEE

During the April 12 LUPZ committee meeting former City Councilor, State Senator and progressive Democrat Eric Griego with the Mayor’s office made the identical presentation to the LUPZ Committee using the same slides and arguments made to the public on Keller’s “Housing Forward ABQ Plan” and the amendments to the Integrated Development Ordinance.

After the presentation by Eric Griego, Republican Councilor Renee Grout spent time questioning Griego.  The Grout line of questioning of Griego included asking what stakeholders, neighborhood associations, developers and charitable organizations were involved with the process of developing the Mayor’s Housing Foreword ABQ Plan. She asked to what extent had the Keller Administration conferred with neighborhood associations and property owners on the plan.  The line of questioning included to what extent had the Keller Administration incorporated, modified or changed the Housing Foreword ABQ Plan to reflect changes asked for at the 5 public forums.

Eric Griego’s responses to Councilor Renee Grouts line of questioning were totally inadequate bordering on being misleading as he hesitated, stammered and deflected answering her questions.  Griego was not able to identify a single stakeholder, neighborhood association, developer or charitable organization involved with the process of developing the Housing Foreword ABQ Plan. There exists in the city upwards of 250 various neighborhood associations, yet Griego could not identify even one that was conferred with to develop the Housing Forward ABQ Plan.  

What was most disappointing is that Griego was not able to say to what extent the Keller Administration incorporated, modified or changed the Housing Foreword ABQ Plan to reflect the desired changes asked for during the 5 public forums. Eric Griego said repeatedly the Keller Administration wants to work with the community and stakeholders to come up with a plan through communication and compromise, but he gave the unmistakable impression that the Keller Administration had changed absolutely nothing and has no intentions of changing anything.

After all public comments, Councilor Renee Grout attempted to amend what was being offered by the Keller Administration on casita and duplex developments.  Grout repeatedly said she was trying to represent “neighborhood association” interests with her amendments, but she was given no support from the other 4 committee members. When Grout offered her amendments for discussion and input, she was not given the courtesy of a second by her colleagues to allow public discussion, not even by fellow Republicans Dan Lewis and Trudy Jones.  Republican Trudy Jones is a cosponsor of Keller’s Housing Foreword ABQ Plan amendments and has announced she is not seeking another term. Republican Dan Lewis, who has made it known privately he is running for Mayor in 2025, given his silence during the April 12 LUPZ committee meeting and his vote to extended the casita allowance to include the city’s residential agricultural zone, ostensibly supports the casita and duplex amendments and the development community efforts.

Councilor Grout unsuccessfully tried to change the bill so property owners asking for a permissive use would have to undergo a public hearing process before building a casita and to require that casitas be at least 5 feet away from a property’s rear and side lot lines.  To add insult to injury, the LUPZ Committee ignored Grout and extended the casita allowance to include the city’s residential agricultural zone.

Grout also wanted to strike Keller’s duplex allowance from the legislation entirely.   Grout said this when she sought to strike Keller’s duplex allowance from the legislation entirely:

“I think that it would be odd in a regular neighborhood to all of the sudden have a duplex in the middle of the neighborhood. … When somebody spends their hard-earned money on a single-family home that was their biggest investment they ever made and (then), for the neighborhood to change, it scares some people.”

ACTION TAKEN BY COMMITTEE

The only thing Grout was able to accomplish was to amend the bill to require that casitas be the same color as the primary residence, but not that they be built with the same materials. While the committee did not significantly alter Keller’s duplex and casita allowances, it did change the parking elements. It struck the bill’s original language that drastically eased or, in some cases, eliminated parking-spot minimum requirements in apartment or multifamily housing developments.  The committee added provisions that would lower by 30% the minimum parking spots that multifamily developers must provide and create a 20% parking exemption for certain developments that contain affordable housing.

PUBLIC COMMENTS

The April 12 LUPZ Committee allowed for the first time public comments on the IDO updates.  People were required to sign up an hour and a half before the meeting began. People were given a maximum of 2 minutes each to address the committee, a limitation strictly enforced with a timer and the ringing of a bell by  committee chair Fiebelkorn requiring people to rush through their comments.  Comments were made for and against Keller’s “Housing Forward ABQ Plan.”

NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS SPEAK OUT IN OPPOSITION

The majority of the speakers stated they had  affiliations with neighborhood associations and they argued against the changes. The consensus amongst the neighborhood association representatives is that the zoning proposal is a rush job.  Many of the speakers voiced concern that the changes would alter neighborhood character or invite developers to buy up single family homes and replace them with duplexes and casitas to maximize value.

A major risk that exists with the reclassification zoning of all single family lots to allow residential duplex development and casita development is it  will encourage large private investors and real estate developers, including  out-of-state corporate entities, to buy up distressed properties 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. 

To put the argument in perspective, 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 which will result in a one home rental being converted into 3 separate rental units.  Such development will increase an areas  property values and property taxes. It  will also decrease the availability of affordable homes and raise rental prices even higher. It will  increase gentrification in the more historical areas of the city as generational residents will be squeezed out by the developers and increases in property taxes. 

DEVELOPERS SPEAK OUT IN FAVOR WITH USUAL SUSPECTS

Not at all surprising, many developers spoke in favor of the zoning changes to allow casita and duplex developments on all residential lots in the city.  The argument made by the developers to solve the city’s housing shortage was to simply build more, ignoring the economics of supply and demand and financing and assuming rents and market values will go down with building more housing.

The 2  most prominent speakers representing the commercial real estate development community who spoke in favor of  the amendments and Keller’s Housing Foreword ABQ Plan were Jim Strozier, the President of  the New Mexico Chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks (NAIOP), and NAIOP’s Executive Director Rhiannon Samuel.  Both Strozier and Samuel proclaimed the city was in a housing crisis and the only way to solve it is to build more housing.  NAIOP is considered the most influential business organizations in the city boasting membership of upwards of 300.  NAIOP membership consistently bids on city construction contracts.

NAIOP is considered by many as very politcal and aggressive with lobbying efforts, its membership funds a Politcal Action Committee (PAC) and its known to make large donations exclusively to Republican candidates for City Council and Mayor even going so far as to host debates and endorse candidates.

Former 2 term  Republican Mayor Richard Berry  (2009 – 2017) was a contractor and member of NAIOP.  Mayor Berry received NAIOP’s endorsements and extensive political contributions from its membership, especially in 2013 when he ran for a second term. In 2013, Berry’s  re election campaign was privately financed and he raised $1.15 million, with large donations made by NAIOP membership, to run against city public financed candidate Democrat Pete Dinelli who was given and capped at $340,000 to finance his campaign. The result was Berry won by a landslide with the lowest voter turnout in the city’s history at 19%.  It was Berry who in 2017 made the massive overall and repeal of all of the city’s zoning laws and sector development plans and the enactment of the Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO) a major priority before he left office. Berry did it within 2 years with the help and lobbying efforts of NAIOP, the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, the Economic Forum  and the business community.

In the 2019 municipal election, NAIOP endorsed and contributed to the city council campaigns of Republicans Trudy Jones, Dan Lewis and Renee Grout.  NAIOP is known for its  animosity towards city hall and opposition to city rules, regulation, zoning restrictions and construction codes and enforcement actions.

Also speaking in favor of “Housing Forward ABQ Plan” were people who work with low-income and homeless populations, homeowners interested in building casitas to keep their own family members close by, and college students and young people who said the changes could help make housing more affordable.  College students and young people wanting casitas and duplex developments were particularly eloquent describing their struggles to make a living, often having to work two jobs and share housing with others to afford rent.

The idealistic argument of simply building more and having more housing units will reduce rents is not reality nor free market based. Historically, rents and housing pricing increase or stabilize, they do not ever decline.  Property owners and landlords always charge what the market will bear and they get it.

COMMITTEE VOTES TO DEFER UNTIL APRIL 26

The LUPZ committee voted to defer all the amends and  hear and debate them at least once more during its April 26 meeting before sending it up to the full council with recommendations where it could undergo additional amendments by the city council.

COUNCIL ALREADY VOTED TO ALLOW 18 CITY SANCTION HOMELESS TENT ENCAMPMENTS

Last year on June 6, 2022, the Albuquerque City Council voted on a 5-4 to allow city sanctioned tent encampments for the homeless in all 9 city council districts.  “Safe outdoor spaces” will permit homeless encampments with 40 designated spaces for tents, allow upwards of 50 people, require hand washing stations, toilets and showers, require a management plan, 6-foot fencing and social services offered. The safe outdoor spaces are managed sites where people who are homeless can sleep in tents or automobiles and have on-site restrooms and shower facilities. The Integrated Development Ordinance amend adopted by the city council last year sets a limit of two in each of the city’s nine council districts for a total of 18.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

A shanty town can be is loosely defined as an area of improvised buildings known as shanties or shacks of poor construction and that lack adequate infrastructure    including proper sanitation, safe water supply, electricity and street drainage and parking. With Mayor Keller’s and the City Councils efforts to allow the                    construction of casitas and duplexes on virtually all residential lots in the city, they are hell bent on transforming the city into a massive “shanty town.”  The City Council has already thrown in for good measure city sanctioned Safe Outdoor Space tent encampment for the homeless to help complete the “shanty town ambiance.”

LUPZ CHAIR TAMMY FIEBELKORN 

In a truly remarkable display of class warfare she is known for, mid heights District 7 City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn,  who chairs the LUPZ committee, repeatedly challenge the notion and disagreed that the proposed zoning changes allowing casitas and duplex development are dramatic or unnecessary.  Fiebelkorn went out of her way to challenge the critics saying that the officials making these decisions will not be affected. Fiebelkorn said this:

“They live in gated communities with different rules. …If I wanted to live in a gated community, I could not afford to. … I live in a modest home that I literally bought 20 years ago and I could not afford today if I had to buy it again, which is why we’re here today having this conversation.”

Fiebelkorn’s remarks are the very kind of embarrassing “nonsensical blabber” she is known for as she inflames class warfare conflict between the “haves and have nots” and the different socio-economic classes, in this case property owners and renters, in the community.  She did it before with her sponsorship of the “Residential Rental Permit Ordinance” where she falsely claimed her proposed odinanace would 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”.  Her claims were false because all are already dealt with by existing laws and the courts, especially by a specialized metropolitan  court program.  Fiebelkorn was motivated to introduced her  ordinance when she wanted rent control and she became angry when rent control  was  rejected by the City Council and the New Mexico State legislature.

Fiebelkorn needs to be reminded who her constituents are and the City Council District she represents. The Northern border is Montgomery, the Eastern border is Eubank, the Southern border is Lomas and the Western border is Carlisle to Menaul and then Menaul to Comanche then to Montgomery.  District 7 is the Mid-Heights City Council District and is one of the most stable districts of single-family residential home developments.  It is known for its diverse neighborhoods.  It includes Coronado Shopping Center, Winrock and the Uptown Commons and all the  surrounding areas and parts of the near northeast heights.  The district does experience more than its fair share of residential burglaries and break ins, a problem Fiebelcorn simply ignored or showed no interest in dealing with when she campaigned for city council in 2021. Fiebelkorn  promoted her own personal agenda of animal rights, class warfare and dealing with the homeless.

The entire District 7 was essentially completely built out from 1952 to 1985 with single family residents.  The entire district has very little if any empty lot infill and the district is decidedly middle class.  Home values have also significantly increase over the last 50 years.  For example, 1,000 to 1,200 square foot Mossman Gladden Homes built in the 1960s and sold for $14,000 to $18,000 are routinely placed on the market today and sell for upwards of $250,000 to $275,000.

Fiebelkorn is a progressive extremist.  She is known for belittling, insulting or ignoring constituents she disagrees with and confers only with a select few of her supporters.  She believes her constituents want or agree with her bogus, extreme argument that the zone changes, she is obviously supporting, are needed and not dramatic.  She did the very same thing with her support of city sanctioned homeless tent encampments.  Increasing density 2 to 3 times by permitting casita construction and duplex development on all residences in District 7 is drastic by any measure and will increase property taxes and destroy neighborhoods that have been very stable for decades.

Councilor Fiebelkorn’s own residence she claims to have owned for 20 years has likely spiked in value and it’s doubtful she would sell it now for what she paid for it.  She has not disclosed if she intends to construct a casita nor duplex on her own property to create 2 rentals thereby joining the likes of developers and NAIOP.

“HOUSING FORWARD ABQ PLAN”

Simply put, Mayor Tim  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  declaring  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 restrictions for developers.

The City Council wants to  empower  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, pitting individual neighbors against entire neighborhoods.

REVISITING THE INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE

The Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO) was enacted by the City Council on an 8-1 vote in 2017 a mere few weeks before Tim Keller was elected Mayor the first time.  When then New Mexico State 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 laws, 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 city’s  development community and business 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 by Mayor Berry 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 agreed to sponsor the legislation before they 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.

EXPECT LITIGATION AND CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT

Absent from all the discussions empowering the Planning Department to unilaterally issue “permissive uses” for “casitas” and “two family duplex development” on existing structures is the fact that there will be a deprivation of notice and “due process law” rights and the  denial of appeal rights to property owners by the city process in  awarding permits to construct casitas and duplex additions.

City officials said at the 5 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 prohibit 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. Simply put, the city cannot just ignore covenant and restrictions in real property ownership and deny notice and due process for the sake of allowing development.  The city will be a necessary and proper party to any such litigation subject to the award of damages.

Since day one of enactment of all city comprehensive zoning codes and subdivision residential development plans, notice and appeal rights of have been an integrate component. Case law has also been established over decades. The city council has already enacted amendments that limit public input on amendments to the Integrated Development Ordinance thanks to Republican City Councilor Trudy Jones.  The City Council cutting out notice and appeal rights of property owners and stake holders for the issuance of permissive uses allowing casitas and duplex development is an invitation for costly litigation and class action lawsuits where the city will be named a party.

BENTON, JONES AND DAVIS SHOULD RECUSE SELVES

At the Downtown area meeting presenting  Keller’s “Housing Forward ABQ Plan” and the IDO amendments, city officials essentially admitted that all the public meetings and city council meetings and hearings on the amendments to the Integrated Development Ordinance will be completed in the matter of weeks with a final vote to be taken before the November 8 municipal election where at least 3 new city councilors will be elected.  This fact justifies the need for Democrats Isaac Benton, Pat Davis and Republican Trudy Jones to do the ethical thing and seek to defer the updates and amendments to the Integrated Development Ordinance and updates until after the November municipal election.  This will  allow their successors to make the final decision and deal with the fallout of their decision.

Additionally, the so called  “transformative changes” to the Integrated Development Ordinance to allow the construction of casitas and duplexes on all residential lots should be placed on the November ballot as an “advisory vote” to allow for a healthy debate amongst the candidates seeking to replace Benton, Davis and Jones. Such advisory votes have occurred in the past (i.e. construction of a soccer stadium for United New Mexico) with Mayors and City Councils respecting the opinion of the voters and not going forward.

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

CONTACT YOUR CITY COUNCILOR

 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

The link to an in depth related Dinelli blog article is here:

An In-Depth Analysis of Mayor Keller’s “Housing Forward ABQ Plan”; Plan Met With Hostility And Mistrust by Public; Viewed As Destroying Neighborhoods To Benefit Developers

Doug Peterson is the President Peterson Properties. Established in 1971, Peterson Properties has developed 5 million square feet of commercial real estate and owns a portfolio of 36 properties totaling over 1.2 million square feet.  The company is the largest commercial real estate company in Albuquerque.   The company owns 100% of its properties and manages each property in house, so it can maintain strong relationships with its tenants from the beginning.

On April 9, the Albuquerque Journal published the below guest column written by Doug Peterson.

DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in this guest column written by Doug Peterson are those of Mr. Peterson and do not necessarily reflect those of the www.petedinelli.com blog. Mr. Peterson has not been paid any compensation to publish his guest column and he has given his consent to publish on www.PeteDinelli.com

HEADLINE: “With crime and cost, it’s well past time for Department of Justice to leave”

BY DOUGLAS PETERSON / ALBUQUERQUE RESIDENT
SUNDAY, APRIL 9TH, 2023 

For nine years, the city of Albuquerque Police Department (APD) has been under the thumb of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) via a settlement agreement. Citizens of our city have paid an extraordinary price both in terms of the millions of dollars spent on federally mandated monitoring and overwhelming “reforms” to every aspect of how APD operates as well as the more tragic price of skyrocketing crime in the Duke City.

The DOJ settlement agreement micromanages APD: the word “shall” appears in it 630 times and applies in nearly every instance to APD. Moreover, the settlement agreement mandates bureaucracy, allocating responsibility to 11 different committees, boards or task forces. The agreement has resulted in such poor morale at APD that, despite a record budget and compensation, recruitment is so hard Mayor Tim Keller recently admitted the city will not hit its target number of police officers despite his promises during two campaigns. Meanwhile, homicides have hit record levels year after year, culminating in a high mark of 120 in 2022.

As DOJ dominance over APD continues to exacerbate the crisis of lawlessness in Albuquerque, citizens wonder in desperation whether our DOJ overlords will ever leave and let our community have its police department back. Sadly, a look at similar DOJ oversight of other law enforcement organizations around the United States suggests the end may never come.

Over the past three decades, the DOJ has conducted more than 70 investigations of local police departments, and many of those investigations have resulted in agreements like that in place in Albuquerque. Oakland, California, leads the pack with DOJ oversight that has been in place for 20 years. Seattle is at 11 years – check out the YouTube documentary “Seattle is Dying.” New Orleans is at 10 years.

Each of the long-suffering communities under DOJ supervision has something in common: Their government leaders have perpetually sought to appease the DOJ through continual concessions regarding their police operations. Albuquerque itself has amended its settlement agreement with DOJ nine times. But these cities, including Albuquerque, never challenged the DOJ investigation results in court. Albuquerque did not even make the DOJ file a lawsuit; the city just threw up its hands and abdicated control of APD.

Meanwhile, Maricopa County, Arizona, pushed back against the DOJ and ended up with a settlement agreement that never yielded control.

It is time for Albuquerque to push back, too. A mechanism exists in the current agreement: Section 343 lets the city motion the court when it determines it is in “full and effective” compliance with the agreement. Absent the DOJ’s concurrence with that motion, perhaps the court will agree with the city. Or maybe an appellate court, all the way through the United States Supreme Court, will agree.

Our leaders owe it to our citizens to try. Beyond those measures, the city could simply ignore the agreement and let DOJ take over our police department. The city and our county could then simply terminate our funding of APD and turn over all law enforcement responsibility and APD’s former budget to the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department, which is not subject to a federal overlord but instead, rightly, is governed by the people it serves.

The link to the Albuquerque Journal column is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2589097/apd-crime-department-of-justice.html

TERMINATION AND SUSPENSION PROVSIONS OF SETTLEMENT

The terms and condition of the Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) that allow for suspension and termination of the settlement identified by Doug Peterson in his opinion column merit review.  They are as follows:

“Termination of the Agreement

 342.  The City will endeavor to reach full and effective compliance with this Agreement within four years of its Effective Date. The Parties agree to jointly ask the Court to terminate this Agreement after this date, provided that the City has been in full and effective compliance with this Agreement for two years. “Full and Effective Compliance” shall be defined to require sustained compliance with all material requirements of this Agreement or sustained and continuing improvement in constitutional policing, as demonstrated pursuant to the Agreement’s outcome measures.

 343. If after six years from the Effective Date the Parties disagree whether the City has been in full and effective compliance for two years, either Party may seek to terminate this Agreement. In the case of termination sought by the City, prior to filing a motion to terminate, the City agrees to notify DOJ in writing when the City has determined that it is in full and effective compliance with this Agreement and that such compliance has been maintained for no less than two years.”

 The CASA does have a provision that allows suspension of the monitoring. Specifically, Paragraph 302 of the CASA provides:

 “302. Where the Parties agree, the Monitor shall refrain from conducting a compliance review of a requirement previously found by the Monitor to be in sustained compliance for at least two years pursuant to audits or reviews, or where outcome assessments or other information indicate that the outcome intended by the requirement has been achieved.”

The link to the 118-page CASA is here:

https://documents.cabq.gov/justice-department/settlement-agreement.pdf

Under the terms and conditions of the Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA), once APD achieves a 95% compliance rate in the 3 identified compliance levels and maintains it for 2 consecutive years, the case can be dismissed.  APD was to have come into full compliance in the 3 categories within 4 years and the case was to be dismissed in 2020.  Instead, Court Approved Federal Monitor James Ginger has  found APD failed to come into compliance.  As Doug Peterson noted, the case has now been pending 9 years, more than double the time originally agreed to by the city and the Department of Justice.

On November 19, 2022, Federal Court Appointed Independent Monitor James Ginger filed his 16th Independent Monitors Report (IMR) on the Compliance Levels.  The Federal Monitor reported that as of the end of the IMR-16 reporting period, APD’s compliance levels are as follows:

Primary Compliance: 100%
Secondary Compliance: 99%
Operational Compliance: 80%. (10% increase from 70%)

The link to review the entire 16th Federal Monitors report is here:

https://www.cabq.gov/police/documents/959-221109-imr-16.pdf

On April 14, KOAT TV, Target 7 reported the city continues to pay the court appointed Federal Independent Monitor James Ginger and his team of 14 experts the same salary it has paid since 2019, four years after the court-mandated reforms with the DOJ were established. Albuquerque originally was paying Ginger $120,000 a month for his services as an independent monitor. Since 2019, Ginger is being paid another $13,000 more or a total of $133,000 a month or $1,596,000 a year to continue with the monitoring.

The link to the Channel 7 report is here:

https://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-police-doj-settlement-agreement-update/43594805

It’s clear that based on the compliance levels that the spirit and intent of the settlement have been achieve and the city should move immediately to dismiss the case as argued by Doug Peterson in his Albuquerque Journal opinion column.

The links to a related Dinelli blog articles published on the DOJ consent decree can be found here:

“Dinelli Blog Articles On The DOJ Reforms, Federal Monitor’s Reports, APD And The Police Union”

https://www.petedinelli.com/2021/12/23/dinelli-blog-articles-on-the-doj-reforms-federal-monitors-reports-apd-and-the-police-union/