In a unanimous 9-0 bi-partisan vote, the Albuquerque City Council approved a resolution supporting a proposed economic development project that would include $2.7 million in financial incentives for a sports and entertainment complex to be built at the former Beach Waterpark site.

For the past 14 years, the property at Montano and I-25 has been a dirt lot.

As part of a resolution, the City Council supported funding of $500,000 from the city’s general fund to provide economic development assistance for land, building and infrastructure at the proposed site.

The $2.7 million in incentives will include gross receipts tax revenues of $2.3 million and capital improvements funding of $326,000.

Originally, $500,000 was going to come from the city’s Local Economic Development Act funds, but the Keller Administration objected to the funding.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1180698/city-council-agrees-to-back-proposed-topgolf-complex-ex-resolution-includes-500000-from-the-citys-2018-general-fund.html

Topgolf, a Dallas based corporation, will be the recipient of the incentives.

Topgolf promises to build a three-story tall netted driving range, with a bar and kitchen.

City councilors are working on what Topgolf will have to give to the city in return, before the council gives final approval of the project.

Topgolf has yet to commit in writing what it will do for the city in exchange for the incentives.

The city council believes the golf complex will create 300 construction jobs and another 350 service jobs.

Efforts are being made to reach a final agreement on the terms of the proposed project participation agreement before the development commission meets to approve the project and before the city council gives the project final approval.

KELLER ADMINISTRATION OBJECTIONS

The Keller Administration wants the entertainment company to play by the rules before it can receive $2.7 million from the city.

Economic Development Director Synthia Jaramillo said Topgolf was “breaking the rules” when it comes to the city incentives being offered.

Jaramillo claimed that Albuquerque won’t win by promising millions to the entertainment complex without demanding much in return.

One of Jaramillo’s major concerns is Topgolf will primarily provide low-wage, part-time jobs.

According to Economic Development Director Synthia Jaramillo:

“Topgolf is an entertainment venue, therefore it does not qualify as economic-based company. … So, when we’re talking about economic-based jobs, those are jobs or employers that provide higher wage jobs.”

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/topgolfs-future-in-albuquerque-up-in-the-air/4935953/?cat=500

Given the lack luster performance of Keller’s Economic Development Department and given Albuquerque’s extremely high unemployment rate, the projected 600 jobs that the Topgolf project will likely produce is nothing to sneeze at, even if not the high paying jobs the Keller Administration wants.

In this case, an eye soar vacant lot will be developed after 14 years.

One approach would be is to have Topgolf agree to having a satellite corporate office in Albuquerque with additional high paid professional staff in an effort to have it be an Albuquerque based company.

KELLER’S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARMENT

The mission statement of the City of Albuquerque Economic Development Department states its purpose is to “develop a more diversified and vital economy through the expansion and retention of businesses; develop appropriate industry clusters and recruit target industries; and assist new business start-ups and promote the film and music industries.”

According to its mission statement, the department supports the tourism and hospitality industries through collaboration and oversight of the City’s contractors.

The department also fosters international trade efforts and increased international business opportunities for Albuquerque companies.

The Keller Economic Development Department employs 11 full time employees with an approved annual budget of $3.9 million.

The 2018-2019 city council approved budget for Keller’s Economic Development Department’s only includes funding for the department’s core programs.

Those programs include supporting local businesses, aligning expenditures to keep tax dollars in the local economy “instead of flowing out of state.”

The approved budget also contains funding recruiting new businesses.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1178797/mayor-signs-citys-1-billion-budget.html

The approved 2018-2019 budget for the Economic Development Department alocates $360,000 in funding for continued economic development investments and includes:

$125,000 for Transit Oriented Development (TOD) corridors investment. (TOD is a type of development that includes a mixture of housing, office, retail and/or other amenities within reach of public transportation.)
$55,000 thousand for small business development,
$30,000 for Listen! ABQ. (Listen! Alb is a web site that promotes local music and music events which generate millions for the local economy.)
$150,000 for various local economic development investment projects.

The approved general fund budget for the department includes:

$1.6 million for “economic development” activities
$199,000 for the International Trade Program
$2.087 million for the convention center

COMMENTARY

Albuquerque has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country.

For the last 8 years, the prior administration failed to attract a single major corporation or company to relocate to Albuquerque.

After over six months in office, it is laughable that the city’s Economic Development Director objected so strongly to the Golftop project given the fact that the Department has failed to propose any meaningful economic development programs.

The Keller Administration approved budget of $3.9 million for the Economic Development is so a meager as to be an embarrassment given the fact that the city has a total operating revenue and approved budget of at almost a billion dollars at $955,300,000 for fiscal year 2018-2019.

To add insult to injury, the City Council enacted a one-eighth of a cent tax increase that will generate an additional $55 million a year.

The gross receipts tax increase was enacted by the city council in anticipation of a projected $44 million deficit.

Gross receipts tax revenues from the state are now being reported in excess of what was projected.

The city is seeing a 4% to 6.8% increase in gross receipts tax revenues compared to last year from the state as a result of increase in business activity.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1178079/abq-sees-bump-in-gross-receipts-revenue.html

Candidate for Mayor Tim Keller proposed as a “big idea” creating personal or individual Tax Increment Districts (TIDS), more use of industrial revenue bonds and tax incentives to attract new industry to Albuquerque and create jobs.

As Mayor, Keller failed to seek any major increased appropriation for economic development in the approved 2018-2019 budget.

As far as economic based jobs that provide higher wage jobs, the Keller Administration has yet to announce anything different, nor fund anything different, than what has been going on at city hall for the last 8 years.

Albuquerque can and must expand and find better ways to use financial incentives for economic development such as tax increment districts (TIDS), industrial revenue bonds, and even fund economic development investment programs such as initial startup funding with claw back provisions.

A good start would have been funding a $20 million initial startup fund for new businesses with claw back provisions with the program administered by the Economic Development Department.

The initial start up fund could have been funded by the newly enacted gross receipts tax.

Albuquerque needs to pursue with a vengeance real growth industry like heath care, transportation and manufacturing, and especially the film industry to diversify our economy, and yes, the recreational industry which is what Golftop represents.

New Mexico has some of the finest golf courses in the country on Indian tribal lands and within minutes from Albuquerque.

Public-private partnerships in the growth industries where ever possible should be encouraged and developed.

Albuquerque’s taxpayers must be convinced by Mayor Keller and the City Council of the importance of investing in major projects.

CONCLUSION

The Keller Administration has yet to announce any economic development plan that is any different than the previous administration.

If anything, it is identical.

Mayor Keller has failed to propose any of his “big ideas” he suggested as a candidate.

Before the Director of the City’s Economic Department can be taken seriously, it is suggested that the department get serious about economic development.

The department needs to come up and offer a viable economic development plan for the city to conform with Mayor Keller’s promises made during his campaign.

Until then the city can expect nothing new or different out of the new Keller administration that is any different than what we saw the past 8 years of the failed Berry Administration when it comes to economic development.

Albuquerque needs a community inspired economic development plan.

For more on a “Community Inspired Economic Development Plan” see:

https://www.petedinelli.com/2017/10/12/new-mayor-needs-a-community-inspired-economic-development-plan/

Keller, Geier Announce APD Policy Changes
June 6, 2018
|
By Dennis Domrzalski, ABQ Reports

Mayor Tim Keller and police chief Mike Geier on Wednesday rolled out policy changes for the Albuquerque Police Department that they say will stop child abuse and neglect cases from being mishandled as was the case of the 7-year-old girl who was allegedly prostituted out by her family members.

Geier signed three Special Orders today that will apply to the entire Police Department. Existing officers and new cadets will get training on the policy changes to ensure they are successfully implemented.
…
The changes relate to gathering evidence in potential criminal cases, accessing the New Mexico Children, Youth and Family Services Department’s child abuse database and the retention of lapel camera videos when officers are called out on child abuse and neglect cases.

Perhaps the biggest change is that all officers who go out on child abuse and neglect cases will have to collect evidence if there if there is a reasonable suspicion of a crime, and regardless of whether the incident is a crime scene or a crime has been reported.

The second biggest change is that on all child abuse and neglect calls APD Real Time Crime Center personnel will access the CYFD database and relay that information to officers within three or four minutes.

And any video footage of child abuse and neglect calls will have to be retained for a much longer period of time than is currently the case.

…

Here are the policy changes:

1. Gathering and Retaining Potential Criminal Evidence in Child Abuse and Neglect Matters

· All officers with a reasonable suspicion of a crime involving child abuse or neglect will collect and preserve all items of possible evidentiary value.

· The officer will immediately notify the appropriate on-call detective, unit, or supervisor.

· The officer will collect the items regardless of whether the incident is considered a crime scene or a crime is reported.

· If a crime has not been reported, the evidence will be stored using a unique numerical identifier for a non-reported crime and retained until one year after the child turns 18 or the completion of the statute of limitations.

2. Use of Crimes Against Children Unit Case Management System (CACU) and CYFD Law Enforcement Portal

· First APD-wide policy that does the following:

o All officers encountering allegations of child abuse or neglect on any call for service or field interaction will contact the Real Time Crime Center and request a query for information through both the CACU case management system and the CYFD Law Enforcement portal.

o This will help to ensure all officers are aware of a child or family’s history with CYFD or APD’s CACU detectives.

3. Video Footage Retention

· All officers must tag their video footage from interactions in which child abuse or neglect is alleged in APD’s storage system as “evidentiary.”

· This new policy will ensure the video footage is retained in the system until one year after the juvenile becomes an adult or the completion of the statute of limitations.

· This policy change assures that the video footage can be used in any subsequent criminal prosecution.

During a news conference in which the changes were announced and signed by Geier, Keller said, “We are taking action today to address shortcomings in old APD crimes against children policies. These special orders will help build a better system to protect kids in our city and help officers with guidance. We’re ending the confusion about the collection of potential evidence and making it clear that previous case information must be accessed. While the investigation into the specifics of the Stewart case is ongoing, we wanted to act now to make some commonsense changes to give officers clear guidance.”

Geier said, “Our goal with these policy changes is to put protections in place for children. We are giving officers the resources and direction they need to make the best possible decisions about the welfare of kids in our community.”

https://www.abqreport.com/home/author/Dennis-Domrzalski

I have know Joe Monahan now for some 35 + years, and without question he is the leading political blogger when it comes to the entire New Mexico political scene.

For the past 35 years, Joe Monahan has done exceptional primary election night coverage on KANW election night and gives up to date coverage from all over the state as the results pour in to the station.

In his usual flair, Joe Monahan did an exceptional job of reporting the statewide result.

I now bow to Joe Monahan waving my hands saying “All Political Praise To YE Old Wise One!”, recognizing him as the premiere political guru he is in New Mexico politics.

The complete state results can be found here at the New Mexico Secretary of State’s web page:

http://electionresults.sos.state.nm.us/

Below is his full report that appeared on New Mexico Politics With Joe Monahan.

http://joemonahansnewmexico.blogspot.com

From: joemonahan.com

NIGHT OF SURPRISES: Haaland Wins In A Walk, Garcia Richard Beats The Boys, MLG Roars With 66 Percent; Reps Rodella And Trujillo Fall
A newly energized New Mexico Democratic Party delivered a night of surprises Tuesday. And here they are:

–Deb Haaland goes way high. Sure, Haaland was among the top three Democratic candidates for the ABQ congressional nomination going into Tuesday night and her win was not out of the blue, but no one–and we mean no one–expected her to crush her five opponents. This was supposed to be the nail biter of the night. Instead it turned into the jaw dropper of the night when Haaland won with 41 percent in the six way race. That was double what she was scoring in the polling only two weeks ago.

But a surge in women voters left Damon Martinez, who many expected to take the victory, in the dust. The women did not, as many expected, divide themselves between progressive candidates Haaland and Antoinette Sedillo Lopez but coalesced around the Haaland candidacy, an historic one that should she win in November would make her the first Native American woman to serve in the U.S House.

Haaland appeared to score big with Anglo progressive voters who showed up in large numbers. Throughout the campaign they were the group most receptive to what Mayor Tim Keller told our KANW-FM audience last night was the “higher calling” aspect of her candidacy. That higher calling kept taking Deb higher and higher and let Damon dangling with only 26 percent and Antoinette aching over her 21 percent showing. It also had ABQ City Councilor Pat Davis feeling rejuvenated. He dropped out of the race late in the game and endorsed Haaland. Suddenly his sagging chances at getting re-elected to his city council seat perked up.

Haaland did it despite being greatly outspent by Super PAC money that favored Martinez and Sedillo Lopez. She attributed her big bump to “thousands of volunteers.” But that $200,000 media buy from Emily’s list criticizing Martinez at the end sure helped. It stalled him.

Haaland can start measuring the drapes for her new Capitol Hill office. The ABQ congressional district is now deep blue and the R’s are not expected to target the contest which features Janice Arnold-Jones as the GOP nominee.

–Stephanie Garcia Richard wins the Dem nomination for state land commissioner. Wow. Another exciting finish because hardly anyone saw it coming. That’s what makes this business fun. She put on a show from the beginning, scoring in the early vote across the state. Soon it became clear that the “Night of Surprises” was also the “Night of the Women.” She drove right between her two male opponents–Garrett VeneKlasen and George Munoz, scoring 39 percent to VeneKlasen’s 37 and Munoz at 23. She becomes the first female nominated by a major party for the land office and the odds are good that she can keep Republican nominee Pat Lyons at bay and take the office in November. If so, she would become the first woman to do that in state history. What can you say?Except maybe what they were saying at her celebration: “You go, Girl!” Oh, they were also saying one other thing: “You were tricked, Martin.”

–MLG scores 66 percent of the vote to take the 2018 Democratic gubernatorial nomination. Hey, that’s crazy high and speaks to the rise in Dem turnout this cycle. In 2014 about 125,000 Dems voted in the Guv primary. This year it was around 175,000, a 40 percent increase. And ABQ Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham owned them.

The sharks had been circling her in the wake of a late breaking Politico article that called into question the profits she made from Delta Consulting, her former health care firm. But by the end of the night the sharks appeared to be dying off. The polling had her at 55 percent but with the big turnout she goes through the roof at 66, resetting the expectations game for her face-off with Republican Steve Pearce. In other words, the expectation returned to the premise that he is a November long shot. He still grumbled last night about “cronyism and corruption” but he’s going to have to play a fresh hand to get that narrative back in play.

And Jeff Apodaca and Joe Cervantes? Well, when the fella yelled, “Gentleman, start your engines!” They just couldn’t get them to turn over. Apodaca came in second with 22% and Cervantes last with 11 percent.

So MLG still has to unify the party, right? Uh. The last we looked 66 percent in a three way race spells U-N-I-T-Y.

–Down go northern State Representatives Carl Trujillo and Debbie Rodella. The Trujillo race against Andrea Romero gave us trouble on the radio in the early going as it looked like Trujillo might pull it out. No wonder. This race has been nothing but troubles. Both Trujillo and his Dem challenger, Andrea Romero, were two mud covered contenders who trashed each other so hard that it made cockfighting look tame.

In the end the sexual harassment charges brought against Trujillo by a lobbyist did him in. (Night of the Women, anyone?) He reacted too strongly to the charges and Romero’s attacks, raising questions about his temperament which in turn seemed to give the harassment charges more credibility giving Romero her entry and her win. She took him down on a 53 to 47 count.

Then there was Debbie’s deep dive into political oblivion. No way the legendary Rep. Rodella could lose to a 70 year old newcomer. No way! So the biz lobbyists kept chanting as they filled Rodella’s coffers. But progressive Susan Herrera beat her with a handful of her Social Security checks. Vastly outspent but playing to the changing politics of Rio Arriba–a bit more progressive–and the long and often rocky tenure of Rodella, first elected in ’93, Herrera trounced her 56 to 44. Guess who will be sitting in the retirement rocking chair now?

YVETTE AND MONTY
Turn out the lights, the party is over. And they were saying that at Monty Newman headquarters before the sun went down. The race for the southern GOP congressional nomination was always Rep. Yvette Herrell’s to lose and that became even more so when Newman hired the notorious Gov. Martinez political consultant Jay McCleskey to handle his media. That put even more Rs in an uproar and helped doom the former Hobbs Mayor who made a perfunctory hug of President Trump but who Herrell hugged like a long lost brother. Newman loses it 49 to 32. Herrell will face Dem Las Cruces lawyer Xochitl Torres Small in the fall. And that one ought to keep the entertainment factor alive and well in the southern CD.

McCleskey, all over the political map in the waning days of the political machine he built, banded with PNM Resources, parent company of electric company PNM. Both fell on their swords when they ran with a $440,000 Super PAC to protect incumbent Public Regulation Commissioners Sandy Jones and Lynda Lovejoy. Both lost their seats in what appeared to be in part a backfire against PNM. The Super PAC money came from major GOP oil interests. Once that word got out PNM was given the shock treatment. Their brash move to regulate their regulators was like a spit to the eyes of the voters, and that’s why PNM got its plug pulled.

Channel 4 did a story about APD Interim Chief Michael Geier who is applying to be appointed permanent APD Chief.

You can see the entire story here:

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico-news/abqs-interim-police-chief-talks-life-department-goals/4935945/#.WxZyRh4aWVE.facebook

The story starts out from the get go reporting that “Albuquerque could learn who its next police chief will be as soon as this week.”

As background, Mayor Keller has appointed Geier Interim APD Police Chief.

Interim Deputy Chiefs have also been appointed who are either retired or from within APD and shuffled and reorganized the APD command staff and personnel staff.

CHIEF SELECTION PROCESS

Keller has appointed a five-member Chief Selection Committee who are tasked with doing a ”national search”, collecting resumes and do interviews.

The city administration is also paying a private company $10,000 to assist in the recruitment, selection and interview process.

Keller announced the appointment of a 5-member selection committee for a permanent APD chief with the goal of hiring a chief by mid-June, 2017.

The selection committee consists of a former APD Captain, the Fraternal Order of Police President and 3 Keller Administration employees with no one from the general public nor affected groups.

There are no representatives on the chief’s selection committee from the American Civil Liberties Union, APD Forward, the District Attorney’s Office nor Public Defenders Office, nor any Hispanic, Native American or other minority groups nor communities affected by police actions.

There is no representation on the selection committee from any one of the stake holders in the Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) mandating implementation of reforms and no representation from the Police Oversight Commission nor the Community Policing Counsels.

GEIER’S CHANNEL 4 “NEWS” REPORT

The news report points out that Chief Geier has more than four decades of police work under his belt, including his employment as the Chief in Rio Rancho.

Before being the Rio Rancho Police Chief, Geier worked 20 years with the Albuquerque Police Department and before that he spent nearly 20 years on a force in the Chicago suburbs.

The Channel 4 news story was highly flattering of Interim Chief Geier.

The report makes it clear that Geier is in the running to be appointed permanent Chief.

City hall insiders are saying Geier is the front runner for the position and that Mayor Keller has already made up his mind to make Geier permanant.

The Channel 4 reporter failed to ask Interim Chief Geier any substantive questions regarding his defense of APD in the collection of evidence gathering in a child abuse case where the blood-stained underwear of a seven-year-old child was collected by the child’s teacher.

The APD officer refused to take the child’s blood-stained garment and tag it into evidence.

Interim Chief Geier insisted that no one with APD violated any policies or procedures, including when an APD officer tossed out the evidence.

Geier doubled down when he said that officers and detectives “did everything they could with the information they had at the time.”

After a full week of negative news coverage, Mayor Keller ordered an Internal Affairs Investigation into the handling of the evidence gathering.

COMMENTARY

Interim Chief Geier defending the actions of APD when he knew absolutely nothing about the case, even after courtroom testimony of the teacher, speaks volumes of either his management ineptness or worse his reluctance to hold APD accountable showing nothing has changed in management at APD that lead to the federal consent decree.

The Channel 4 news report could not have been a better job interview video and Geier should just give it to the Chief’s Selection committee and decline to be interviewed by the committee.

Mayor Keller’s interim appointments are a reliance on the past management of APD and that alone should disqualify them from being retained permanently in the positions of Chief and Deputy Chiefs.

Channel 4 did its viewers a major disservice by failing to report on all the applicants for APD Chief.

Channel 4 could have interviewed all the applicants as well, but that would be real news and of course would have taken some time, but why bother to inform the public.

The Channel 4 news report was nothing more than a “fluff piece” that seems to confirm that the selection committee and the “national search” is nothing more than a farce and that Keller intends to make Geier permanent.

https://www.petedinelli.com/2018/05/03/no-need-for-charade-if-fix-already-in/

“You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.” – Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel

On June 2, 2018, the Albuquerque Journal published a front-page story on Mayor Tim Keller’s interview entitled “Keller walks back defense of APD in child abuse case; Mayor: ‘Bunker mentality’ stalls reform in department”

Mayor Keller is quoted in the article as saying:

“It was premature to go out with those kinds of statements [that no one with APD violated any policies or procedures and that officers and detectives did everything they could with the information they had at the time] … We should have waited. … What we learned is that you can’t make a few phone calls and say you have the entire picture, and we’re not going to do it again. I think we learned a lot through this. … There are still lots and lots of issues at APD. The deep-seated bunker mentality culture goes right down to every unit and shows up in a different way. It’s just a realization that reforming APD in reality is going to be a unit-by-unit exercise and that is going to take years.”
https://www.abqjournal.com/1179756/keller-walks-back-defense-of-apd-in-abuse-case.html

Mayor Keller’s admissions were stunning both in scope and substance.

Keller’s mistakes made in his dealing with APD and its “deep-seated bunker mentality” can be explained by his short time in office, lack of experience with police management and no understanding of law enforcement procedures and police culture.

Keller needs to buckle down and act on his words when he said the APD “culture goes right down to every unit and shows up in a different way … It’s just a realization that reforming APD in reality is going to be a unit-by-unit exercise and that is going to take years”.

KELLER HAS LAID A FOUNDATION TO REBUILD APD

Because of developing events, Mayor Keller has already laid a new foundation to rebuild APD with a renewed justification for it provided that he has the political backbone to do it.

Mayor Keller has appointed an Interim APD Police Chief and Interim Deputy Chiefs who are either retired or from within APD and shuffled and reorganized the APD command staff and personnel staff

The interim appointments are a reliance on the past management of APD and that alone should disqualify them from being retained permanently in the positions of Chief and Deputy Chiefs.

Keller has appointed a five-member Chief Selection Committee who are collecting resumes and doing interviews and whose duties can be expanded to include Deputy Chiefs.

Mayor Keller needs to recruit and appoint a new permanent APD Chief and Deputy Chiefs with no prior service with APD who will bring real reform to the department “down to every unit” and who are fully committed to and trained in constitutional policing practices.

The Keller Administration has proposed an $88 million-dollar APD police expansion program over 4 years increasing the number of sworn police officers from 898 positions filled to 1,200, or by 302 sworn police officers, over a four-year period.

The 2018-2019 approved budget calls for APD to increase its ranks to 1,040 officers in the upcoming fiscal year, which starts July 1, 2018.

The Keller Administration APD expansion will be over a four-year period, with 32 million dollars of recurring expenditures, to hire 322 officers and expand APD from the current 878 sworn police officers to 1,200 officers.

The Keller Administration will be implementing a hiring and recruitment program to offer incentives, pay raises and bonuses to join or return to APD.

At a minimum, the APD expansion plan calls for $32 million dollars in recurring costs.

The $88 million dollars for expanding APD will include expanded academy training and the vehicles and other equipment that additional officers will require.

Keller has vowed to return to community-based policing.

The Keller Administration successfully negotiated a two-year contract with the police union providing for $12.2 million dollars in hourly wage increases and longevity pay increases to experienced police officers.

The new contract should assist APD in becoming more competitive to attract and retain a new generation of sworn police.

Keller now has a major opportunity to build on the new foundation that has been laid to rebuild and reform APD “unit by unit”.

CREATE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

Mayor Tim Keller should create a Department of Public Safety by executive order and appoint a civilian Police Commissioner who would eventually become the Public Safety Commissioner.

The national search for a permanent APD Chief should be expanded to include a search for a civilian Police Commissioner and Deputy Chiefs.

A Police Commissioner and a new APD Chief with extensive and proven leadership in managing a municipal police department must be hired, not political operatives.

Overtime, the Department of Public Safety would include both the Police and Fire Departments, both Police and Fire Academies, and 911 emergency dispatch center, the emergency operations center with the appointment of a Public Safety Commissioner.

A national search should be conducted to identify qualified candidates to serve as Public Safety Commissioner who have a firm understanding on constitutional policing practices.

Implementation of the DOJ consent decree reforms would be the top priority of the Public Safety Commissioner.

The duties of the Public Safety Commissioner would include continued formulation, writing and implementation of standard operating procedure and changes agreed to under the consent decree, expansion of crisis intervention mandates and certified training of APD department personnel in constitutional policing practices.

There is a need for a complete overhaul and restructuring of APD with the appointment of a new chief, new commanders, lieutenants, academy director and a 911 manager beyond what has already occurred.

Every single APD felony unit needs to be increased in personnel by anywhere between 40% and 60%, including the following APD units: Armed Robbery, Auto Theft, Burglary, Homicide, Gang Unit, Narcotics, Property Crimes and Sex Crimes Units and the Criminal Nuisance Abatement Unit.

The Public Safety Department would consist of four civilian staffed divisions and managed by the Public Safety Commissioner:

1. Personnel and training, for recruiting, hiring, internal affairs investigations and police academy;
2. Budget and finance;
3. Information technology support and crime lab; and
4. 911 emergency operations center with a civilian manager.

“Deadly use of force” cases need to continue to be investigated by the Critical Incident Review Team and the final reports with finding and recommendations.

APD needs to “triple down” on recruitment and dramatically increase the size and number of police academy classes per year.

ABOLISH APD INTERNAL AFFAIRS

APD has consistently shown over many years it cannot police itself which contributed to the “culture of aggression” found by the Department of Justice.

The APD Internal Affairs Unit needs to be abolished and its functions absorbed by the Office Independent Council.

The investigation of police misconduct cases including excessive use of force cases not resulting in death or nor serious bodily harm would be done by “civilian” personnel investigators.

The function and responsibility for investigating police misconduct cases and violations of personnel policy and procedures by police should be assumed by the Office of Independent Council in conjunction with the City Human Resources Department and the Office of Internal Audit where necessary.

The Office of Independent Council would make findings and recommendations to the Public Safety Commissioner for implementation and imposition of disciplinary action.

“Deadly use of force” cases would continue to be investigated by the Critical Incident Review Team and the final reports with finding and recommendations submitted to the Police Commissioner for implementation and imposition of disciplinary action.

CONCLUSION

Hopefully, Keller has learned from his mistakes in handling a public relations nightmare of his own creation with the help of his appointed interim Chief.

One way Mayor Keller can show he has learned from his mistake is by creating of a Department of Public Safety to rebuild APD.

Rebuilding APD will take the kind of leadership Keller exhibited by admitting to his mistakes when he talked to the Journal.

A Public Safety Commissioner and a new APD Chief would ensure that APD is reformed and “be a unit-by-unit exercise and that is going to take years.”

Since taking office on December 1, 2018, Mayor Tim Keller has been trying to clean up the $135 million-dollar disaster known as the ART Bus Project.

Keller even journeyed to Washington back in January, hat in hand, to lobby the Federal Transpiration Administration for the $75 million dollar grant and he came back empty handed.

After a full 6 months in office, Keller continues to be made miserable with the project and still clings to the hope the $75 million federal grant will be forthcoming.

During a press conference, Mayor Tim Keller explained the city designed the ART bus routes and charging stations based on the fully-electric buses being able to run 275 miles without recharging.

News story can be seen here:

http://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-leaders-considered-dropping-art-bus-manufacturer/21064582

After a full 7 months since the previous Mayor dedicated the project as “up and running” Keller reported the electric busses still do not hold a charge and the city is in contract negotiations with the manufacturer.

The electric buses delivered are supposed to operate for 275 miles but they cannot go more than 180 miles before they need charging, which means more buses or more bus stations are needed.

In the press conference update of the ART project, Keller said the city is looking to “divorce” itself from the manufacturer and in the process of renegotiating its contract with the firm.

Renegotiating the contract would mean in part that the city keeps only some of the 15 buses delivered to the city.

The Keller Administration itself created a problem with the ART buses when it took delivery of at least 10 of the buses in California where the buses were assembled.

Instead of being shipped by rail, the buses were driven across country and sustained damages which may not be covered by the warranty or have voided the warranty.

A bus manufacturer spokesman stated the busses were not designed for cross country driving and damages caused by the delivery may not be covered by the warranty.

Keller went on to say the buses were like kids in a divorce where parents are fighting for who gets custody.

Never heard before new vehicles subject to manufacture warranties being compared to children in a custody case.

If a “divorce” is what Keller really wants, he needs to hire a good lawyer, file suit and seek damages for breach of contract for all the delays and breach of warranties relating to the buses.

Litigation is why we have a city attorney’s office as well a risk management department.

Both the City Attorney’s Office and Risk Managment have had no problem settling cases and dishing out $62 million dollars in police misconduct and deadly use of force cases.

Instead of being miserable for another year in a marriage trying to correct all the mistakes with ART, Keller needs to cut our losses and move on with termination of the marriage and give up custody of the kids.