About Pete Dinelli

Pete Dinelli was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is of Italian and Hispanic descent. He is a 1970 graduate of Del Norte High School, a 1974 graduate of Eastern New Mexico University with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and a 1977 graduate of St. Mary's School of Law, San Antonio, Texas. Pete has a 40 year history of community involvement and service as an elected and appointed official and as a practicing attorney in Albuquerque. Pete and his wife Betty Case Dinelli have been married since 1984 and they have two adult sons, Mark, who is an attorney and George, who is an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). Pete has been a licensed New Mexico attorney since 1978. Pete has over 27 years of municipal and state government service. Pete’s service to Albuquerque has been extensive. He has been an elected Albuquerque City Councilor, serving as Vice President. He has served as a Worker’s Compensation Judge with Statewide jurisdiction. Pete has been a prosecutor for 15 years and has served as a Bernalillo County Chief Deputy District Attorney, as an Assistant Attorney General and Assistant District Attorney and as a Deputy City Attorney. For eight years, Pete was employed with the City of Albuquerque both as a Deputy City Attorney and Chief Public Safety Officer overseeing the city departments of police, fire, 911 emergency call center and the emergency operations center. While with the City of Albuquerque Legal Department, Pete served as Director of the Safe City Strike Force and Interim Director of the 911 Emergency Operations Center. Pete’s community involvement includes being a past President of the Albuquerque Kiwanis Club, past President of the Our Lady of Fatima School Board, and Board of Directors of the Albuquerque Museum Foundation.

John B. Strong Guest Column: Help NM Recovery Last With Liquor License Reform, Blockchain Economy, Software Programmer Bootcamps

Posted on April 23, 2020 by Pete Dinelli

On April 22, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announced that New Mexico has “flattened the curve” and is on track to avoid a shortage of hospital beds as it confronts the coronavirus outbreak. However she still announced that she was extending the quarantine orders to May 15. She also announced that state officials can begin gradually easing up on business restrictions. Lujan Grisham said that her 15-member Economic Recovery Council will provide the Governor’s Office with advice about a “slow reopening” of the state’s economy. She also made is clear that New Mexicans should not expect life to go back to normal any time soon. Large public gatherings will likely remain off-limits for the foreseeable future and restaurants are still limited to take out order. John B. Strong offered his thoughts on what will help New Mexico to recover now that “reopening” of the state is on the horizon.

JOHN B. STRONG GUEST COLUMN

John B. Strong is a private business owner in New Mexico and an investor. Mr. Strong has been investing in startups since 2004. He is a co-founder or board member at several different companies, mostly in technology, healthcare, and financial services. Mr. Strong describes himself as being “obsessed with entrepreneurship and small businesses. Mr. Strong has been a contributor to this blog in the past.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: The opinions expressed in this article are those of John B. Strong and do not necessarily reflect those of the political blog www.petedinelli.com. Mr. Strong was not compensated for the column).

“New Mexico’s economy will recover from the effects of the pandemic. In the aftermath of this pandemic, we will have an historic opportunity to re-make our economy for the new century. To build new technology and industries that can dramatically reshape our workforce and lead us into the future. There has never been a better time to focus on these problems, and they have never been more important. Here’s a few ideas on what we can do to speed up the State’s economy and make it last.

Over the last year, I have written on several different economic and policy subjects for our legislature to consider. Given the current times, I thought it might be a good time to revisit some of them as our elected leaders start to discuss the recovery from this historic pandemic.

Let’s start with Liquor license reform. I wrote about this last July and you can read that here: https://www.petedinelli.com/2019/07/24/a-serious-conversation-on-liquor-license-reform-in-new-mexico/

Not many industries have been devastated during this time as badly as food and beverage. Small locally owned restaurants have never had a level playing field in New Mexico when it comes to alcohol, trying to compete with multimillion dollar chain locations, large hotels, and Casinos who can shell out up to and over $500,000 for the right to sell liquor by the drink, while small family restaurants are limited to beer and wine because of the cost of these licenses.

It’s long past time to get serious about reforming this system. Here’s one way to do it: of the 1, 411 licenses out there about half are retail package (ie: Walgreens, Convenience stores, Grocery stores). About half are restaurants that sell by the drink. The retail package licenses are not the big problem, so leave them for another time. The big problem in inhibiting competition and fairness are the restaurant licenses.

If we placed a small tax (about 5%) on liquor by the drink, and about (2.5%) on package sales at stores we could likely raise about $50-$70,000,000 per year. Bonding against that revenue we could purchase back all of these licenses and cancel them, going instead to a yearly license in the $1,000 per year range. The bond could be paid off over 4-5 years for this and you would then have a very steady stream of income to allocate to something else. I argued that not only would that put these businesses on a level playing field with large chains, but you would also have hundreds of new businesses open, including small music venues, comedy clubs, bistros, and speakeasies.

In addition to this, in cities like Albuquerque and Santa Fe in particular, we can begin to reclaim some of the entertainment dollars that are lost to venues outside of the city. Currently, a large percentage of entertainment dollars by Albuquerque residents are spent at casinos on concerts, dining, alcohol and gaming, depriving the city of tax revenue that is needed to pay for city services.

Of course, many will say this is too complicated, that there are legal challenges, and the lobby for the license holders is too powerful, but that is why we have a legislature … they can address these issues. One thing is certain though. The subject of reform is wildly popular with the public.

Let’s move on the emerging Blockchain economy. I wrote about that here:

https://www.petedinelli.com/2019/10/11/john-b-strong-keeping-up-with-wyoming-or-how-to-stake-our-claim-to-a-piece-of-a-multi-trillion-dollar-industry/

I argued here that even though Wyoming is leading the nation in staking a claim to this multitrillion-dollar industry, New Mexico is the logical home for it. We have the highest concentration of PhD level brain power in the world with two national labs, and a competent research University system. Wyoming, has none of that, and yet they have landed millions of dollars in startups and new businesses in this emerging industry simply by-passing legislation making it attractive to locate there. Colorado has tweaked their own laws and attracted more than $100,000,000 in investments in the state.

The point here is that the companies in this emerging technology are not asking for money, but legislation to create a favorable climate to do business, and experiment in an industry that is so new and groundbreaking that there is little law and regulation that covers it. Wyoming has had great success by creating a “sandbox” that exempts these companies from certain rules and regulations while they experiment with new products and technologies.

Let’s be clear, the blockchain will revolutionize all aspects of business and communication, and it is likely the only industry that can grow enough to actually replace our dependence on the Permian oil fields. It would be irresponsible not to do what we can to make New Mexico a national leader in this space.

Lastly, let’s talk about Boot Camps. I wrote about that here:

https://www.petedinelli.com/2019/10/31/john-strong-new-mexico-needs-a-moonshot-in-technology/

Boot Camps, specifically for software programmers and engineers, as well as Data Scientists are in critical need in New Mexico. Local companies such as RS21, Real Time solutions, and many others are having difficulty in recruiting and hiring programmers and Data Scientists. The need is real, and people like Charles Rath at RS21 will tell you it is much larger than we think. The problem is that these boot camps are not covered by traditional student loan programs, and instead rely on cobbled together bits of funding from philanthropic groups, the state itself, and grants from companies in the industry.

Most of these camps cost approximately $10,000 and in completion have a placement rate of over 85% in jobs that start at or above $50,000 per year. Instead of graduating dozens from these boot camps each year we should be graduating hundreds. The need is there and the State should simply find the money to implement a tuition program for these students. The return on this investment would far outstrip other economic development incentives such as rebates to the film industry. Once you place someone in the job market in this industry, they are self-sufficient and need no further help.

Coupled with the job multiplier of 4.3 for these positions, and the fact that that multiplier is heavily weighted to professions is reason enough to find a way to fund as many students as possible. It is becoming very clear that traditional 4-year degree programs are simply not adequate for the new economy, where specialized technical and computer related jobs are quickly gaining in importance. We would do well to mimic the medical fields, where technical certificates and short degree programs are now a staple in training everything from dental assistant, phlebotomists, and medical technicians are now the norm.

Finally, let’s talk about small business startups. New Mexico has a very vibrant and active startup industry, and many notable emerging companies in technology, healthcare, and bio-science. We are fortunate that informal groups such as Kevin and Diana McDonald’s Entrepreneurs club have have brought this community together to meet, mingle, and discuss the needs of these young companies. Most of them rely on “Angel” funding, and the small grants from incubators from ABQ ID and T.J. Cook. Other important players are Kyle Lee at CNM Ingenuity as well as Stuart Rose and his Bio-Science center as well as John Chavez, Bill Bice, and Harold Lavender.

There are a number of state programs available for small business startups to seek money and funding, but they are onerous to apply for, and frankly, not well known or understood. It would be much more efficient to simply put an amount of money into the hands of these players, who know these businesses and founders well, and are in front of them often. They have made many investments already, and would likely want to double down on some, and make investments in others if they had the funding. Giving them the ability to make these investments would be the most efficient way to help the startup industry and ensure that most of these companies can survive this time of upheaval. Many of these companies have proven their concepts and already have revenues and partnerships, but will need that runway for survival while they grow a bit more. Business leaders such as Dale Dekker and Paul Silverman have written about these issues recently as well. You can read their comments here:

https://www.petedinelli.com/2020/04/16/paul-l-silverman-guest-column-key-to-nms-future-growth-industry-is-its-brain-power/

Not many of us will argue the importance of these issues, but unfortunately, the ones who will argue, are the ones who can solve it…. our legislators, who have not, with a few exceptions, shown much appetite for bold actions, and investment in our future, so it is up to each and every one of us to let them know we are counting on them to pay close attention to the recovery, and our future.

And one final comment: We are very fortunate to have had Governor Michelle Lujan-Grisham at this critical time. She has been ahead of this pandemic from the beginning and arguably performed better than any other Governor and kept our state as safe as possible, but in the end, I would caution, that people will forget that they may have been saved from illness, but they will remember if they’re jobs, their businesses and their families futures were saved.”

Below are links to other Dinelli Blog articles written by John B. strong:

Recreational Cannabis Bill Introduced; Endorsed By Governor MLG; Commentary By John Strong: Bill Does Not Address One Very Big Problem

John Strong: “New Mexico Needs A Moonshot in Technology”

John B. Strong: “Keeping up with Wyoming” Or How to “Stake our claim to a piece of a multi-trillion dollar industry”

A Serious Conversation On Liquor License Reform In New Mexico

John B. Strong: Damage From The Failed ART Project Goes Far Beyond Just Central Avenue

Lynn Wilson Guest Column: Purpose of Proposed Singing Area Community Center Is To Stoke the Ego Of City Councilor Don Harris Ignoring Community Opposition

Posted on April 22, 2020 by Pete Dinelli

Lynn Wilson is an 83-year-old retiree from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). He is a graduate of the University of Colorado with post graduate work in psychology. Mr. Wilson spent 30 years at LANL in human resources. He has been married for 63 years to Bonnie and the couple have 2 children and 2 grandchildren, all residents of New Mexico. Lynn Wilson was a founder of a crises intervention center and he was a daily volunteer for that organization. He particularly loves the out-of-doors and his hobbies include skiing, including being an active member of the National Ski Patrol, hiking, backpacking and golf. He does not consider himself to be a political activist. He and his wife are current residents adjacent to the Singing Arrow Park which they use daily for exercise and walking. Lynn Wilson submitted the below guest column for publication on this blog.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: The opinions expressed in this article are those of Lynn Wilson and do not necessarily reflect those of the political blog www.petedinelli.com and Mr. Wilson was not compensated for the column).

“Mayor Keller’s using the coronavirus to proceed with funded city construction projects will certainly lead to some great pic-ops. Assuring citizens that he has a handle on the city’s operational budget raises huge red flags. Commerce is in the toilet. Gross receipt taxes way down. Tourists travel is dead. The state’s shutdown duration is unknown. On-going drought heightens area fire danger and threatens the silvery minnow. The extent of business failures and recovery time are unknown. Any federal fiscal help won’t be available to bail out the city operational expenses. Relying on a beleaguered state to restore the city’s reserve operating funds in 2021 is pure folly. So how will the city recover financially? Increasing the gross receipts tax by the city council for a second time in two years no doubt will be in the cards.

Mayor Keller’s inclusion of a new Singing Arrow Community Center for the purpose of creating construction jobs during the coronavirus to spur the economy is wrong on several levels:

The Singing Arrow Community center, comprising 3 portables, play area, half size outdoor basketball court and 45 parking spaces was expected to be temporary. In 2011 and 2013, voters approved a general obligation bond explicitly to fix long unaddressed maintenance problems and improve the facility or to replace the existing center.

City Councilor Don Harris chose to repurpose the money for a second center 140 yards east from the existing center opining the park was underutilized. The purchase of the vacant 100 vehicle park-and-ride lot, the city bus hub on Wenonah, and free park land resulted in his decision to place a new community center at the east end of Singing Arrow Park. The only program scheduled for the new center is the before-and-after school program currently being served by the existing center.

Parks and Recreation’s stated goal in selecting building sites for new facilities is to allow for potential expansion of facilities as determined by future needs. The selected center location abuts existing archaeological sites limiting the facility’s placement and size.

Additionally, the selected site creates three serious issues for center users:

FIRST: Accessing the center from the bus terminal requires crossing Wenonah. Frequently there are as many as 4 buses, 3 on Wenonah and an ART bus at the corner of Tramway and Wenonah blocking visibility (pedestrian killed in 2019).

SECOND: The busiest times for vehicle traffic to and from the proposed center will be 7 to 8 am and 5 to 6 pm, the same as commuter traffic, and there are no turn lanes on Wenonah.

THIRD: It will be inconvenient for a parent having one child in child day care in the existing facility and another in before/after school program in the new facility.

What is lost if the proposed facility is built on the east side of the park is disastrous and something Councilor Harris apparently could not care less about as he refuses to listen to his constituents. Among the things that will be lost and contribute to the areas’ quality of life include:

A significant amount of the park’s irreplaceable green space;
A place to escape the built-up urban environment;
A place for unstructured play;
An area large enough for flying kites and drones;
Room and space for an increasing number of exercising seniors and dog walkers; Room for a large number of people to gather;
The unity of the Singing Arrow community.

Mayor Tim Keller has announced that the City is now faced with a serious deficit of at least $27 million dollars and the deficit will probably be much higher with another major recession in the city’s future. Keller and his Chief Financial Officer have said that the city may be forced to furlough or lay off city workers because of the deficit. The new Singing Arrow Community Center once completed will require 18 additional city employees to staff the facility, positions that are not likely to be created and funded.

Singing Arrow Neighborhood Association elected a new president at the 2018 annual meeting because the president was not representing a majority of the members. The ousted president disrupted the meeting so much that APD had to be called. Don Harris vilified the Association for having an illegal election because of the use of proxies. That ex-president still acts as an spokesman for Harris and has formed his own unrecognized neighborhood association further dividing the community.

Harris has accused those who oppose the building of a new community center in the park as selfish, rich retirees. There has been little maintenance done in the east end of the park since those who oppose the construction live in the immediate area.

The one person who benefits the most by building at the east end of the Singing Arrow Park is City Councilor Don Harris so he can stroke his ego and have his name placed on a dedication plaque to satisfy it.

Mayor Tim Keller needs to put a stop to the new Singing Arrow Community Center and he has the authority to stop its construction. The voters of the Singing Arrow community will be far more appreciative of a Mayor who listens to their concerns and desires because their own City Councilor Don Harris acts on his own behalf and ignores them.”

For Related Dinelli Blog Articles that outline the voting record of Don Harris See:

Juris Doctorate Don Harris Thinks He Can Practice Medicine With His Law Degree

Dandy “Do Nothing” Don Harris To The Rescue!

ABQ Journal Guest Columns: Coronado Park and Lovelace Medical Opposed For City Homeless Shelter; Mayor Keller Has Failed To Build Consensus

Posted on April 21, 2020 by Pete Dinelli

During his campaign for Mayor and since taking office on December 1, 2017, Mayor Tim Keller has deemed that a 24-hour, 7 day a week temporarily shelter for the homeless as critical toward reducing the number of homeless in the city. The city owned shelter is projected to assist an estimated 300 homeless residents and connect them to other services intended to help secure permanent housing. The new facility would serve all populations, men, women, and families.

The city facility would have on-site case managers that will guide residents toward addiction treatment, housing vouchers and other available resources. According city officials, the new homeless shelter will replace the existing West Side Emergency Housing Center, the former jail on the far West Side.

The goal is for the new homeless shelter to provide first responders an alternative destination for the people they encounter on so-called “down-and-out” calls. Many “down and outs” today wind up in the emergency room even when they are not seriously injured or ill. According to city officials, in a recent one-year period, only 110 of 6,952 “down and out” people were taken by first responders to the Emergency Room with life-threatening conditions.

On November 5, voters approved general obligation bonds of $14 million for a city operated 24-7 homeless shelter that will house upwards of 300. The actual cost will be $30 million and the City asked the 2020 New Mexico Legislature for the additional $14 million to complete phase two of the project, but the funding request failed.

FINALISTS ANNOUNCED

On February 27, the City of Albuquerque released a report and analysis announcing the top 3 preferred locations for the new 24/7 homeless shelter known as the “Gateway Center”. The 3 locations, in order of preference, were listed as follows:

1. University of New Mexico land next to the state laboratory, near Interstate 25 and Camino de Salud
2. Coronado Park at 3rd Street and Interstate 40
3. The former Lovelace hospital on Gibson

https://www.abqjournal.com/1425469/city-releases-top-3-choices-for-new-homeless-shelter.html

On Friday, February 28, Mayor Tim Keller held a press conference with local church leaders at the vacant UNM land site and announced his support for building the 300 person “Gateway Project” for the homeless on the UNM property. Confidential UNM sources have confirmed that UNM President Garrett Stokes and a few regents were not at all happy with Keller using a press conference to pressure the university to agree to the putting the shelter on the UNM property. Keller holding the press conference with church leaders and using words such as “if the UNM community is not interested in sharing it [with the community] then this will be off the table” was viewed as him trying to shame and force UNM’s hand and force them to agree to something they do not want to agree to and who have extreme reservations about the project.

On March 12, it was announced that the University of New Mexico was no longer interested in offering the empty lot they own off the I-25 Frontage Road for consideration as the possible site for Albuquerque’s new Gateway Center.

UNM President Garnett Stokes in a statement announcing the decision had this to say:

“In listening to the University community, it is clear that many people support UNM being a part of tackling the issue of homelessness and serving the various vulnerable populations in our City. Regarding the proposed use of UNM land, there was not a single variable that led to this decision. Ultimately, our concerns about enrollment and future needs of our health system had to be considered in our determination of whether the UNM site was appropriate for the City’s plans.”

The decision by UNM left Coronado Park and the former Lovelace Hospital complex as the two finalists for the new shelter.

https://www.petedinelli.com/2020/03/16/unm-site-off-the-table-for-city-homeless-shelter-pr-pressure-tactic-failed-mayor-keller-caught-flat-footed-bernco-has-funding/

ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL GUEST EDITORIAL COLUMNS

On Monday, April 13, 2020, and Wednesday, April 15 the Albuquerque Journal published two separate guest editorial columns. The April 13 column was written by Connie Vigil, a long time resident of Wells Park and founder of the Greater Albuquerque Small Business Alliance (GABA) who strongly opposes the selection of the Coronado Park site. The April 15 column was written by Kristin Greene representing the Albuquerque Elder Homestead Neighborhood and who strongly opposes the selection of the Lovelace Hospital Complex for the shelter.

Below is background information on each site followed each by the Journal Guest column and the link to the columns:

BACKGROUND ON CORONADO PARK

Opposition to the Coronado Park as the site for the new shelter is very strong. Wells Park Neighborhood association adamantly opposes to the city developing another major project geared toward homeless people in the area. The Wells Park Neighborhood Association has said residents’ pleas for help from the city addressing the associated issues have gone largely unanswered by the city. The Wells park neighborhood association has voted to oppose placing the shelter anywhere in the city unless there are matching funds deployed to the selected location to help with infrastructure and to mitigate any potential problems.

According to a report released by the City on February 27, building the new shelter at Coronado would cost a total of $12.7 million. The city would need to buy abutting land, which may include office space across from the park, to have enough space. The overwhelming number of those who completed an on line city survey chose the Interstate 40 and 2nd street location as the best area for the shelter with upwards of 31% of the respondents saying the area was the best location. The area is in the same general vicinity as Coronado Park, a city park that has attracted for years many homeless people and those that feed the homeless. The city uses the park as a pickup location for those needing rides to the West Side shelter.

Marit Tully, the president of the Near North Valley Neighborhood Association has said that Coronado Park has seen major problem over the years due to the park’s existing concentration of people who are homeless.. Tully said area residents have for years raised concerns with the city, but the city has made little improvement. According to Telly, her neighborhood association could not support any shelter site unless the city invests just as much in the chosen neighborhood.

CORONADO PARK GUEST EDITORIAL COLUMN

ABQ Journal Headline: Mayor Wrong To Force Shelter On Neighborhood
BY CONNIE VIGIL / GREATER ALBUQUERQUE BUSINESS ALLIANCE, THIRD-GENERATION WELLS PARK RESIDENT
Monday, April 13th, 2020 at 12:02am

(EDITOR’S NOTE: The opinions expressed in the Journal guest column by Connie Vigil are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the political blog www.petedinelli.com)

“Mayor Tim Keller has no clue what to do with the homeless, a population that has grown exponentially during his brief time as mayor due to his liberal policies without true solutions.

So now they are kept overnight at the West Side jail with some in quarantine and sick. I wonder how they take showers, are fed, are tested and monitored for coronavirus? Still, there are about a thousand living on sidewalks, under bridges, in Coronado Park, waiting to catch a contaminated bus or (be) dropped off at a dollar store or liquor store to get “supplies” and food not available at the shelter.

It seems (the Journal) and (Family & Community Services Director) Carol Pierce want to give Keller the medal of honor for “moving forward” on a shelter in light of this devastating virus! (He deserves) just the opposite. He is a bully politician who puts the lives of the residents, businesses and even the homeless as his last priority.

The homeless are chronically sick and do not have good health practices. They do everything opposite virus guidelines. Meanwhile they are kept in tight quarters (and) transported in crowded buses to and from Coronado Park. They are out and about in groups as if there were no virus, no social spacing needed. As with the University of New Mexico (proposed shelter site), the city did not hold one single meeting with the neighborhoods most affected to ask their permission, but took the easy way out of creating a NIMBY survey of the city.

Can one single neighborhood actually claim it thinks it is a good idea to place 400 people in one building for 24 hours at a cost of $14 million and claim this is the solution? The answer is a resounding “No!”

Keller cannot and should not be considered a hero, just a bully politician who does not think of the welfare of the homeless, residents or businesses but only how he can appease enough folks to get re-elected.

Do we need a shelter in an area already blighted, full of liquor stores and drug dealers? Or a comprehensive and collaborative plan?

Keller wants to destroy a historic city park, skate park for kids, dog park and close Third Street to Downtown as his only solution. This story truly is the tale of “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” He cannot see his own absurdity. It’s time he woke up and got dressed. We will tell him that building a mega shelter with half the money he said he needed, in a city park without truly addressing the real issues of drug addiction and mental health, job rehabilitation and transitional housing for those without behavioral issues is not the real solution.

If he pushes the shelter during a time when people watch their businesses fail, employees struggle, people get sick and die while this city is literally falling apart (under a) lack of leadership, he will not be known as a hero but one of the worst mayors this city has ever had.

We urge him to take the time to allow residential treatment to be built, to collaborate with the county, state and federal government, on the Gabriel’s Village site on South Second next to the Animal Resource Center, which he has hidden from the public. Build a comprehensive site, not just an overnight shelter no one will go to. Let’s truly help those in need while still supporting the businesses and neighborhoods already hurt by our homeless crisis.

Stop social discrimination of a poor, historic neighborhood and businesses that have for so many years called Wells Park home. They count, too – not just those in wealthy neighborhoods, or those who have money, power and clout to deny a shelter while pretending to care about the homeless.

How about let’s be One Albuquerque by helping the homeless while respecting the dignity and honor of residents and businesses who pay taxes and support this city with their hard work and paychecks – you know. mayor, the ones who pay your salary?”

The link to the Connie Vigil guest editorial column can be found here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1442984/mayor-wrong-to-force-shelter-on-neighborhood.html

BACKGROUND ON LOVELACE HOSPITAL COMPLEX ON GIBSON

According to the February 27 city report and analysis, the Lovelace Hospital Complex would be $14 million in acquisition and renovation costs. Although the former Lovelace hospital on Gibson was not listed in the on line survey, 42 people who took the survey wrote it in as an option. It was not listed on the survey because the city did not have permission from the building’s owners to list it. It was in 2007 Lovelace Medical Center closed down. It was later purchased by local private investors. The investors who purchased the former Lovelace Hospital on Gibson were Jimmy Daskalos and Nick Kapnison. Nick Kapnison is one of the owners of “Nick and Jimmy’s” Restaurant, Mikinos Creek Restaurant and El Patron Mexican Restaurant.

The Loveless facility is a 529,000-square-foot building and upwards of 50% of it is said to be vacant. According to one news report, an estimated $10 million in upgrades in the Lovelace Hospital Complex, including remodeling for specific tenants, improving common areas and the parking lot and installing a 540-ton cooling unit out back were made. Parts of the building date back to 1950 and what was then known as the Lovelace Clinic, and as a result the need for any asbestos remediation is subject to speculation and has not been reported on by the news media.

https://www.abqjournal.com/774956/medical-center-at-old-lovelace-hospital-might-expand-to-other-uses.html

The Lovelace Hospital complex has been identified as a location to house corona virus patients with the City and State with the city working with the US Core of Engineer’s to take over the complex and prepare it for corona virus patients.

LOVELACE HOSPITAL COMPLEX GUEST EDITORIAL COLUMN

ABQ Journal Headline: Short-Changed District 6 Doesn’t Deserve Shelter
BY Kristin Greene / Albuquerque Elder Homestead neighborhood
Wednesday, April 15, 2020

(EDITOR’S NOTE: The opinions expressed in the Journal guest column by Kristin Greene are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the political blog www.petedinelli.com)

“As I read yet another editorial in favor of placing the Gateway Shelter at the Lovelace Gibson location, I can’t help but think how wonderful it must be to know such a project will never wind up in your own area, that you can declare another district as deserving of one more service to further blight it.

District Six has suffered over 30 years of being underserved, overburdened and disenfranchised by every administration at the city helm. When it comes to addiction centers, mental health facilities, homeless services, methadone clinics, halfway houses on every level, Tiny Home shelters, and other programs, D6 has taken far more than the lion’s share of the burden – more so than any other except District Two, with whom we are being pitted against in a Thunderdome-style battle in which the winner takes all and the loser faces plummeting property values.

Already we face a shortage of police while barrages of bullets fly day and night. We watch our tax dollars get siphoned away to more affluent areas of town, and we’re told it’s because those areas are more vocal in demand. For example: D6 has the most pedestrian fatalities citywide but will be receiving none of the Mayor’s Vision Zero dollars to help our blighted section of Central Avenue because, to paraphrase the Department of Municipal Development, “it’s tough down there.” Yes, we know. We live here.

We’re regularly admonished that it’s up to everyone to fight homelessness. Then why is it District Six and District Two are most often tasked with accepting programs such as Gateway? What seems glossed over is that this will be a wet shelter, accepting people in any state they arrive: full drug psychosis, dangerously intoxicated, in the throes of mental illness. Experts have advised that by allowing these conditions into the shelter, those most in need of emergency services and those who would avail themselves of the services to end homelessness will be the least likely to arrive. They’ve warned that at-risk women and families are adverse to enter a shelter if they perceive danger from unpredictable behaviors, that the mentally ill are unlikely to enter a large, bustling facility, and instead advocate for smaller, specialized facilities spread citywide.

Additionally, no one utilizing the shelter will be required to use the services for transitioning out of homelessness. What this means to D6 is that people can arrive nightly to sleep, then head out to neighborhoods all day to drink, use drugs and load up before returning to the shelter. We have numerous parks already unusable to taxpayers due to large camps, routinely broken up by police because of drug-selling operations, or awash with used syringes and paraphernalia. How can we believe the claims that our neighborhoods will be protected from further abuse when we are inundated already, receiving little as is? Roadway, median and beautification projects stop dead at our edges, even at the expense of our neighboring base for whom neglect is the first impression for officials and servicemen visiting our city. Where is the pride?

I bought my home in this area because I love the diverse culture, exceptional restaurants, plentiful museums and the friendly vibe exuded by the vintage neighborhoods. What should be a prized, multicultural gem has suffered enough neglect. Adding the Gateway Shelter would not only endanger our neighborhood further, it would overburden a struggling community to the breaking point. I urge the mayor, City Council and the citizens of Albuquerque to strongly consider switching from the mega-shelter model to the smaller, more specialized units advocated for by the experts, and many of the homeless themselves, in order to better assist those willing and able to transition, rather than creating a large, unmanageable catch-all sure to become Tim Keller’s ART-style legacy.

A petition against Lovelace Gibson as a homeless shelter site is at

https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/no-gateway-shelter-at-lovelace-gibson ”

The link to the Kristin Greene guest editorial column can be found here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1443823/shortchanged-dist-6-doesnt-deserve-shelter.html

ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSION

When it comes to city projects the term “NIMBY” stands for “Not In My Back Yard”. It describes opposition to proposed projects by home owners, property owners, and business owners. Two of the biggest issues that generate public outcry are the location of methadone clinics and homeless shelters. Mayor Keller’s desire to build a 24 hour, 7 day a week city built and run homeless shelter is a case of NIMBY and Mayor Keller is not listening to those who will have to deal with it long after he is gone as Mayor.

The two guest editorial columns reflect that debate rages on as to where to put the Keller 24-7 City Homeless Shelter. For that reason alone there is a likelihood a large segment of the voting public will get upset, no matter how necessary the shelter is needed. Mayor Tim Keller wants to break ground for the new shelter in the summer of 2021 which is when the race for Mayor begins to heat up, which is what happened with the ART Bus construction project.

Many issues are beginning to come into focus for the 2021 Mayor’s race where Tim Keller has already made it known that he is running for a second term. Those issues include increased high violent high crime rates, failure to increase APD sworn to 1,200 as promised, failure to implement community policing, Department of Justice consent decree reforms, increasing taxes without voter approval, severe budget cuts, reduced city services, the Mayor’s managing of the city’s response to corona virus and the city’s economic development efforts. Voters are also watching exactly what Mayor Tim Keller is doing as to his preferred location for the shelter which is the location likely the City Council will adopt.

Mayor Tim Keller is now perceived as mishandling the site selection process for the shelter, especially with his press conference to force UNM’s hand, and his failing to build true consensus on what the city should do and where the shelter should go. Mayor Tim Keller has added the location of the 24-7 city homeless shelter to the list of the many issues that will divide large segments of the city and that may deprive him of a second term.

FOR RELATED BLOG ARTICLES SEE:

UNM Site Off The Table For City Homeless Shelter; PR Pressure Tactic Failed; Mayor Keller Caught “Flat Footed”; BERNCO Has Funding

Debate On Location Of City Homeless Shelter Heats Up; ABQ Journal Accuses Mayor Keller Of “Bait And Switch”; Likely Issue In 2021 Mayor’s Race; Take The Survey!

City Identifies Top 3 Locations For Homeless Shelter; Final Selection And Planning On Going; Analysis of 3 Locations

Compromise, Consensus And Concessions Needed For City Homeless Shelter; Vote YES On Bond Question 2

ABQ City Council Enacts 2020-2021 Operating Budget Without Public Hearings; City Faces Major Deficit, Budget Cuts And Furloughs; Hopes Pinned On Federal Bail Out And Economy Rebound

Posted on April 20, 2020 by Pete Dinelli

The local news media consisting of the Albuquerque Journal and all 3 TV News stations failed to report that on April 13, 2020, on a unanimous vote of 9-0, the Albuquerque City Council enacted R-20-31 which is the city’s operating budget for fiscal year 2020-2021. On April 15, Resolution R-20-31 was sent to the Mayor for signature. The resolution was sponsored by City Councilor Isaac Benton by request of the Keller Administration. The new budget cycle begins July 1, 2020 and ends June 30, 2021.

The approach to enact the 2020-2021 city budget was a dramatic departure from all previous years. The City Budget process is a “performance based” budget where each department prepares an analysis of accomplishments from the previous years. The statistics and accomplishment analysis is submitted to the City Council in the Mayor’s proposed budget. Normally, a massive detailed budget analysis document, called the Mayor’s Proposed Budget, is submitted along with the enabling legislation making the city budgetary appropriations. The council, acting as a committee as a whole, normally schedules and conducts hearings on each of the City Departments, but that did happen this year. The operative word is “normally”.

City finances, not to mention state finances, have been totally upended as a result of the corona virus pandemic and its impact on the city economy and in turn city gross receipts tax returns. On March 16, 2020, the New Mexico Department of Finance, Local Government Division, issued Memorandum authorizing the New Mexico municipalities to submit their last year’s fiscal budget for 2019-2020 budget as their fiscal budget for year 2020-2021 until reliable tax revenue projections can be determined. That is exactly what the City Council did. The City Council’s operating budget, R-20-31, enacted is a “bare bones budget” resolution consisting of only 7 pages of line item appropriations for each of the city departments with no explanation or elaboration on the actual use of the millions appropriated. No public hearings were conducted that would have allowed comment and input from the public.

According to budget Resolution R 20-31, the estimation of future New Mexico Gross Receipts Tax, Lodgers’ Tax and other revenue sources will need to be assessed before a detailed budget can be prepared and enacted by the City Council. The full impact of the Public Health Orders issued by the Governor and the Mayor on local non-essential businesses reducing tax revenues is still unknown.

The single and most critical function of the Albuquerque City Council is the oversight authority it has over city finances, all appropriations and the job performance of the various departments. The oversight authority includes having public hearings on the city’s budget to allow public the opportunity to give input on how the city spends taxpayer money. Further, the budget process is critical to force all city departments to justify their budgets and to adjust department’s budgets as the need mandates it. The 2020-2021 budget year does not begin until July 1, 2020, yet the city council felt it was necessary to enact an operating budget on April 13, without any public hearings, essentially refusing to exercise their budgetary oversight authority and ignoring the general public.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Below in the postscript to this blog article can be found a nutshell summary of how city financing works and a summary of Resolution R-20-31 listing the major department line item budgets along with a link to the enacted budget.

CITY REVENUES DECLINE DRAMATICALLY

During the April 7 City Council meeting Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Sanjay Bhakta told the city council that the city is faced with a gaping budget hole due to the anticipated reduction in tax revenues and said the budget process was “going to be brutal”. According to Bhakta, the City is spending $100,000 per day on its response to the corona virus. The expenses include employee overtime, cleaning supplies and “information technology” programs. The corona virus has yet to peak in Albquerque, and the daily expenses will go up before they go down and there is no way of determining when the health crisis will end.

The biggest problem is not the daily expenses to the city is facing. Its anticipated that the city’s budget will take a major hit in the form of lost tax revenue in gross receipts tax. A whopping 67% of the City’s general fund revenues is from its share of gross receipts tax collected by the state. It is the general fund that is used to finance basic essential services such as police, fire and street maintenance and other basic city services.

Bhakta reported that the lodgers tax revenues are also down and in March came in at 29% lower than the same date last year. A decline in lodger tax revenues can be blamed on the hotel industry’s more recent struggles and decline in room occupancy. Bhakta said he’s concerned that what has happened with the lodger’s tax may also happen with gross receipts tax.

City ordinance requires adequate reserve for each fiscal year to deal with unexpected contingencies. CFO Bhakta reported to the City Council the city does have a slight cushion of upwards $50 million in operating reserves set aside due to higher-than-expected gross receipts tax revenue over the past 7 months, but it’s not enough to absorb the expected losses in revenues. The challenge is having an adequate reserve for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

SERIOUS DEFICIT ANNOUNCED

On Friday, April 17, Mayor Tim Keller and his Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Sanjay Bhakta announced that the City of Albuquerque has projected a serious budget shortfall that could last through 2021. Bhakta said preliminary estimates indicate the city will bring in $600 million in revenue this fiscal year, down from the $627 million projected. The city currently operates on a $1 billion budget and that is about to change dramatically. At a minimum, the City is facing a $27 million deficit of projected revenues for the fiscal year that starts July 1, 2020, and it will likely be more.

According to Keller and Bhakta, the city is taking immediate steps to lessen the impact of the budget crisis by implementing the following:

The city is limiting all hiring, with the exception of public safety
All travel for the remainder of the year is canceled
All city contracts with vendors are being reviewed and cut if necessary
And the mayor has ordered his department heads to find cost-saving measures

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/city-of-albuquerque-faces-budget-shortfall-due-to-covid-19-crisis/5703446/

The cost saving measures have reduced spending in the current fiscal year by $10 million, but the cost saving measures are not enough and there is still a $17 million deficit. According to Bhata, the city’s revenue declines will keep mounting in fiscal year 2021, which begins July 1. Bhakta’s projections have revenue falling to $575 million next year and he added:

“It can change, we don’t know the real numbers. … The revenue impact may be much sharper than we think.”

If the reduced revenue projects become reality, furloughs and layoffs of government employees will have to be considered and are likely. The effects of layoffs and furloughs has a ripple effect on city government services such as reduced or cancellation bus services, reduce operating hours or closures of libraries, museums and the zoo and the cancellation of all city social events like Summer Fest.

HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL FOR FEDERAL BAILOUT; MISUSE OF FEDERAL FUNDS REPORTED

During the April 7 meeting of the Albuquerque City Council, CFO Bhakta, told the council that the City is spending about $100,000 per day on its response to the corona virus. According to Bhakta, the expenses include employee overtime, cleaning supplies and “information technology” programs. The corona virus has yet to peak, and the daily expenses will go up before they go down.

The City’s budget decisions are hinging on federal relief money. The $2 Trillion Corona virus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) is money Congress approved for local governments to be spent directly on COVID-19 efforts. City is estimating it will qualify for about $150 million in relief, but that amount is not guaranteed. If the city is allowed to use the CARES Act funds for city services, it can avoid furloughs and layoffs within the 6,000 city employee ranks, but that is a big if.

The problem is the CARES Act limits the money’s use to “costs that are necessary expenditures incurred due to the coronavirus public health emergency between March 1 and December 30”. The CARES Act specifically precludes local governments from using it to pay costs already in budgets. Currently the city is spending up to $100,000 a day on corona virus In other words, the federal relief money cannot be used to plug deficit holes in budgets like Mayor Keller wants.

https://www.koat.com/article/city-workers-could-be-furloughed-if-feds-dont-come-through/32192675

Confidential sources are reporting that federal relief money is being applied to executive salaries in the Mayor’s Office arguing that the Mayor’s office is working on dealing with the corona virus issues. If that is the case, the City just may wind up being audited for misuse of funds on line items already contained in the budget, such as administrative and executive salaries, in violation of federal guidelines as to what uses the financing is appropriate.

Before the pandemic outbreak, the city reported it had a $5 million surplus. City leaders were looking at giving all city employees raises and that is no longer the case.

According to Mayor Keller replacing lost taxes revenues is more important financially than giving the city money for necessary expenditures incurred due to coronavirus. According to Mayor Keller:

“If we don’t receive assistance from … [federal and state government], then we’re going to be in a very difficult place and we are going to have to look at things like layoffs and furloughs.”

Bkakta for his part had this to say:

“If we don’t get the money from the federal government to fill the hole of the revenue decline, we will have to think about furloughs. … We want to avoid that. … It’s going to be brutal.”

Mayor Keller and CFO Bhakta said a major lobbying effort is underway to allow local governments the leeway to use the relief money for government operations and not just expenditures incurred due to coronavirus. Keller went so far as to say the city would be willing to go to court to fight for the flexibility, a bold threat that is more bluster than reality.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1444984/city-hopes-federal-relief-money-can-prevent-furloughs-layoffs.html

City finance has upwards of $50 million in its Reserve Fund which could be used to make up the $27 million deficit. However, dipping into the city’s reserve fund will affect the city’s bond ratings reducing the type of bonds or amounts and interest rates the city can qualify for to fund major construction projects. City council approval is required to dip into the reserve fund.

HOPING THE ECONOMY BOUNCES BACK

The Keller Administration expects the economy will bounce back this summer. If it does, and if the City can use the federal CARES Act allocation to make up for the city deficit, it should be able to avoid drastic cuts, furloughs and layoffs. Local economists are not that optimistic and are saying it could take years for the cities to recover.

UNM Associate Professor Reilly White had this to say:

“It’s a really dire fiscal position for many municipalities in New Mexico for the coming year … The best thing that can happen is that people start spending again.”

The Department of Labor reports that 44,000 New Mexicans now receiving unemployment benefits, and the applications are increasing. According to the Department of Labor, 90,000 people have applied for benefits in the past four weeks.

https://www.koat.com/article/city-workers-could-be-furloughed-if-feds-dont-come-through/32192675

https://www.abqjournal.com/1444984/city-hopes-federal-relief-money-can-prevent-furloughs-layoffs.html

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

A. HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF

City Hall history is repeating itself. It was 10 years ago in 2010 that the city had to make significant cuts in order to deal with the “great recession”. Then Republican Mayor Richard J. Berry had a $69 million shortfall and he decided unilaterally to cut city employee pay by 3%, disregard negotiated union contract pay increases with the city’s unions, place a freeze on all hiring and reduced and slashed city services not considered essential such as the 311-call center. The number of APD sworn officers went from 1,100 in 2010 all the way down to 875 under Mayor Berry and community based policing was abandoned and existed in name only.

For the full 8 years under the former Republican Mayor Administration, the city was hit hard because of the great recession to the extent that essential services were dramatically cut and city and government was dramatically downsized. The cuts and downsizing were done in order to avoid any all tax increases to maintain Mayor Berry’s Republican philosophy that all tax increases are bad, even when needed for essential services, and that city government was too big and needed to be downsized.

B. DIFFICULT DECISIONS AHEAD

Just as the city was pulling out of the 10-year great recession, the city gets hit and get hit hard in the gut with the corona virus pandemic resulting in business closures, layoffs and a dramatic decrease in gross receipts tax revenues that funds 67% of the city’s operating budget. The city is now facing a major financial crisis.

Mayor Tim Keller and the Albuquerque City Council are about to embark on a very painful but absolutely necessary reduction in government services and expenditures to deal with the major deficit caused by a dramatic reduction in gross receipts tax revenues. The City’s loss of gross receipts tax revenues obviously was brought on by the corona virus shutdown of businesses and resulting loss of gross receipts tax revenues, but the Keller Administration pinning their hopes on a quick rebound or federal funding is being way too optimistic and may not be at all realistic, nor is a threat of a lawsuite to use federal CAREs funding for items in the existing budget.

The City is mandated by law to have a balanced‐budget. When you review in the postscript the General Fund line item expenditures contained in the enacted budget operating budget, you get a sense how difficult of a task the Mayor and City Council are faced with when it comes to cutting or eliminating entire line item appropriations.

The city is now faced with any number of options or a combination thereof including:

1. Slashing department budgets across the board by a mandatory percentage to “spread the pain”. Mayor Keller has already ordered his department heads to find cost-saving measures.

2. Eliminate entire none essential city service departments, city divisions or units.

3. Reduce city services in some form.

4. Closure of city facilities such as libraries, senior citizen centers, golf courses and recreational activities and cancellation of major public events such as Summerfest.

5. Freeze all hiring over the next year.

6. Layoffs or furloughs of government workers and elimination and funding of city positions.

7. Delay for a time all city construction projects that will result in need to hire more city staff. Such projects would include the $32 million homeless shelter, the planned $7 million library for the International District, the new Singing Arrow Community Center in Southeast Albuquerque, the West Side community center at 98th and DeVargas and the new field at the Jennifer Riordan Spark Kindness Sports Complex.

8. Suspend all salary increases or implement salary deductions to the 6,000 city employees.

9. Postpone growing the police and fire department ranks and concentrate on police and fire academy classes for the sole purpose of keeping up with retirements and maintaining the existing number of the ranks before retirements

10. Increase gross receipts tax.

11. Increase property taxes.

12. Increase admission fees to museums, the Zoo and Botanical Gardens and Aquarium, golf fees.

13. A combination of all cost cutting and revenue increase options.

C. BREAKING A CAMPAIGN PROMISE AND SPENDING A WINDFALL

In May, 2018, 5 months after he assumed office, Mayor Tim Keller signed into law a gross receipt sales tax increase enacted by the City Council. Seventy percent of the tax was dedicated to public safety. The tax is suppose to raise $55 million a year in revenue. Keller broke a campaign promise not to raise taxes, even for public safety, without a public vote. The rational for the tax increase was that the city was faced with a $40 million dollar deficit. The deficit never materialized and the tax increase was not repealed, and the Keller Administration has never disclosed where those revenues went or why the tax was not repealed when the deficit never materialized.

The City of Albuquerque has an operating budget of $1.1 billion for the fiscal year that began July 1, 2019 and ends on June 30, 2020. It was the first time in city history that the city operating budget exceed the $1 Billion figure. The 2019-2020 budget represented an overall 11% increase in spending over the previous year.

In April, 2019, a onetime $34.4 million dollar windfall to the city was reported from what was called an “orphan month” in city financing. The $34.3 million “one-time, lifetime” boost in revenues could not be applied by the city toward recurring costs. Instead of placing the $34 million dollars in the city’s reserve fund, the Keller Administration spent $29 million of the $34.3 million on numerous one-time investments the Keller Administration felt were important at the time. Those projects, included $6 million for public safety vehicles such as police cars, normally financed with CIP bonds, for new police cadets, $2.3 million for park security, $2 million for the business recruitment and growth and $2 million for housing vouchers and related programs.

Hindsight has now revealed the use of the $34.4 million dollar windfall was a major mistake and the amount should have been added to the city’s reserve fund of $50 million dollar, a fund Mayor Keller is already saying his administration will want to tap into to get the city through the current crisis.

https://www.petedinelli.com/2019/04/04/orphan-month-windfall-of-34-million-used-for-1-1-billion-city-budget-no-new-taxes-city-to-charge-for-car-crash-clean-ups-and-vehicle-fires/

CONCLUSION

It is too soon to know how the corona virus has depleted the city’s coffers. If the City in fact plunges into another recession, which is highly likely, it will be much deeper than the 10-year great recession that started in 2008. Many businesses along central already barely making it because of the ART project will probably close permanently because of the Governor and Mayor’s emergency orders. Although the Keller Administration implemented a $500,000 fund to help small business, that money was depleted in a matter of days with 100 businesses given $5,000 loans but another 400 denied financial help.

Mayor Tim Keller will start to look and sound more and more like his former Republican predecessor when he starts to say “cut city services and reduce the size of government” to get through the financial crisis. One thing is for certain is that if Mayor Tim Keller advocates another gross receipt tax increase, or goes along with the city council with it, or supports a property tax increase, Keller will wind up becoming a one term Mayor.

________________________________________________

POSTSCRIPT

CITY FINANCES IN A NUTSHELL

The Charter of the City of Albuquerque requires the Mayor to formulate the annual operating budget for the City of Albuquerque and all of its departments. It is the City’s Department of Finance under the direction of the City’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) that formulates the yearly budget which is then submitted to the Albuquerque City Council. The city’s fiscal year’s budget begins every year on July 1 and ends every year on June 30. The annual city budget must be submitted by the Mayor’s Office to the City Council by April 1. The City Council, upon receipt of the proposed budget from the Mayor, schedules budget hearings, takes public input and makes changes as it sees fit before enacting the final budget to be effective July 1.

The current gross receipt tax added to virtually all retail sales of goods and services is 7.7850%. Businesses collect the tax on each sale made and the money is then sent to the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department and each month the state the distributes the city’s portion of tax collected to the city. Retail businesses make up about 25% of all the city’s gross receipts tax collected. The gross receipts tax revenue pays for basic municipal operations and essential services such as police protection, fire protection, solid waste collection, street repairs, animal welfare, parks maintenance, social services and the wages and benefits to over 6,000 city employees.

Gross receipts tax is collected and given to the city accounts for 67% of the City’s general fund revenue. The gross receipts tax revenue pays for basic municipal operations and essential services such as police protection, fire protection, solid waste collection, street repairs, animal welfare, parks maintenance, social services and the wages and benefits of over 6,000 city employees. For the current fiscal year that ends on July 31, 202, the city averaged upwards of $41 million in gross receipts tax revenue or $492 million dollars for the year. The remaining 33% of revenues needed to operate the city are generated other fees, other tax revenues and federal funding.

ENACTED BUDGET LINE ITEMS

According to CFO Bhakta, the City will have a better sense of the actual loss of revenue in mid-May when the city gets its March gross receipts tax distribution from the state Taxation and Revenue Department. It will be then the City will consider a final budget. The 2020-2021 enacted City Council operating budget contains the following general fund Operating Budget line item appropriations as they appear for the major departments:

Animal Welfare Department, ANIMAL CARE CENTER: $12,675,000

AVIATION DEPARTMENT

Management & Professional Support: $5,841,000
Operations, Maintenance and Security: $33,427,000
Transfers to Other Funds:
General Fund: $2,495,000
Airport Capital and Deferred Maintenance Fund $23,000,000

Chief Administrative Office: $3,439,000

CITY SUPPORT FUNCTIONS LINE ITEM BUDGET

Dues and Memberships: $504,000
Early Retirement: $6,000,000 (This fund is used to pay accumulated annual and sick leave to employees who retire.)
GRT Administration Fee: $5,400,000
Joint Committee on Intergovernmental Legislative Relations: $219,000
Open and Ethical Elections: $641,000

Transfer to Other Funds:

Operating Grants Fund: $6,000,000
Sales Tax Refunding D/S Fund: $13,298,000
Vehicle/Equipment Replacement Fund: 1,200,000

Civilian Police Oversight Agency: $1,065,000

City Council Services: $5,337,000

CULTURAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT

Biological Park: $15,277,000
CIP Bio Park: $247,000
Community Events: $3,523,000
Explora Science Museum: $1,448,000
Albuquerque Museum: $3,713,000
Museum-Balloon: $1,528,000
Public Arts and Urban Enhancement: $511,000
Public Library: $12,952,000
Strategic Support: $2,795,000

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT LINE ITEM BUDGET

Convention Center / ASC: $2,234,000
Economic Development: $110,000
Economic Development Investment: $321,000
International Trade: $198,000
Office of MRA: $530,000

Environmental Health Department

Consumer Health: $1,574,000
Environmental Services: $679,000
Strategic Support: $839,000
Urban Biology: $500,000

FFAMILY AND COMMUNITY SERVICES DEPARTMENT LINE ITEM BUDGET

Affordable Housing: $2,665,000
Child and Family Development: $6,447,000
Community Recreation: $11,661,000
Educational Initiatives: $2,948,000
Emergency Shelter: $5,620,000
Health and Human Services: $4,084,000
Homeless Support Services: $3,481,000
Mental Health: $3,754,000
Strategic Support: $2,021,000
Substance Abuse: $3,075,000
Youth Gang Initiative: $1,155,000

FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DEPARTMENT LINE ITEM BUDGET

Accounting: $4,125,000
Financial Support Services: $1,196,000
Office of Management and Budget: $1,109,000
Purchasing: $1,626,000
Strategic Support: $1,121,000
Treasury: $1,118,000

FIRE DEPARTMENT LINE ITEM BUDGET

Dispatch: $5,385,000
Emergency Response: $69,149,000
Emergency Services: $3,361,000
Fire Prevention: $5,861,000
Headquarters: $3,289,000
Logistics: $3,292,000
Office of Emergency Management: $307,000
Training: $2,178,000

HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT LINE ITEM BUDGET

B/C/J/Q Union Time: $131,000
Personnel Services: $2,994,000

LEGAL DEPARTMENT LINE ITEM BUDGET

Legal Services: $6,237,000
Office of Equity and Inclusion: $409,000

Mayor’s Office $1,068,000

MUNICIPAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT LINE ITEM BUDGET

City Buildings : $14,766,000
Construction: $1,889,000
Design Recovered CIP: $2,077,000
Design Recovered Storm: $2,940,000
Real Property: $879,000
Special Events Parking: $19,000
Storm Drainage: $2,946,000
Strategic Support: $2,743,000
Streets: $ 5,227,000 32
Street Services: $15,210,000

OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK LINE ITEM BUDGET

Administrative Hearing Office: $412,000
Office of the City Clerk: $2,211,000
Office of Inspector General: $504,000

Office of Internal Audit and Investigations: $934,000

Parking Services $4,368,000 (This is money used to operate the city’s parking structures.)

PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT LINE ITEM BUDGET

Aquatic Services: $5,458,000
CIP Funded Employees: $2,589,000
Open Space Management: $4,408,000
Parks Management: $18,542,000
Recreation: $3,658,000
Strategic Support: $1,404,000

Transfer to Other Funds:

Capital Acquisition Fund: $100,000
Golf Operating Fund: $1,368,000

PLANNING DEPARTMENT LINE ITEM BUDGET

Code Enforcement $3,570,000
One Stop Shop $7,543,000
Strategic Support $2,418,000
Urban Design and Development $1,637,000

POLICE DEPARTMENT LINE ITEM BUDGET

Administrative Support: $18,835,000 (This funding is for case management and reports, clerical staff and the forensic lab.)
Investigative Services: $45,622,000 (This funding is for the various detective units)
Neighborhood Policing: $104,730,000
Off-Duty Police Overtime: $2,225,000 (The funding is to pay for police overtime and for years the actual funding has approached $10 to $14 Million a year.)
Prisoner Transport: $2,423,000 (The funding is used to transport all arrestees to the Westside Jail.)
Professional Accountability: $34,042,000 (This is funding associated with the Department of Justice Consent Decree)

SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT

Administrative Services $7,687,000
Clean City $10,845,000
Collections $23,684,000 (This is the annual cost associated with residential and commercial garbage pick up)
Disposal $9,326,000 (This is funding to operate the land fill)
Maintenance – Support Services $5,641,000 (This fund is essentially fleet maintenance costs)
General Fund $5,933,000
Refuse Disposal Capital Fund $11,619,000

SENIOR AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT

Basic Services $256,000
Strategic Support $2,404,000
Well Being $5,657,000

TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION DEPARTMENT

Citizen Services $3,771,000
Data Management for APD $ 825,000
Information Services $11,546,000

TRANSIT DEPARTMENT: $26,578,000

TRANSIT OPERATING FUND

ABQ Rapid Transit: $1,824,000
ABQ Ride: $31,918,000
Facility Maintenance: $2,560,000
Paratransit Services: $6,232,000
Special Events: $237,000
Strategic Support: $3,464,000

Transfer to Other Funds (Transit):
General Fund: $5,590,000
Transit Grants Fund: $986,000

AIRPORT REVENUE BOND DEBT SERVICE FUND: $2,306,000

BASEBALL STADIUM OPERATING FUND

Stadium Operations $1,232,000
Transfer to Other Funds:
General Fund: $25,000
Sports Stadium D/S Fund: $1,023,000

BASEBALL STADIUM DEBT SERVICE FUND: $998,000

RISK MANAGEMENT FUND (This fund deals with litigation costs and settlements paid out when the city is sued)

Risk – Fund Administration: $1,173,000
Risk – Safety Office: $1,926,000
Risk – Tort and Other: $2,410,000
Risk – Workers’ Comp: $2,518,000
Workers Compensation, Tort Claims and Other Claims: $27,829,000

HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT

Unemployment Compensation: $1,028,000
Employee Equity: $445,000
Group Self Insurance: $84,917,000 (The city is a self insured entity and as such must maintain a percentage of projected liability exposure.)

Below is the link to located final draft of R-30-21. Click on the link then click on R-31 spelled out in blue and marked FINAL:

https://cabq.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=4411998&GUID=3FD662EF-A96A-4BD6-8113-380B7451BADC

For related blog articles see:

Mayor Tim Keller Becomes “Crisis Management Mayor”; City Spending Upwards of $100,000 A Day Dealing With Crisis; Mayor Conducts “Virtual Town Hall Meetings”, Murder And Domestic Violence Rates Rise

Mayor Tim Keller Declares Public Health Emergency Without Press Conference; ACLU Raises Overreach Concerns; Rio Grande Foundation Files Suit Alleging Violation Of Open Meetings Act; Gov. MLG Upstages Mayor With Her Press Conference

“APD Honors Its Own”, “APD Officers Gather To Honor Deceased Lieutenant Despite Pandemic”; Governor, Mayor, APD Chief Decline Direct Comment; APD Adopts After The Fact Policies; “Do as I order, not as I Do.”

Posted on April 17, 2020 by Pete Dinelli

Below is a front page Albuquerque Journal article, followed by a link to the article, written by Martin Salazar, one of the papers main editors:

“A HERO’S SEND-OFF; APD OFFICERS GATHER TO HONOR DECEASED LIEUTENANT DESPITE PANDEMIC”

BY MARTIN SALAZAR / JOURNAL CITY EDITOR
Published: Thursday, April 16th, 2020 at 10:00pm

“ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — David Rogers spent his life in service to others. The 56-year-old was a Navy veteran who went on to a long career with the Albuquerque Police Department, retiring as a lieutenant a couple of years ago.

He died too soon following a battle with leukemia, and he got a hero’s send-off on that April 2 morning, with dozens of APD officers showing up at his house to escort the hearse carrying him to the funeral home.

The touching tribute was captured on video, set to the song “Over the Rainbow.”

[The link to the video here was taken down: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwI7ktZgQ0E&feature=emb_title Another link to the video without the sound can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksWO80TblRM ]

Officers greet one another and even pose for group photos. Police Chief Michael Geier shows up to provide solace. Officers stand shoulder-to-shoulder outside the house and salute as Rogers’ flag-draped body is carried from his home for the final time. No one appears to be wearing a mask.

Throngs of motorcycle officers then begin the procession through tree-lined streets as the white hearse from Daniels funeral home joins in.

The scene played out in the midst of a pandemic and at a time when mass gatherings have been banned and citizens have been told to stay at least 6 feet apart due to the threat of the novel coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19. The virus has infected 1,597 New Mexicans and killed 44. Worldwide, it has infected more than 2 million people and killed more than 143,000, including doctors, nurses and, yes, police officers.

Shaun Willoughby, the president of the Albuquerque Police Officers Association, told a Journal reporter he recognizes that the officers are not distancing themselves but says it was the bare minimum that could be done to honor Rogers, whom he described as a great man.

“I think that it’s really important to understand that, as police officers, we’re just human beings, we’re struggling, just like everybody else is, to not shake hands, to not give a friend a hug, and to not be there for family members when they are in need or they are sad,” Willoughby said. “I would have been disrespected as a police officer if the department had done nothing. I think it is a show of strong leadership and essence of our police family to make sure that we recognize his service to this community and this police department.”

To be clear, Rogers deserved the procession he got and so much more.

But the gathering came a week and a half after the state secretary of health issued a public order banning mass gatherings, defined as – among other things – public or private gatherings that bring together five or more individuals in an open outdoor space where individuals are within 6 feet of one another.

It’s a message that state and local officials have been driving home over and over again – a message that, they insist, is aimed at saving lives. And it’s an order that authorities say is being enforced. In Albuquerque, open space managers are teaming up with volunteers and police to ensure people are following social distancing rules on public trails.

“It’s extremely important that everyone is following the public health orders to keep us all safe,” Mayor Tim Keller said in a news release earlier this month, this one about how APD, Albuquerque Fire Rescue and the city’s Code Enforcement Division would be working together to ensure that nonessential businesses were complying with the governor’s public health order. “We all have to remember the goal is literally to save lives.”

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, meanwhile, has acknowledged that the orders her administration has issued are causing hardships, but just this week, she thanked New Mexicans for stepping up during the Easter weekend and following them.

“People made sacrifices all over the state to do incredible social distancing which, as we all know, is critical to protecting our first responders, our health care system and saving lives, so we’re going to keep doing that,” she said during a news conference Wednesday.

But when Journal reporter Elise Kaplan asked about the video showing APD officers standing close to one another outside Rogers’ home, neither the mayor nor the Governor’s Office expressed concern.

The Mayor’s Office did not answer questions posed by the Journal, including whether Keller knew about the gathering for the procession or thought such a gathering was advisable. Instead, a spokeswoman sent a statement about measures the department has taken to keep officers safe while fighting crime.

Tripp Stelnicki, the governor’s spokesman, did address the video.

“It would seem in my view that efforts were made to adhere to social distancing as best it could be while still providing Lt. Rogers a respectful escort worthy of his service to the city,” he wrote.

Chief Geier would not do an interview with the Journal about his own decision to attend the gathering, but APD spokesman Gilbert Gallegos confirmed that the officers had organized the escort procession from Rogers’ residence to the funeral home to honor his service the morning he died.

“Chief Geier reminded officers at the residence to practice social distancing,” Gallegos wrote in an email.

Willoughby said the police escort was the only way they could honor a friend and former colleague because it wasn’t possible for anyone to attend a funeral or memorial service. He said Rogers served in the Navy before his long career with APD and he retired in the past couple of years. He said that shortly after Rogers retired he was diagnosed with leukemia.

“This is a man that gave his entire life to service,” Willoughby said. “… With social distancing and the inability to have an actual funeral, I was proud to see the Albuquerque Police Department do what they did, which was they basically did an escort from his home to the funeral home on the morning that he was deceased.”

There’s no question Rogers deserved the send-off his former colleagues gave him. He was a public servant in the truest sense, and that service deserves to be recognized.

But it’s worth noting that there are countless families throughout our community and throughout the country who are grieving by themselves because large gatherings aren’t allowed and because ignoring those orders puts lives at risk. And it’s worth noting that this is a moment of shared sacrifice that’s affecting everyone, from workers who have lost their livelihoods to those dying alone in hospitals.
And even brushing all that aside, Albuquerque can ill afford to lose any more heroes.”

The link to the Albuquerque Journal article is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1444645/amid-covid19-pandemic-a-hero-receives-a-touching-tribute.html

APD PERSONNEL POLICIES ADOPTED AFTER THE FACT

During the week of April 14, Mayor Tim Keller and APD Chief Michael Geier announced that the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) were adopting personnel programs from other law enforcement departments across the country to deal with the corona virus. Although no APD officer has yet tested positive for the corona virus, both acknowledged that it is just a matter of time before a police officer dealing with the public becomes infected.

According to Keller:

“I think the unfortunate thing is at some point this is probably going to happen. Some of our officers and some of our first responders are going to come down with corona. The key is that we’re able to contain that spread. So that’s what we’re setting up now, and that’s what, unfortunately, a lot of these other departments did not have in place in advance.”

According to APD Chief Geier, the city has implemented a “three-tiered system” personnel policy to replace field officers who have to be put in quarantine due to the virus with police officers in investigative units as officers have to be isolated after possible exposure or put in quarantine due to the virus.

Under the policy announced, uniformed officers or civilian staffers who think they have been exposed to coronavirus, either on or off the job, are told to report it to a lieutenant who has been designated to coordinate the department’s response. The officers or staffers are then isolated, sometimes in hotel rooms away from their families, until they can be tested.

Taking officers out of the field periodically can greatly reduce the ranks. According to an APD staffing report, the department has a total of 972 sworn officers with 600 officers in the field patrolling 6 area commands and neighborhoods. According to APD spokesman Gilbert Gallegos, there are 340 active-duty field officers, with 12 to 26 staffing each shift, depending on the time of day and area command.

Chief Geier said that, in the first tier, the department has identified 135 officers and 35 supervisors who can be pulled without affecting any investigative units. The second tier taps further into investigative units and includes an additional 39 officers and six supervisors. The last tier utilizes both Tier 1 and Tier 2 and adds 215 more officers 50 supervisors.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1444221/aps-plan-covers-officers-our-temporarily-due-to-virus.html

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

The Albuquerque Journal front page article entitled “A Hero’s Send Off” and subtitled “APD officers gather to honor deceased lieutenant despite pandemic” is well written. It reflects 100% respect and dignity to an APD Police Officer who passed away, a man who served his country well in the military and then served his community to protect it. Lt. David Rogers without a doubt was a hero in every sense of the word. Sincere condolences go out to the family Lt. David Rogers during this difficult time.

Journal Editor Martin Salazar is commended for handling the very difficult subject matter while at the same time raising serious questions and issues that failed to be addressed by the Governor, the Mayor and APD Chief Michael Geier. Its speaks volumes’ that the Governor and the Mayor declined to give a direct quote, preferring a spokesman to speak for them instead. The Governor and the Mayor are giving daily press briefings and answering question about their efforts, yet they decline to comment for the story preferring spokes people to comment for them. Mayor Keller has also been conducting telephone “town hall meetings” where thousands participate and call in and ask him questions directly. APD Chief Geier simply refuses to comment.

Nationwide police are having to adjust how they handle funerals and processions. For example in Indiana, the police honored an officer killed on a domestic violence call by holding a procession at the local race track where all officers stayed in their vehicles and if outside their vehicles were at least 6 feet apart.

When you review the entire video, it is clear no safety precautions were taken as ordered by the Governor and the Mayor in their emergency orders. The links to both the Governor’s and the Mayor’s emergency declarations are found here:

https://www.governor.state.nm.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/COVID-19-DOH-Order-fv.pdf

https://cv.nmhealth.org/public-health-orders-and-executive-orders/

https://www.cabq.gov/mayor/news/mayor-keller-declares-local-public-health-emergency-due-to-covid-19

It has been extensively reported by the national and local news media that people with underlying health conditions are at the greatest risk for the corona virus. New York city for example had to update its statistics by adding an additional 3,000 who passed away at home. There is no report if the decedent past away from his underlying health conditions complicated by the corona virus.

APD Chief Michael Geier and the 40+ police officers in attendance failed to take precautionary measures to protect themselves from the corona virus with their failure to practice social distancing, to wear masks and to congregate with more than 5 people. APD has also been ordered by Mayor Keller to enforce and issue citations to businesses and citizens for flagrant violations of the orders. Links to the enforcement stories are here:

https://www.cabq.gov/police/news/city-helps-enforce-states-public-health-order

https://www.cabq.gov/office-of-emergency-management/news/mayor-keller-increases-enforcement-of-flagrant-non-essential-businesses-violators-and-inspection-of-nursing-homes

WHO GAVE THE ORDER?

The Governor’s and the Mayor’s quarantine, stay away orders and social distancing mandates do apply to funerals and people must adhere to social distancing and the 5 person crowd size requirements. A Livestream of the funeral so people can attend remotely is allowed. Immediate family may be there in person while others participate from home. Live chat for those who may not have a webcam at home but still want to be involved can be used.

https://www.krqe.com/health/coronavirus-resources/faq-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-new-mexico-stay-at-home-order/

It must be noted that the video reflects that the entire APD Traffic unit of some 40+ APD police officers participated in the escort . Chief Michael Geier, or someone in his command staff, had to order the entire Traffic Unit to respond for the escort. If such an order was given to the Traffic Unit, the order violated the governor’s and the mayor’s directives. APD’s activity, if the Governor and the Mayor are to believed regarding the seriousness of the corona virus, clearly put all of the officers, their families and the community at risk.

According to APD spokesman Gilbert Gallegos, there are 340 active-duty field officers assigned to 3 shifts and 6 area commands. The participation of 40+ sworn police to participate in the escort no doubt placed a strain on APD to respond to calls for service.

CONCLUSION

There is no doubt that Lt. David Rogers was deserving of the honor bestowed him and his family. It is difficult to understand why the APD command staff and in particular Chief Geier and the police union could not find and implement a better and safer way to honor one of their own.

Union President Shawn Willoughby can always be counted on to say something whenever the Keller Administration does some thing that he believes places his union membership in harms way, but not this time. His expressed grieve is understandable. When police union President Willoughby says the police escort was the only way they could honor a friend and former colleague because it wasn’t possible for anyone to attend a funeral or memorial service, the assertion is blatantly false on so many levels.

What is occurring not only here but nationwide are live-streaming of funerals so people can attend remotely. Immediate family are allowed to be there in person while others participate from home. Live chat for those who may not have a webcam at home but still want to be involved can be used.

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, Mayor Tim Keller and Chief Michael Geier and APD have shown a level of hypocrisy when they decline to even comment and not demand that APD take far more safety precautions. Mayor Keller especially showed hypocrisy by not commenting when he has said before “Some of our officers and some of our first responders are going to come down with corona. The key is that we’re able to contain that spread.” Mayor Tim Keller and Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham are demanding so very much from the general public during these difficult times, but then they both choose to treat law enforcement differently, make excuses or not even express that law enforcement must show more caution.

Just like the general public, law enforcement must honor and respect the requirements of the emergency orders as to safety precautions to halt the spread of the virus. Otherwise the emergency orders are meaningless and law enforcement lose credibility with the public when they try to enforce the orders and shut down businesses and cancel major events and issue citizens citations that result in heavy fines. It becomes an issue of “do as I order, not as I do.”

______________________________________________

POSTSCRIPTS

The following AlbUquerque Journal editorial was published on April 2:

HEADLINE: Editorial: How can leaders remain mum on APD send-off?
BY ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL EDITORIAL BOARD
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 12:02am

Albuquerque police officers stood shoulder to shoulder at the home of David Rogers on April 2. They wanted to give the retired APD lieutenant a hero’s send-off after he lost his battle with leukemia, and they accomplished that.

They, along with Mayor Tim Keller and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, also accomplished sending a strong message there’s a double standard when it comes to following social distancing rules in the age of coronavirus – rules both have vowed to have law enforcement enforce.

Albuquerque Police Chief Michael Geier, who was in attendance, confirmed through a spokesman officers organized the hearse escort from Rogers’ home to the funeral home but declined to elaborate. A spokesman said Geier reminded officers to practice social distancing.

Photos and a video (since removed from YouTube) of the send-off show that few, if any, listened. Officers did not stay in cruisers or on motorcycles to respectfully follow the hearse. During part of the video, some officers appeared to stand apart. But at times many stood shoulder to shoulder outside Rogers’ home, some even posing for group photos. No masks. No gloves. No other personal protective equipment. Not even by Chief Geier.

Neither Lujan Grisham nor Keller, who have ordered citizens to stay home and away from groups, expressed concern about the send-off. A spokesman for the governor said: “It would seem in my view that efforts were made to adhere to social distancing as best it could be while still providing Lt. Rogers a respectful escort worthy of his service to the city.” Keller did not answer questions, and instead a spokeswoman sent a statement about measures APD has taken to keep officers safe on the job. Shaun Willoughby, president of the Albuquerque Police Officers Association, told the Journal “a show of strong leadership and essence of our police family” was “the bare minimum” that could be done to honor Rogers.

Really? To preserve social distancing, you can’t load your groceries on the conveyer belt at the store until the person in front of you is done. You can’t join with family and friends to celebrate an engagement or mourn a loved one or honor a milestone. But if you wear a blue uniform and badge, you can pose side by side for pics with no protective gear whatsoever? Do our elected and law enforcement leaders think COVID-19 differentiates?

We understand that honoring our fallen police officers is a long-standing tradition. The desire to show respect for Rogers, 56, a U.S. Navy and law enforcement veteran, is commendable. But the way it was done was wholly inappropriate when state residents are told to stay home and remain 6 feet apart. The gathering at Rogers’ home came just a week and a half after the state Department of Health banned mass gatherings, defined as more than five. It’s a message officials and flashing road signs have been driving home. It’s an order police have been enforcing. And then APD blatantly violates it.

The failure of the mayor and governor to denounce the send-off is a glaring failure in leadership. By attending the gathering, Geier gave his approval, and rather than speaking out against the gathering, Keller and Lujan Grisham have backed him up.

No doubt it would have been awkward for Keller and Lujan Grisham to publicly criticize law enforcement for honoring one of its own. But they ordered the shelter-in-place rules, regardless of the personal pain and sacrifice they are causing hundreds of thousands of New Mexicans. They should have the backbone to support their own policies – and then brace for any criticism.

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1446283/how-can-leaders-remain-mum-on-apd-sendoff.html

The following story was published by the Albuquerque Journal on line on April 17 at 8:16 PM

HEADLINE: Dozens of APD officers quarantined after COVID-19 contact
BY MATTHEW REISEN / JOURNAL STAFF WRITER
Friday, April 17th, 2020 at 8:16pm

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Albuquerque Police Department has tested 39 officers and two civilian employees for COVID-19 and placed them all in quarantine after being exposed to another law enforcement officer who has the virus.

Gilbert Gallegos, an APD spokesman, said the officers experienced “different levels of exposure” over several days, which included a multi-agency operation.

“As soon as they were notified of the exposure, officers were immediately placed on quarantine and tested for the virus, as part of our protocol,” he said. “We are waiting for final results of those tests and will consult with our medical director before officers return to duty.”

Gallegos did not say what agency the initial infected officer was with or give the context of their contact with APD personnel.

“This is exactly why we are implementing safety protocols throughout the department to protect officers and prevent the spread of the virus,” Gallegos said. “We have not had any officers test positive.”

He said, in addition to current protocols, area commanders have been directed to spend time ensuring officers are wearing masks during encounters with the public.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1445020/dozens-of-apd-officers-quarantined-after-covid-19-contact.html?fbclid=IwAR3oG9jOzBy8CE9wMcDP6C4DSLAg4NWBiCBGWMi5uVi1Y1Sbhvzc-mqVAVY

Paul L. Silverman Guest Column: “Key To NM’s Future Growth Industry Is Its Brain Power”; Dale R. Dekker Journal Column: “NM Needs A 21st – Century Business Plan to Recover”

Posted on April 16, 2020 by Pete Dinelli

Below is a guest opinion article submitted for publication to this blog by private business owner, developer and entrepreneur Paul Silverman.

According to Paul Silverman, he has been an entrepreneur since 1957 when he was 9 yrs.old. He has lived in NM since 1977 investing in NM and places as far away as Singapore. His experience, and being very frugal, has allowed him to invest and operate in real estate, oil & gas, restaurants, listed stocks and start-ups. His greatest achievement to date has been the repatriation of his two sons with their families from California to take over the family real estate portfolio. He will tell you that the only thing he is allergic to is poverty and stupidity, which sometimes comes across as crass or arrogant, but he believes that hard work and making mistakes is the anecdote for both.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: The opinions expressed in this article are those of Paul Silverman and do not necessarily reflect those of the political blog www.petedinelli.com and Mr. Silverman was not compensated for the column).

The recent oil price war between Russia and the OPEC countries has had a major crippling impact on New Mexico’s oil and gas industry to the point of the state’s oil industry is shutting down. The current State budget relied on oil prices being $52 dollars a barrel and the price has now plummeted to $20 a barrel. It has forced a special legislative session. The crisis has highlighted the State’s reliance on the oil industry royalties to finance government. The State is faced with a $2.5 billion deficit from loss of oil production royalties and the oil industry literally shutting down in New Mexico.
The State’s reliance on oil industry royalties to finance government is not just the only problem it has. The biggest problem we have is way too much reliance on Federal Dollars, which for 10 years was declining or flat and in no event will ever grow fast enough to support the growth potential of the State. For decades, elected officials talk about diversifying our economy and talk about economic based jobs versus service-based jobs, and still nothing is done. The film industry had promise for the State in diversifying the economy, but that industry is heavily subsidized by the State and the subsidies may now be on the chopping block during the special session.

The only thing that made the film industry possible were the petroleum dollars. Netflix was the only company that actually made a major investment in brick and mortar in the State. NBC Universal was paid for with LEDA and Garcia family money. The Garcia’s will take a big hit in that when NBC leaves.

As to reliance on government jobs, that has been the basis of existence for people of European descent in NM for 422 years. It is a decent job, but no one ever got rich working in a government job. Very little wealth has ever been created in NM that stayed here with the exception being businesses created by Jewish and Italian families because they actually knew how to do business.

All the wealth created by our minerals, which is the basis of all wealth creation in all societies, goes out of state. With wealth from minerals, you usually get a second level of wealth creation. Think coal and iron ore gets you steel in the Midwest, oil and gas refining gets you petrochemicals in the Gulf coast, and gold and silver In Spain and Italy created the watch and jewelry industry in Switzerland.

Then there is a third level of valuation where the steel created the railroads and then auto industry and petrochemicals created the plastics industry. And so it goes.

But because government has always dominated the economy of our State, our stupid elected officials let people come in and take the wealth as long as the government got their cut. So our inheritance as a State was government jobs and a nice set of permanent funds but no real wealth creation. Without having the things that wealth creates, factories, real estate, and other hard assets, the only thing the State has to tax is the income from our jobs and the things it buys. I would also be remiss to note that wealth also buys things like concert halls, museums, hospitals, libraries, school buildings, etc. (named after the wealth that created them – not the elected people who spent your money to pay for them.

But then, in the early 1970’s, we nearly hit the jackpot with Bill Gates and Bill Allen. But a group of lawyers let them get out of town to pay a bill rather than investing in them. But the computers they created have given us the tools to mine the most important assets on earth – information. It started out as the tool to penetrate the government labs – tech transfer. But now has turned into the tool to gather all the information in the world.

Slowly, but with steady effort, we have been building up a 21st century industrial based composed of the most precious assets NM has in abundance – brain power. We have hundreds of small companies, not only in high tech but many other areas who are thriving in NM.

This is the future growth industry in NM that will stay here and create the wealth we have been missing. About 8 years ago, I started investing in these companies. To date, we have made 15 investments and have had only one failure which was my first investment. Given that failure is not something I can easily accept, I am resurrecting the some of the good work that did get done, moving the IP to a new company that will be very successful going forward with a new start. And it will be a NM company creating jobs and wealth for New Mexico.

You will read about the rebirth soon. My portfolio also includes some incredible other companies like Aqua Membranes (water technology), mPower (solar power), NtxBio (pharma-tech) and my biggest investment, Electric Playhouse which will have 500 stores across the US before it goes international. This is not said to be braggadocios, but to hopefully encourage others reading this to dig a little deeper to find these emerging start-ups or search out people like John Strong, John Chavez, Stuart Rose or others you read about to find a path into this incredible opportunity to invest in NM and take advantage of this renaissance of the NM economy.

As these companies mature and grow, they are going to be part of the new economic engine of NM. They are also going to make a lot of people, a lot of money which will stay and get reinvested in NM. Then we can start to create the wealth that will create better schools, a concert hall, better funding for behavioral health and a stronger economy to make business the focus of the State, not government. Hopefully kids will want to stay in school to become business-people, scientists and professionals rather that gang bangers, drug dealers and criminals.

That is the dream and that is what I am focused on …along with continuing to prod our elected officials to make better decisions.”

Below is the contact information for Mr. Silverman:

Paul L. Silverman
Geltmore LLC
Address: P.O. Box 7459
Albuquerque, NM 87194

Office 505-294-8625
Cell 505-328-8625
Fax. 505-294-2225
Email: paul@geltmore.com

________________________________________

POSTSCRIPT

ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL GUEST COLUMN

(EDITOR’S NOTE: The opinions expressed in this guest column are those of DALE R. DEKKER and do not necessarily reflect those of the political blog www.petedinelli.com. The link to the Journal follows the column).

On Friday, April 17, the following guest column was published by the Albuquerque Journal:

TITLE: NM NEEDS A 21st- CENTURY BUSINESS PLAN TO RECOVER
BY DALE R. DEKKER / FOUNDING PRINCIPAL, DEKKER/PERICH/SABATINI
Friday, April 17th, 2020 at 12:02am

“New Mexico is experiencing the perfect storm:

• Crashing oil prices; a global pandemic that is hammering our state’s tourism and hospitality industries;

• A much-needed social distancing mandate that by necessity keeps people in their homes and not spending money, which in turn greatly reduces gross receipts taxes that fund our state and city operations;

• Huge job losses that in turn will create unprecedented unemployment and impact the lives of thousands of New Mexicans.

Our state has gone from riding on top of the wave to getting crushed by events and circumstances beyond our control. Nobody could have seen this coming, but it should serve as a wake-up call for our state’s businesses, nonprofits and government entities that business-as-usual will not work in the future, and that there will be a “new normal.” So that is today’s grand challenge – trying to figure out what the new normal might look like and how New Mexico can begin to position itself now.

It is clear that New Mexico needs a 21st century business plan. The thinking of the past is not sustainable and will not meet the needs of current and future New Mexicans. The global pandemic has exposed the serious vulnerability of the United States to supply chain interruptions and the impact to critical infrastructure, particularly in pharma, personal protective equipment and medical devices. For example, more than 90% of all antibacterial drugs are manufactured in China and over 70% of active pharmaceutical ingredients are made in China and India. Other industries impacted are apparel, automotive, aerospace and manufactured goods and products of all kinds. Will these identified “vulnerabilities” bring businesses and manufacturing back to the United States? My hunch is yes. The re-shoring trend of industry back to the United States, in combination with advanced manufacturing, robotics, artificial intelligence, big data and 5G, are going to create the next industrial revolution 4.0. New Mexico’s 24/7/365 days of production, our state’s lack of extreme weather and natural disasters, our low cost of renewable energy and our strategic location along major east-west and north-south trade routes could influence where manufacturing re-shores to the United States.

Besides our state’s natural environment, abundant natural resources and location advantages, we as a state have existing infrastructure that will serve to attract companies to our state and provide new opportunities for our citizens to grow and thrive. World-class research universities; a robust community college and workforce training system; our national labs with centers of excellence focused on artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, aerospace and robotics – these are all assets that will differentiate New Mexico in the new normal.

So why should we create a new business plan now? Because if we don’t make some bold moves, and fast, our state’s goals of improving our public education system and dealing with crime, mental health and homelessness will never happen. We as a state won’t have the tax revenue to fill the gap left by a business model that was over-dependent on oil as well as respond to the shock of the pandemic’s impact to our state’s economy and revenues. The need to diversify our economy has never been greater. We need to encourage and reward innovation, ingenuity and the risk-takers who grow our state’s economic base. There has never been greater need in our state’s history to rethink and reinvent itself for the new normal and for a sustainable path forward in the 21st century.

New Mexico’s budget is upside down and not if, but when, there is a special legislative session, I would hope a public/private task force could be created and empowered to craft New Mexico’s 21st Century business plan. The charge will be to develop a blueprint for how our state can thrive in the new normal, diversify our economy and enhance the quality of life for all New Mexicans. No easy task, but one that must be undertaken with a sense of urgency and collective determination. New Mexico has no time to waste.”

https://www.abqjournal.com/1444620/nm-needs-21st-century-business-plan-to-recover.html

NEWS AND COMMENTARY

Author Archives: Pete Dinelli