On Monday, March 5, 2018, the Albuquerque City Council voted to raise the city’s gross receipts tax rate by three-eighths (3/8t ths) of a percentage point to deal with a $40 million project deficit for fiscal year that commences July 1, 2018 and to fund public safety and hire more police to increase ranks.

The gross receipts tax increase of 3/8th of a cent could potentially raise an additional $30 to $40 million in revenues this year when it goes into effect July 1, 2018 and upwards of $55 million each year thereafter.

The City of Albuquerque has a total general budget of $955.3 million dollars, of which $529.6 million is the general fund which goes to providing essential services.

“Public Safety” represents 29% of a $529.6 million general fund budget appropriation and includes both the Albuquerque Fire Department and the Albuquerque Police Department.

The Albuquerque Police Department’s (APD) Annual budget is $171.8 million.

On April 1, 2018, the Keller Administration will be submitting the city budget for fiscal year 2018-2019 to the city council for public hearings and approval.

THE $88 MILLION APD EXPANSION PLAN ANALIZED

The Keller Administration is proposing to increase the number of sworn police officers from the current 836 positions filled to 1,200, or by 264 sworn police officers, and return to community-based policing.

In order to address the $40 million deficit, the Keller Administration prepared a “Budget Deficit Initiative Report” submitted to the city council for consideration outlining cuts and revenue generating options for the city council to consider.

(For the full February, 2018 Budget Deficit Initiative Report prepared see:

https://www.cabq.gov/abq-view/documents/budget-deficit-initiative-report-3-2-18.pdf )

The “Budget Deficit Initiative Report” included outlining an aggressive and ambitious four (4) year plan to expand APD sworn police personnel.

The Keller Administration is calling for an $88 million dollar of additional funding and increased costs for APD over the next four fiscal years from 2018 to 2022.

The $88 million dollars for expanding APD does not delineate in detail or account for the academy training nor the vehicles and other equipment that additional officers will require.

The amount does not delineate in any great detail nor take into account pay increases, which will be necessary for many recruitment and retention strategies.

The recruitment and hiring plan proposes to add 100 new police officers per year until a 1,200-staffing level is reached.

The ultimate goal is to return to community-based policing.

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

The recurring costs does not include the price of recruitment strategies nor pay increases designed to recruit and retain officers.

EXISTING APD BUDGET AND STAFFING

“Public Safety” represents 29% of a $529.6 million general fund budget appropriation for the City of Albuquerque and includes both the Albuquerque Fire Department and the Albuquerque Police Department.

The Albuquerque Fire Department (AFD) annual budget is $75.5 million and employs 699 full time employees.

The Albuquerque Police Department’s (APD) Annual budget is $171.8 million and employs 1,484 which consists of funding for 484 civilian support staff and funding for 1,000 sworn police officers.

APD is currently funded for the salary and benefits for 68 additional officers.

However, the funding for the 68 additional officers is being absorbed by the need to fund overtime to cover the officer shortage.

Although fully funded for 1,000 sworn officers, APD has 853 sworn police officers with only 436 assigned to field services, divided into three working shifts, less any of those on vacation, sick leave or in court.

The December 11, 2015 Albuquerque Police Department Comprehensive Staffing Assessment and Resource Study prepared by Alexander Weiss for the Department of Justice concluded that APD needs at least 1,000 sworn officers.

The Weiss report concluded that 1,000 sworn police officers were sufficient for Albuquerque provided that APD officers did not respond to certain low priority calls such as minor traffic accidents or false alarm calls.

STATUS QUO PROJECTIONS FOR APD WITHOUT $88 MILLION EXPANSION

A “Status Quo Projection” for Number of APD Officers was included in the plan for consideration:

Starting Officer Count each year for the next four years: 2018: 880, 2019: 872, 2020: 864, 2021: 857

Annual New Recruits each year for the next four years: 56 per year for a total of 224

Annual Lateral Recruits each year for the next four years: 2 per year for a total of 8

Total Annual Recruits each year for the next four years: 58 per year for a total of 232

Annual Retirements each year for the next four years: 41 per year for a total of 164

Annual Resignations each year for the next four years: 24 per year for a total of 96

Total Annual Attrition each year for the next four years: 65 per year for a total of 260

Net Loss each year for the next four years: 8 per year for a total of 32

Remaining Officers each year for the next 4 years: 2018: 872, 2019: 864, 2019: 857, 2020: 849

According to the status quo projections APD will virtually have no if any projected growth rate without expending $88 million dollars.

COMMENTARY: The status quo projections for starting officer count, lateral recruits, annual recruits, annual retirements, annual resignations, annual attritions and the net losses are each flat and reflect the same numbers each year for each category. The statistics during the past eight years are very fluid and the status quo projections are believed not to be an accurate representation.

IN A NUTSHELL

The overall objectives of the $88 million-dollar APD Expansion Plan are nothing more than very general proposals which are very short on details, budget matters and fails to show exactly what the City, APD and the public will get for $88 million.

In a one sentence nutshell, the plan is to spend $88 million dollars, over a four-year period, with 32 million dollars of recurring expenditures not delineated, to hire 350 officers and expand APD from 850 sworn police officers to 1,200 officers by implementing a hiring and recruitment program to offer incentives, pay raises and bonuses to join or return to APD in order to return to community-based policing in the hopes of bringing down crime rates.

The entire expansion plan is extremely short on details, including and not limited to, detailed budget proposals and costs associated with the hiring of the 350 police officers, budget costs of recruitment, costs for training and equipment, budgets for advertising and recruiting, benefit and retirement contributions to PERA and police academy expenditures.

The expansion plan fails to give a breakdown of the $32 million-dollar recurring costs and costs and expenditures for the completion of the Department of Justice consent decree reforms to accomplish constitutional policing with the $32 million based on speculation.

Although the plan has a chart to compare before and after staff for 2010 and 2018, the plan also fails to address any type breakdown of what the administration plans to do with the additional police officers hired, what units they will be assigned to, the number that will be assigned to field services and units such as auto theft, violent crimes and property crimes units.

It can only be assumed because of the lack of detail the APD expansion plan presented in the “Budget Deficit Initiative Report” was based on sure speculation and offered merely as an effort to justify the tax increase and as reference point for city council consideration.

APD RECRUITMENT PLANS DETAILED

Following is the detailed APD recruitment strategy developed by the Keller Administration.

The expansion strategy that APD intends to pursue are three specific programs:

A. A program to attract new recruits.
B. A Program to attract lateral hires from other law enforcement agencies.
C. A Program to retain existing APD police by convincing them not to retire.

PROGRAM TO ATTRACT NEW RECRUITS

To attract new recruits, APD is proposing the following:

1. Institute and broaden hiring and referral bonuses. The total cost of adding new officers to the Police Department depends on the extent to which APD uses increased pay, longevity incentives, incentives for new recruits, and other incentive to increase sworn personnel numbers.

COMMENTARY: Successful programs have been used in the past for recruitment. APD offers a $5,000 sign-on bonus for new hires. Other programs or bonuses could include mortgage down payment bonuses, debt forgiveness bonuses, relocation cost bonuses and education debt pay off bonuses, all contingent and paid only upon successful completion of the academy with an eight-year minimum commitment to work for APD.

2. Create an APD Intern “PSA2 Plan” Program to keep a connection with applicants who were rejected for reasons that can be corrected over time such as credit scores, physical abilities, etc.

COMMENTARY: The inability to meet the physical requirements of academy training pose one of the largest areas of rejection and reducing the pool of applicants. A physical training camp or program after acceptance but prior to entry into the academy could be offered by outside contractors or trainers, either paid for by cadets or the city to prepare cadets before they begin the academy. Cadets need to pass physicals and be deemed capable of handling the physical requirement of the training.

3. Increase recruiting and background check staff to expedite in order to clear more candidates for the police academy.

COMMENTARY: APD recruits must pass a “polygraph” examine as part of the background checks. It is well settled law that the results “polygraph” examines are not admissible in court unless agreed to by the parties. Polygraph examines are considered unreliable and based on highly questionable scientific data and physical responses to questions. The rationale for the polygraph exam being evidence of a person’s propensity to lie is highly questionable and it is one requirement that should be revisited or given less weight in the evaluation process. Eliminating the “polygraph test” passage requirement all together would increase the pool of applicants that could be admitted and would not be a lowering of entrance requirements.

4. Produce recruitment videos and ads to be used during movie theatre showings or on local television stations during active recruitment cycle. Video could also be shared on social media.

COMMENTARY: A major financial commitment needs to be made with advertising agencies and funding for an advertising budget to develop a comprehensive recruitment and promotion plan to include television, radio and outdoor adverting, with a formal Request for Proposals (RFPs) issued for competitive bids. An advertising and promotion budget for a four-year period would be in order to coincide with the four year growth plan.

5. Off-site testing for the Academy.

COMMENTARY: Academy testing sites and dates should be made available at major Universities and community colleges and major cities in New Mexico and other major cities such as Houston, Denver, Phoenix and elsewhere.

6. Host a Law Enforcement Explorer Program and other outreach programs for youth.

COMMETARY: The minimum age to become a police officer is 21 and any outreach programs for youth may have a negligible benefit.

7. Reconsider educational requirements to allow recruitment of officers to temporarily defer the college credit requirements and meet the requirement within reasonable time frames following graduation from the police academy

COMMENTARY: Approximately fifteen years ago, the minimum of 32 college credit requirement was added as a minimum entry requirement thereby excluding many individuals from being able to apply. The rationale for the college credit requirement was that it would mean recruiting a higher quality of applicant who would be better police officers. A person’s education level does not always reflect intelligence nor how a person will react under pressure, especially when that person perceives their own life is in danger and they have to make life and death decisions to defend themselves.

The Albuquerque Police Academy is a six-month academy that requires the successful completion of physical and mental training and screening. The academy has mandatory attendance of academic classes, in standard operating procedures, criminal procedure and the law with “constitutional policing” emphasized.

The college credit requirement needs to be revisited and determined if it is really necessary given the amount of training and education mandated by the academy. Eliminating altogether the “college credit” would increase the final pool of applicants and not be a lowering of standards.

8. Formalize a CNM Pipeline-apprentice program.

COMMENTARY: The New Mexico Community College (CNM) offers an associate’s degree in law enforcement or criminal justice. A partnership or memorandum of understanding should be explored on what additional training or classes that could be offered by CNM to satisfy academy credit hours and training. Classes in constitutional policing methods could be developed and offered by CNM

9. Morale building initiatives including parking, re-examining take home vehicle restrictions, reasonable tattoo standards and other issues important to frontline officers.

COMMENTARY: The effectiveness of morale building measures are always difficult to gage in para military organizations such as APD that deal with criminal elements, but they do matter and should be implemented whenever possible.

PROGRAM TO ATTRACT MORE “LATERALS” FROM OTHER AGENCIES

To attract more “laterals”, the Keller Administration is proposing as follows:

1. Create lateral transfer program with career development program to allow certified law enforcement officers to be hired and placed at salary levels commensurate with their training and experience.

COMMENTARY: Lateral hires have the advantage of lower training costs. Lateral hires have the disadvantage of requiring more pay for the experience. Another major disadvantage is the potential hiring of experienced officers that have not been fully trained in constitutional policing methods as mandated by the Department of Justice consent decree.

2. Use strategic and targeted longevity increases for recruitment of lateral officers in order to adequately compensate them for their law enforcement time and experience.

COMMENTARY: The City Administration reinstated longevity pay where experienced officer are paid anywhere between $5,000 to $15,000 depending the number of years on the force to stay with APD or not to retire and the program should be made permanant.

3. Reach out to recently retired APD or other New Mexico law enforcement officers with incentive plan to return to the department.

COMMENTARY: What is very problematic is hiring and returning to work APD police officers that helped create, or participated, or did not stop the “culture of aggression” found by the Department of Justice. Another problem area would be hiring police officers that are not fully committed to the DOJ mandated reforms under the consent decree.

PROGRAM TO RETAIN EXISTING PERSONNEL

To retain more existing officers from leaving for other police departments or retiring, the Keller Administration is proposing:

1. Increasing overall compensation to police officers.

COMMENTARY: APD police officers in general are some of the best paid police in the country with a very generous retirement program where a police officer can retire after 25 years of service and earn 90% of their “high three” salary for the rest of their lives.

The average and normal yearly salary paid APD Police Officers First Class after about one year on the job is $56,000 a year. A total of 124 of the 250 top wage earners at city hall are employed by the Albuquerque Police Department and include patrol officers, sergeants, lieutenants, commanders and deputy chiefs, assistant chief and the chief with annual pay ranging from $95,000 a year up to $166,699 a year. (See City of Albuquerque web site for full list of 250 top city wage earners).

Patrol Officers First Class are all paid $27.50 an hour regardless of the number of years of service. Five (5) APD Patrol Officers First Class are listed in the top 250 city wage workers as being paid $146,971, $145,180, $140,243, $137,817 and $125,061 respectfully making them the 6th, the 7th, the 10th, the 12th and the 20th highest paid employees at city hall. The main reason for the high pay is the overtime worked. The Albuquerque Police Department consistently goes over its overtime budget by millions to the detriment of other city departments and other city employees. Last year, APD went over is overtime budget by $4 million when it went from $9 million budgeted to $13 million spent. An audit of APD’s overtime found serious deficiencies in the granting of overtime and time cards.

There are listed 66 Patrol Officers First Class in the list of the top 250 wage earners at city hall earning more than $95,000 a year and as much as $146,000 a year. Combined, there are a total of 91 APD sworn police officers and sergeants who are named in the top 250 wage earners and city hall.

All sworn police officers, including management, are paid on an hourly basis. What should be implement is a base salary pay scale program with steps increase in salaries for years of service.

Overtime pay and time and a half pay should be strictly prohibited with a yearend bonus program initiated and bonuses paid for levels of overtime worked. Command Staff should be paid salaries, not hourly wages, with no allowance for any overtime and working hours be a minimum of eight hours a day and no further paid for work over the mandatory eight hours.

2. Adopt a flexible shift schedule for officers assigned to field services division.

COMMENTARY: Flexible shift schedules do not necessarily result in an increase of productivity.

3. Provide diversified training offerings.

COMMENTARY: This was at one time offered by APD.

4. Institute other nonmonetary measures designed to improve morale. Apart from the base cost of hiring new officers, including detectives and other law enforcement professionals and first responders, the price of these options depends on whether APD officers’ compensation increases. Currently APD compensation for new recruits is competitive with other departments, but that competitiveness decreases with longevity over time.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR PUBLIC SAFETY THAT ARE NEEDED

Police officer shortage and increasing personnel are only part of the problems to deal with Albuquerque rising crime rates.

The City’s public safety departments lack critical key equipment and technology for them to be effective.

Additional resources are needed for public safety to address communications.

These items over time have contributed, and will continue to contribute, to broader criminal justice system delays across the criminal justice systems, including prosecution, criminal defense and the courts.

Some of the most pressing needs include the following:

1. To comply with federal regulations, the land mobile radio system for the Police and Fire Departments needs to be replaced at an estimated one-time cost to the City of $15 million.

COMMENTARY: The $15 million is only the replacement cost for the communications system, and given the system finally selected and when you factor in remodeling or construction costs for the 911 Emergency Call Center, it will likely reach a cost of $40 million. The one-time cost should not come out of the city’s general fund but rather be part of the capital improvements program (CIP) approved by voters. Another option for the update or replacement of the communications system would be securing one-time funding in federal law enforcement grants or a congressional appropriation.

2. In order to redirect more appropriate resources to the over 30 overdoses per day and over 20 calls for psychological issues and suicide attempts, an estimated investment of $2.8 million recurring and $2.1 million in non-recurring for community paramedicine and basic life support units for the Albuquerque Fire Department.

COMMENTARY: These are costs that should be included within the Fire Departments general operating fund.

3. In order to keep up with modern technology, implement effective crime fighting strategies and comply with the Department of Justice settlement agreement, an estimated $2 million recurring for the Police Department needs to update its information technology systems.

COMMENTARY: The fact that this is a “recurring cost” mandates that it be included each year in the APD budget.

4. In order to address the backlog of over 4,000 untested sexual assault evidence kits with a combination of in-house and outsourced testing, an estimated one-time investment of $4 million.

COMMENTARY: The Albuquerque City Council could enact and fund a separate program for this that would require Requests for Proposals and competitive bidding from private contractors.

5. In order to address the backlog of over 6,500 untested fingerprints and 4,800 DNA samples in addition to the sexual assault kits, and a wait time on this testing of up to 16 months, an estimated recurring cost of $400,000.

COMMENTARY: The Albuquerque City Council could enact and fund a separate program for this that would require Requests for Proposals and competitive bidding from private contractors.

COMMENTARY: RECRUITMENT IS MAJOR OBSTACLE AND THE MAIN PROBLEM

APD is severely understaffed and struggling to implement expansive and expensive Department of Justice (DOJ) agreed to and mandated reforms.

APD is having significant problems filling unfilled positions and the difficulty in growing the department even with APD offering a $5,000 sign-on bonus for new hires.

APD consistently has thousands of applicants that apply to the police academy every year as evidenced by the number of “interest cards” submitted which is the first step to applying with APD.
According to an APD 2,551 cadet “interest cards” were submitted by people online in 2017.

Saying that there were 2,551 “interest cards” filled out is misleading and does not mean actual applicants.

Of the 2,551 interest cards submitted, 1,479 were out-of-state applicants which reflects a healthy interest of people at least willing to consider coming to Albuquerque and beginning a law enforcement career.

Of the 2,551-people showing an interest in applying, 2,050 qualified to take the academy test but only 606 showed up for the testing.

It is a three-day testing process which probably explains why there are so many no shows.

Recruiting a younger, new generation of sworn police officers and growing the size of the police department has become very difficult and unachievable.

The number of APD sworn officers has fallen from 1,100 officers to 850 over the past eight years for any number of reasons including:

1. Extreme low morale resulting in experienced officers deciding to retire sooner than later or going to other law enforcement agencies.
2. Changes in the Public Employee Retirement Association benefits
3. Failed APD management by the previous administration
4. Poor Working conditions as a result of heavy workloads and caseloads
5. Intense scrutiny by the Department of Justice resulting in the DOJ consent decree.
6. Terminations and disciplinary actions
7. Inability to attract “lateral” transfers from other departments

APD’s poor and negative national reputation and Albuquerque’s high violent crime rates are also not conducive to attracting people who want to begin a long-term career in law enforcement in Albuquerque.

The DOJ oversight requirements and the increased dangers in being a police officer in a violent city such as Albuquerque has also had an impact on recruitment.

The overwhelming number of police academy applicants fail to get into the academy for any number of reasons including the following reasons:

A. Failing to meet minimum education and entry qualifications
B. Unable to pass criminal background checks
C. Unable to make it through psychological background analysis
D. Failing the polygraph tests
E. Lying on the on the applications
F. Failing a credit check.

Once in the police academy, many cadets are unable to meet minimum physical requirements or unable to handle the training and academic requirements to graduate from the academy.

The APD Police Academy is unable to keep up with retirement losses and for a number of years graduating classes have averaged 35 to 40 a class, well below the number to keep up with yearly retirements.

CONCLUSION

The Keller administration will not be very successful anytime soon in filling all the vacancies APD already has and the projected increases promised given the plan presented to the city council.

APD needs to “triple down” on recruitment and dramatically increase the size and number of police academy classes per year if it hopes to make any progress in growing APD ranks.

Based on past experiences, there is no doubt that it will take years to grow the department to the 1,200-level desired to return to community-based policing.

Growing the department will take time, major changes in management and a major financial investment for recruitment.

I suspect it will be more like eight (8) years to get APD back to the department it once was, presuming Keller seeks and is elected to a second term and if any progress is made by APD in reducing our crime rates.

On March 10, 2018, I attended the Democratic State Convention in Albuquerque.

There was a tremendous turnout from all over the State as delegates converged to nominate their candidates for statewide offices and federal offices.

The convention packed the main ballroom of the Albuquerque Convention Center.

This year, the video introductions of the candidates were very impressive and slick and really helped to get their messages out.

It has been a very long time since I have seen so many new faces and a Democratic party this energized.

After 8 years of Governor Susana Martinez and just one year of Trump, the Democrats know this is going to be a big year for our party.

During the convention, I had a chance to talk and visit with Congressman Ben Ray Lujan from Santa Fe.

As each year passes, Congressman Ben Ray Lujan grows and matures in the job and continues to make a major difference in New Mexico and in Washington.

I feel Congressman Ben Ray Lujan has done an exceptional job for his own Congressional District as well as New Mexico.

Congressman Ben Ray Lujan has consistently and without failure stood tall for Democratic core values including civil rights, racial equality, a woman’s right to choose, opposed right to work laws, stood up for the working class and the middle class, opposed cuts to social programs, supports comprehensive immigration reform, believes in universal health care and Obama care, and has opposed the hard right Republican Agenda, including calling Trump what he is, a racist.

Congressman Lujan is head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) having been appointed by Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

After talking to Congressman Lujan, the smile on his face and the tone in his voice reflected that the Democrats do indeed have a tremendous chance of taking back the majority in the United States House of Representatives.

Thirty-Seven (37) Republicans in the House have decided not to seek re-election and the Democrats only need 26 to gain a majority, and Democrats are winning in special elections held in red states that Trump carried.

As a sign of real problems for the Republicans in the House, many prominent committee chairman are stepping down an retiring so as not to risk a loss.

House Speaker Paul Ryan has yet to announce if he will be running for reelection or be retiring.

Congressman Lujan also expressed some optimism that Democrats just may be able to take back the United States Senate but acknowledged that the path to victory with the US Senate is a little narrow.

When I posted a photo on FACEBOOK of me talking and standing next to Congressman Ben Ray Lujan, I had a few negative comments that accused Congressman Lujan of “squeezing” progressive out or discouraging them from running for congress, with one even posting an article on a progressive running in Pennsylvania.

Some of the posts from people who I know to be progressive were downright disappointing.

What I have discovered and seen over the years, progressive in New Mexico seem to be playing the game of trying to squeeze people out that they disagree with and they perceive as not being “progressive” enough for them with little or no tolerance for moderate Democrats.

Just ask former Mayor Martin Chavez how he was treated by many progressive when he wanted to run for the United States Senate against Martin Heinrich and when Chavez was told by the Washington progressive establishment he was not the candidate they would be supporting.

You can ask Democrat Gary King how he was treated four years ago by many progressive Democrats and how they declined to even vote allowing Martinez sweep to victory again.

You can also ask former Democratic State Party Chairman and moderate Brian Colon how he was treated by progressives when he was running against their chosen progressive Tim Keller for Mayor.

I recall vividly after Hillary Clinton secured the Democratic nomination, I attended a monthly meeting of Albuquerque Progressives as was my custom.

I went to the monthly meeting because I wanted to hear a respected member of the Progressive Democrats of America speak and who also worked on the Bernie Sanders campaign.

What I heard the guest speaker say loud and clear to the Albuquerque Progressive was that the Progressive Democrats of America would never get behind Hillary Clinton and they had no intention of ever endorsing her and would start concentrating on the 2018 and 2020 elections.

Another progressive activist went on to say the goal of New Mexico Progressives is to take over the traditional Democratic Party in New Mexico and get their own people elected.

At both the Bernalillo County Democrat Party and the State Democratic Party Conventions this year, I saw many new progressive faces amongst the old guard Democrats.

I was born and raised a Democrat, have been a Democrat all my life, and feel just as progressive as anyone else.

Over the years, I have also served as a Precinct Chair, Ward Chair and on the State Central Committee, but that stopped last year.

The Democratic party in New Mexico has a problem.

The big question is, will we ever unite or just be satisfied being divided and allow the elections of people like Susana Martinez and Donald Trump so we can just bitch about how bad things are statewide and nationally?

On Wednesday March 7, 2018, the Albuquerque Journal published my letter to the editor on the gross receipts tax enacted by the City Council just two days before on Monday.

I wrote the letter because it was never sufficiently reported on why the City Council enacted the tax at such a break neck speed without public hearings and before Mayor Keller submitted his budget on April 1, 2018.

The letter was written on Tuesday morning and it was published the very next day which came as a pleasant suprise.

Following is the full text of the letter, followed by one last recommendation to the Mayor and City Council:

On March 5, the Albuquerque City Council voted to raise the city’s gross receipts tax rate by three-eighths of a percent on an 8-1 vote without putting it to a public vote.

The increase goes into effect July 1 unless vetoed by the mayor and the Council does not override the veto with six or more votes.

The tax of three-eighths of a cent will potentially raise $22 million this year and upward of $55 million each year thereafter.

It represents 38 cents more paid in gross receipts tax for every $100 in purchases.

Revenues generated by the tax will be applied to the $40 million-dollar projected deficit and applied to public safety and the hiring of police officers. …

The Albuquerque City Council was at breakneck speed … to enact the tax for it to be on the books by April 1 and for it to commence being collected by the state on July 1, when the city budget for fiscal year begins for the city. The City Council is required by law to enact a city budget that is fully balanced and without any deficits.

Without the guarantee of the tax revenues generated by the new tax, the budget deficit of $40 million could have only been resolved by extensive cuts, including layoffs, furloughs and elimination of services.

Had the tax been enacted after April 1, it would not go into effect nor be collected until Jan. 1, 2019. The City Council could have put the tax increase on the ballot for a vote with a special election, but had it passed, it would not go into effect until Jan. 1, 2019.

Had the Council called for a special election and put it on the ballot, it would have been a mail-in ballot costing $500,000 for printing of ballots and postal costs, money the city does not have.

There is always a significant risk voters will say no to any tax, even if it is dedicated to public safety. Mayor Martin Chávez tried to get a public safety tax enacted years ago, and it failed at the polls.

The City Council’s tax increase now goes to Mayor Tim Keller for approval or veto. Keller is taking heat from the public and the media for backtracking and breaking his campaign “promise” to have a public vote on any tax increase. When Keller does not veto the measure, he breaks his campaign promise, thereby losing his credibility with many voters. Even if the mayor vetoes it, there are enough city councilors who voted for it to override his veto.

A promise not to raise taxes without a public vote by any candidate for mayor is meaningless when said from the get-go and nonsense that should not be taken too seriously. No candidate for mayor really knows what is going on with city finances until he/she actually look at the books.

Keller making the promise as a candidate was at best idealistic and at worse being foolish just to garner votes to get elected.

Candidate Keller saying he would draw from various agencies, departments and programs where large, misappropriated budgets existed to deal with any city deficit sounded fantastic but was not very realistic after the eight years of budget cuts and downsizing of government.

Any candidate for office usually regrets making promises regarding raising taxes to get elected; just ask former President George H.W. Bush when he said “Read my lips, no new taxes!” and lost to Bill Clinton.

FINAL COMMENTARY AND RECOMMENDATION

For the City Council, the enactment of the tax is what is called being damned if you do and damned if you don’t.

Had the council called for a special election to get voter approval, without any guarantee of the outcome of the election or of a guarantee revenue flow to deal with the deficit, the Mayor and the City Council would have to enact a budget by July 1, 2018 based on speculation of the outcome of the public vote on the tax and hopes that there would eventually be more revenues.

For Mayor Keller, it is called your own words coming back to haunt you.

Mayor Keller is learning, no doubt the hard way, it is a lot easier to campaign for office and make all sorts of proclamations and promises as oppose to governing and making the hard and difficult decisions that will have an impact on popularity.

The tax hike in now on Mayor Keller’s desk.

He can sign off on the tax, veto the tax or ask that it be placed on the ballot as he promised.

Preliminary indications are that the Mayor intends to sign off on the tax thereby breaking his political promise.

Given the magnitude of what happened, it would be appropriate for Mayor Keller to request time before the next full city council to explain his actions and respond to questions, not only from the City Council but as well as the general public.

Mayor Tim Keller conducted his second news conference since taking office on the status of the $175 million ART bus project.

http://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/progress-being-made-on-remedying-art-but-questions-on-missing-federal-funds-linger/4815693/?cat=500

Keller again reported that the project is still has a long way to go before the project will be fully functional and it may not be functional until the end of the year.

THE CONSTRUCTION

According to Keller, progress has been made on fixing and rectifying the construction problems along the bus route, including work on the intersections, problems with heights of the bus stop stations and work to ensure disability compliance with federal regulations.

Problems originally identified by the Keller administration with the bus stop platforms include:

1. Inconsistent height levels on some of the bus stop platforms creating problems for wheelchair accesses ability which is mandated on Federal funded transportation projects such as ART.

2. The Atrisco bus stop platform is at an angle which creates problems of accessibility for people in wheelchairs.

3. Major concerns about two of the bus stations have been raised because of the distance between the intersection and the actual platforms.

4. The Washington and Central platform is so close to the intersection that a bus coming from the east side going west can’t make the approach without taking up the entire intersection.

5. The mirrors on the ART buses are slamming into the pillars that hold up the fabric awnings at the bus stations constructed in the middle of Central and the stations will have to be
altered so the mirrors are protected from damage.

6. The ART bus station at Central and Washington is too short and in order to get the 60-foot-long articulated buses into the station, bus drivers must make an “S” maneuver, which swerves
the buses into regular traffic lanes increasing the risks of traffic accidents.

7. The station at Atrisco and Central is too long resulting in the ART bus going into the station tilted at a three-to-four degree angle resulting in the bus floor being a few inches
higher than the station platform increasing the risk of injury to passengers boarding and exiting the buses.

8. There are gaps of at least three inches at some stations between the platform edge and the bus floor resulting in unsafe boarding and unloading conditions for people with disabilities.

According to Keller, the goal is to have all the construction problems corrected by the end of spring, but it is doubtful ART will be fully functional by the end of the year.

It turns out that the ART Bus Stations were designed around the busses ordered as opposed to busses being designed for the station platforms.

THE BUSES

Twenty buses were ordered and all 20 were to have been delivered on or before October 3, 2017, but the City received only nine of the buses.

When the original buses were delivered, the city found issues associated with the buses, everything from serious mechanical failures to some inconsistencies in how the buses were constructed.

Among the problems identified with the buses include:

1. Some of the buses could not be charged because the charging system did not work.

2. Axles on some of the new buses delivered were leaking oil.

3. One of the ART buses put through the certification process did not pass inspection.

4. A third-party certification officer would not certify the electric battery chargers that have been installed for the reason that the chargers themselves were not operable because what
was used were equipment parts manufactured in China that used different standards for how the equipment was built.

5. Fully charged batteries on the buses were supposed to last for 275 miles but testing by the city did indicated that the charge was only good for 200 miles.

6. Cracks in the frames and rear portion have developed on seven of the 10 buses.

7. Radio systems have been delivered in pieces.

All the remaining buses were to be delivered by February, which again did not happen.

There are still significant issues relating to the buses that have been delivered to the point that seven of the buses will now be returned for further repairs.

City officials sent a letter to the bus company and developer notifying them that Albuquerque was sending back the seven buses because of serious issues like cracks, axle problems and complications with charging.

THE FEDERAL FUNDING

There are continuing problems with the federal funding.

The city is still waiting on the federal government for the $69 million grant to reimburse the city for the project.

Keller went so far as to travel to Washington, D.C. to meet and try to work with federal authorities to try and secure the funding.

Mayor Tim Keller in his second report on the ART project is quoted as saying:

“To be clear, funds were never guaranteed. … That was simply never the case.”

What was simply the case is that former Mayor Richard Berry, former Chief Operations Officer Michael Riordan and former Transit Director Bruce Rizierri repeatedly lied to the public that the federal money was forthcoming because the city had received a “letter of no prejudice” from the Federal Transportation Administration (FTA) on the funding expressing support for the project.

During the update, Keller said “I think that this notion that somehow we’re just waiting for guaranteed funds is factually inaccurate and it always was.”

Michael Riordan in particular said that he felt certain Congress would approve the $69 million-dollar grant and the withholding of such federal monies on such approved projects has never happened in the past.

The truth is House and Senate Congressional committees cut $20 million dollars from the grant with no guarantee that it will be made up in this year’s budget resulting in Albuquerque having to identify additional funding sources to make up for the shortfall.

CONCLUSION

Mayor Keller said he intends to give another update on ART in the next four to six weeks.

While he is at it, Mayor Keller should ask for a meeting with Bernalillo County District Attorney Raul Torres so Keller can give him an update on the project and ask him to convene a special grand jury to investigate what happened, if anyone illegally benefited from the project and if anything, criminal happened justifying prosecution.

For more commentary please see the following articles:

January 10, 2018 article: “The Lemons And Lies Of Berry’s ART”:

The Lemons And Lies Of Berry’s ART

January 22, 2018 “Mayor Keller Should Scrap Art And Find Alternatives”:

Mayor Keller Should Scrap ART Bus Project And Find Alternatives

January 23, 2018 article: “District Attorney Should Convene Special Grand Jury To Investigate Art Bus Project”:

District Attorney Should Convene Special Grand Jury To Investigate ART Bus Project

In politics, this is a version of what is called being damned if you do and damned if you don’t on any number of levels of city government.

On Monday, March 5, 2018, the Albuquerque City Council voted to raise the city’s gross receipts tax rate by three-eighths of a percentage point without putting it to a public vote which is within their power.

The measure was jointly sponsored by Democrat City Councilor Ken Sanchez and Republican City Councilor Trudy Jones.

The tax was imposed by the council on an 8-1 vote, enough to override any veto by Mayor Tim Keller.

Voting yes to pass the tax increase were Democratic City Councilors Ken Sanchez, Pat Davis, Diane Gibson, Isaac Benton, Klarissa Pena, Cynthia Borrego and Republicans Trudy Jones and Don Harris.

Republican City Councilor Brad Winter was the sole no vote and argued that it should have been put to a public vote.

The tax imposition has no sunset clause.

The gross receipts tax of three eights of a cent could potentially raise $30 to $40 million this year when it goes into effect July 1, 2018 and upwards of $55 million each year thereafter.

The tax increase represents 38 cents more paid in gross receipts tax for every $100 in purchase sales and will in all likely be passed on to consumers by merchants.

The current gross receipts tax is 7.5% and the new tax will push it to just below 8%.

TAX INCREASE VOTED BEFORE CITY BUDGET SUBMITTED

Mayor Tim Keller is due to announce his first budget on April 1, 2018 and city council budget hearings will be held on each of the city’s 19 departments over three months.

The City Council must adopt and approve the city budget on or before July 1, 2018 when it becomes effective for the new fiscal year of 2018-2019.

The City is facing a $6 million deficit for this year.

The city is also facing $40 million-dollar deficit for the next fiscal year which begins on July 1, 2018.

For the last eight (8) years, the Albuquerque City Council strongly resisted raising the gross receipts tax at all costs despite the effect that budget cuts were having a severe impact on essential services and a disastrous effect on public safety.

The City Council has not raised the gross receipts taxes on its own since the year 2000.

The tax increase will go into effect on July 1, 2018, unless it is vetoed by the Mayor and if the City Council does not override the veto with six or more votes.

The overwhelming majority of the revenues generated by the tax will in all probability have to be applied to the $40 million-dollar projected deficit and other incurred debts before it can be applied to public safety and increasing the size of the police department.

THE CITY COUNCIL’S RUSH TO ENACT THE TAX

The media has failed to report exactly why the Albuquerque City Council was on a breakneck speed to rush and approve a three-eighths of a cent increase in the gross receipts tax a full three weeks before Mayor Keller submits his budget on April 1, 2018 and with very little public input.

The reason why is that there was a deadline that had to be met and the City Council has been aware of the $40 million deficit for some time, at least since early December, 2017.

The City Council had to enact the tax now for it to be on the books by April 1, 2018 and for it to commence being collected by the State on July 1, 2018 when the city budget for fiscal year begins for the city.

Without the guarantee of the tax revenues generated by the new tax, the budget deficit of $40 million could have only been resolved by severe cuts, including layoffs, furloughs and elimination of services.

The city council is required by law to enact a fully balance budget with the revenue it has and to deal with any deficits before they occur.

Had the City Council enacted the tax after April 1, 2018, it would not go into effect nor collected until January 1, 2019.

The City Council could have put the tax increase on the ballot for a vote with a special election, but again, had it passed, it would not go into effect nor collected until January 1, 2019.

Had the tax not passed with a public vote, the council and the Mayor would be back to square one after January 1, 2019 on enacting a balanced budget without sufficient revenue.

Had the council called for a special election and put it on the ballot, it would have been a mail in ballot costing $500,000 for printing of ballots and postal costs, money the city does not have.

There is also always a significant risk that voters will say no to a tax even if it is dedicated to public safety, which is what happened when Mayor Chavez tried to get a public safety tax enacted years ago and it failed at the polls.

Had the council called for a special election to get voter approval, without any guarantee of the outcome of the election or of a guarantee revenue flow to deal with the deficit, the Mayor and the City Council would have to enact a budget by July 1, 2018 based on speculation of the outcome of the public vote on the tax.

TO VETO OR NOT TO VETO, THAT IS THE QUESTION

The city council’s tax increase now goes to Mayor Keller for approval or his veto.

Mayor Tim Keller is taking heat from the public and the media for beginning to backtrack and breaking his campaign “promise” to have a public vote on any tax increase.

It is likely Mayor Tim Keller will sign the tax increase thereby breaking his campaign promise not to raise taxes without a public vote.

Even if Mayor vetoes it, there are enough city councilors who voted for it to override his veto.

A promise not to raise taxes without a public vote by any candidate for Mayor is meaningless when said from the get go and is nonsense that should not be taken too seriously.

No candidate for Mayor really knows what is going on with city finances until they actually look at the books, and Keller making the promise as a candidate was at best idealistic and at worse being very foolish to garner votes just to get elected, which is how politicians lose their credibility with voters.

The truth is, it is the City Council and only the City Council that can enact a tax increase, with or without a public vote, not the Mayor.

Candidate Keller also said he would draw from various agencies, departments and programs where large, misappropriated budgets existed to deal with any city deficit.

What candidate Keller said about “misappropriate budgets” sounded fantastic but not very realistic after the 8 years of budget cuts and downsizing of government by his predecessor.

The problem is, any candidate for office usually regrets making promises regarding raising taxes to get elected, just ask former President George H.W. Bush (41) when he said “Read my lips, no new taxes!” and lost reelection to President Bill Clinton.

Mayor Tim Keller is taking some heat from the public and the media, especially the Albuquerque Journal, for beginning to backtrack and breaking his campaign “promise” to have a public vote on any tax increase.

There is no doubt that the Mayor’s popularity will take a hit, but then again he was elected with a 62% majority vote and can probably afford to take the hit.

A promise not to raise taxes without a public vote by any candidate for Mayor is meaningless when said from the get go and is nonsense that should not be taken too seriously.

No candidate for Mayor really knows what is going on with city finances until they actually look at the books.

Keller making the promise as a candidate not to raise taxes was at best idealistic and at worse being foolish just to get elected Mayor.

The problem is, any candidate for office usually regrets making such promise to get elected, just ask former President George H.W. Bush (41) when he said “Read my lips, no new taxes!” and lost reelection to President Bill Clinton.

Candidate Keller also said he would draw from various agencies, departments and programs where large, misappropriated budgets existed to deal with any city deficit.

What candidate Keller said about “misappropriate budgets” sounded fantastic but not very realistic after the 8 years of budget cuts and downsizing of government by his predecessor.

The truth is, it is the City Council and only the City Council that can enact a tax increase, with or without a public vote, not the Mayor.

A Mayor can veto a tax increase, but the city council has the power to override such a veto.

It is called checks and balances.

CITY’S GENERAL FUND BUDGET AND DEFICITS

The City of Albuquerque has a total operating budget of $955.3 million dollars, of which $529.6 million is the general fund which goes to providing and delivery of essential services and includes personnel costs and social services.

The operating budget of $955.3 million, less the $529.6 general fund budget, is the budget used for city capital improvement projects and includes major construction projects, municipal development projects, building maintenance and repairs, street repairs, sidewalks, paving and construction, solid waste facilities, airport maintenance, parks and recreational facilites to mention a few.

The city has 19 separate departments and employs upwards of 5,000 city personnel, including police, fire, bus drivers, 911 and 311 call operators, clerks, secretaries, risk management personnel, maintenance workers, solid waste workers, animal control worker’s and code inspectors, zoning and planning inspectors, planners, health care personnel, social service workers, attorneys and paralegals, just to mention a few.

5,000 is the level of personnel needed to run a municipal government and deliver the essential services demanded by the public.

The city is facing a $6 million deficit for the current fiscal year in the general fund budget.

The city is also facing a $40 million-dollar deficit for the next fiscal year commencing July1, 2018 in the general fund.

For the last eight (8) years, the Albuquerque City Council strongly resisted raising the gross receipts tax despite the effect that budget cuts were having a severe impact on the delivery of essential services and a disastrous effect on public safety and the general fund.

For the last eight (8) years, there has been a severe downsizing of city hall personnel, the elimination of numerous positions, the reduction of sworn police officers by 250 and no or very little raises for city hall employees and even a time when city pay was cut to make up for deficits to avoid any kind of tax increase.

On April 1, 2018, Mayor Keller will be announcing his very first budget for the 2018-2019 fiscal year which may include increasing the gross receipts tax to fill the $40 million deficit.

It will be up to the City Council to adopt the budget, amend the budget or for that matter enact its own version.

Now comes the hard part: to tax or not to tax, and with or without a public vote.

BUDGET DEFICIT INITIATIVE REPORT

In order get a handle on the deficit, the Keller Administration prepared a report outlining suggested budget cuts and revenue generating options, including taxes increases, that can be considered by the city council.

You can read the full February, 2018 Budget Deficit Initiative Report prepared by the Keller administration here:

Click to access budget-deficit-initiative-report-3-2-18.pdf

According to the Budget Deficit Report, the challenges facing the city with respect to the deficit are:

A $25 million ‘structural deficit,’ meaning a fundamental long-term gap in recurring revenue as compared to recurring expenses resulting from slow economic growth, loss of “hold harmless” tax revenue and the trend toward online purchasing.” The hold harmless provision was enacted by the legislature to reimburse municipalities for the loss revenues from the repeal of gross receipts tax on food and medicine. The legislature decided to repeal it and allow municipalities to enact enact a 3/8ths Gross Receipts Tax (GRT) to replace the funding lost. This is what the city council has under consideration with the introduction of a resolution by Councillors Ken Sanchez and Trudy Jones.

A $15 million increase in recurring costs arising from external pressures on the cost of medical insurance, water rate increases and costs associated with compliance measures required under the Department of Justice settlement agreement.

An $88 million increase in additional costs over Fiscal Years 2018-2022, leveling off at a $32 million recurring cost, at a minimum, if the City wishes to improve public safety by adding 100 new police officers per year until staffing levels return to the desired number of 1200. This does not include the price of recruitment strategies or pay increases designed to recruit and retain officers. Currently, the police department employs 850 sworn police officers and therefore needs to hire 350 police officers to reach the 1,200 level.

A $21 million increase in one-time and short-term costs to address the equipment and technological needs of our first responders, including large backlogs in fingerprint and DNA testing at the crime lab, which ultimately delay, for several years, the criminal justice system in Albuquerque.

A $5.2 million recurring increase in costs if the City wishes to improve public safety through advances in technology and initiatives that address the systemic pressures on first responders.”

Other major contributing factors that will no doubt impact the upcoming budget include:

$4 million for the increased costs of training of police and policy changes associated with the Department of Justice (DOJ) settlement agreement.

$3 million of increased costs associated with the self-insurance fund and more premiums needed for workers compensation and tort claims.

$6.2 million for the increases in health insurance premiums.

$2.1 million for an increase in water rates by the Bernalillo County and Albuquerque Water Authority.

Increased overtime to sworn police officers. APD consistently exceeds its overtime budget because of the personnel shortage and the union contract requires time and a half be paid. This past fiscal year, APD exceeded its $9 million overtime budget by $4 million expending a total of $13 million.

$69 million for the ART Bus project that must be found if the federal grant is not forthcoming, thank you Mayor Berry for not delivering on your promise. An option is that the City Council could enact Revenue Bonds to make up the shortfall which would be an encumbrance on future gross receipts tax revenues.

$40 million needed for an upgrade of the emergency operations center and communications center, which has not been upgraded since 1995. It is possible to include such upgrade in the Capital Improvements Program (CIP) which would be voted upon by the public and not result in a drain on the general fund.

Funding for replacement of the roughly 20% of police units and fire department units that is the average rate of replacement of older vehicles. This could also be included in the CIP program.

There is a need to generate revenues for city department vacancies and increases in salaries to city employees who have been given significantly less in salary increases, or no increases at all, for the last eight years.

OPTIONS TO REDUCE SPENDING THROUGH CUTS TO SERVICES

Budget cuts that are wide ranging, sweeping, with some downright draconian, are considered on the table.

Some of the proposed cuts will affect existing city employees and mean layoffs.

Following are 14 spending cuts in the Budget Deficit Initiative Report being proposed for consideration:

1. Reduce Social Service contracts by 10% for an annual savings of $1.8 million. Social services would include help to the homeless, after school programs, and senior citizen home assistance and food programs. Social services are always some of the first budgets to be cut to reduce deficits.

2. Close one or more city golf courses for an annual savings of $1 million resulting in layoffs of city employees and lost revenues from golf fees. Golfers are one of the most focal constituencies in Albuquerque.

3. Permanently cut 200 unfilled positions for an annual savings of $13.3 million with the service impacts being far reaching and with the majority of vacancies in high turnover and needed positions in Animal Welfare, Transit, Parks and Recreation and Cultural services.

4. Cut the current subsidy to the Explora Children’s Museum by $1.4 million a year which will have a huge impact on the museum requiring the museum to seek funding from the private sector which is difficult and highly unlikely.

5. Cut community events by $3.3 million, including events such as Summerfest, Old Town events, events at the Kimo theater, Veterans Memorial and events at the South Broadway cultural center and Fourth of July events.

6. Impose 12 furlough days (no pay) on all the estimated 5,000 city employees to save $15 million.

7. Shift medical benefits costs to all city employees to save $15 million. The city currently pays 80% and that would be reduced to 75%.

8. Impose a 2.5% across the board pay cut to all of the 5,000 full time city employees that would save $7.8 million. For the last 8 years, city employees have received 1% to 2% pay raises and at one time actually had their pay cut.

9. Reduce transit services by 10% to save $2.7 million. This comes as no surprise seeing that bus ridership has steadily declined for the last 10 years and it is not likely that it will improve with the ART Bus project.

10. Cut the welfare animal budget by 25% to save $2.7 million. Such a budget cut will no doubt result in more euthanasia of animals to avoid animal care costs.

11. Totally eliminate the 311-call center which will result in a $3.6 million saving annually. The 311-call center’s annual budget of $3.6 million, it employs upwards of 60 people, all who would lose their jobs, with the call center handling upwards of 650,000 calls per year. The 311call center is being characterized as a non-essential service and has been fully operational for 12 years.

12. Cut wireless service fees by 20% to save $336,000 requiring to pull phones and “mifi’s” from employees and vehicles resulting in the inability to track buses and city vehicles.

13. Shift the City School Crossing Guard Program to the Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) making them APS employees saving $1.2 million.

14. Phase out and cancel post retirement life insurance policy for all new employees with an annual cost savings of $385,000.

INCREASING TAXES AND FEES ON THE TABLE

What is needed are recurring revenue sources to deal not only with the projected $40 million deficit for the upcoming fiscal year, but also continuing revenues to deal with future budgets.

One shot revenue generating ideas such as selling city assets like golf courses and open space owned by the city or cutting service contracts are short term, short sighted fixes and do not generate any permanent revenue streams.

Permanent revenue streams are what are required to deal with recurring costs and expenses.

Following are 18 options in the Budget Deficit Initiative Report for increasing revenues streams to deal with the deficit:

1.Enact a 3/8ths Gross Receipts Tax (GRT) to offset the reduction of lost funding from the State and the hold harmless provision.

NOTE: Albuquerque City Councilors Ken Sanchez and Trudy Jones have already introduced a resolution on a 3/8th of a cent gross receipts tax (GRT) increase that would require only a simple majority of five votes on the city council to enact.

The 3/8th % tax is being pitched as a “public safety tax” to recruit and retain officers for the Albuquerque Police Department, but it is likely the lion’s share of the revenues generated will go to paying the projected deficit. Money generated from the tax increase would go into the general fund, which could be used for virtually any city expense.

The 3/8th of one-cent GRT increase would close the entire budget hole by raising roughly $43.7 million in 2018, and $52 million by 2019.

What has not been widely reported is that the City Council must enact the tax and it must be on the books by April 1, 2018 for it to commence to be collected by the State on July 1, 2018, which explains the council’s urgency to enact the tax as soon as possible.

2. Increase the property tax levy by 1 mill which can be enacted by a simple majority vote of the city council. The property tax would generate $11 million a year, be permanent and would be paid for by all property owners. Gross receipts tax is paid by all who make purchases in Albuquerque and is highly regressive on the poor. Albuquerque’s property taxes are some of the lowest in the country and are strenuously opposed by the voting public.

3. Increase the electric franchise fee charged Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) from 2% to 3% cents to generate $4.1 million. This not at all realistic because it would require a rewrite of the franchise ordinance and renegotiations with PNM.

4. Increase the natural gas franchise fee charged by the Gas Company of New Mexico from 3% to 4% to generate $1.1 million. This is not at all realistic because it would require a rewriting the franchise ordinance and renegotiations with the gas company.

5. Increase telecommunications fee from 3% to 4% to generate $550,000 This is not at all realistic because it would require a rewriting the franchise ordinance and renegotiations with Century Link.

6. Impose a city gas tax of 2 cents per gallon that would generate $4.6 million. The revenue generated by the gas tax would be restricted to streets and transportation needs, the gas tax would require a referendum and there are revenue offset costs of at least $180,000 to administer tax collection.

7. Increase Planning and Permitting fees to raise $4.4 million in revenues. The fees will likely be paid and passed along to residents purchasing homes or commercial properties.

8. Increase bus fares by 25% system to generate $1 million in revenues. Bus fares have not been increased since 2002, but bus ridership has declined steadily and dramatically for the last 10 years and any fee increase may result in further decline in bus usage.

9. Charge a $10 weekly transportation fee for kids transported from APS schools to City Community Centers to generate $909,000 in revenues.

The following nine (9) revenue generating proposals will raise a total of $861,000 and will have such a small impact on a $40 million deficit that it is difficult to understand why they are even being considered:

10. Increase annual “alarm fees” from $25 to $30 by amending the alarm ordinance to generate $180,000 in revenues.

11. Raising “Latchkey and Children Service” fees by 10% to generate an additional revenue of $160,000.

12. Raise city golf fees at all city golf courses by $1 across the board to generate $171,000.

13. Increase the “Community Centers Adult fee” of $25 dollars a year to generate $80,000 in revenue.

14. Increase city aquatics fees for city pool us by public to increase revenues by $90,000.

15. Increase “engineering fees” by 10% to generate an additional $70,000 in revenue.

16. Increase annual membership fees at all Senior Citizens Centers from $15 to $20 to generate $50,000 in additional revenue.

17. Increase museum rental fees to generate $40,000 in additional revenues.

18. Increase “Family & Community Service Center Health Social Services Center” leases to generate $20,000 in additional revenue.

CITY COUNCIL NEEDS SHOW MORE DUE DILIGENCE

If the city needs a tax increase, the city council should do it, but it needs to do more due diligence on how the tax revenues should be dedicated and only after extensive public hearings on each city department budget.

The City Council must enact the proposed 3/8ths Gross Receipts Tax (GRT) for it to be on the books by April 1, 2018 for it to commence to be collected by the State on July 1, 2018, which explains the council’s urgency.

If the proposed 3/8ths Gross Receipts Tax (GRT) is enacted after April 1, 2018 by the City Council, the city will have to wait until January 1, 2019 for the revenues to be collected by the State.

The City Council should wait until after Mayor Keller submits his proposed budget on April 1, 2018 to dedicate the tax revenue under the budget they adopt.

The City Council is required to have public hearings on the proposed budget and allow for public input.

The public’s input is vital in order to reach a consensus on the need for any tax increase and how it should be dedicated.

CONCLUSION

Mayor Tim Keller should seriously consider submitting two separate and alternative budgets to the City Council on April 1, 2018 for public hearings for the City Council to decide which budget they should enact.

The first original budget would be one that virtually implements all the spending and budget cuts necessary to wipe out the $40 million-dollar deficit without tax increase.

The second budget would be a “bill substitute” budget that would make a combination of cuts, revenue raising measures and any proposed tax increases if needed, not only for public safety, but for all essential services.

The City Council should invite and allow Mayor Keller to actively participate in all schedule budget hearings, which would be a first, with the understanding he could not vote.

Let the city council do its job with budget hearings and decide on any proposed tax increase, how it should be dedicated, whether it be their own or any one proposed by the Mayor.