Proposals to change the city charter and the immigrant friendly policy will dominate the agenda for the Albuquerque City Council meeting on Monday.
Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn told City Desk ABQ the meeting would “quite possibly be the worst council meeting on the planet,” and will be “a long one.”
HOW TO PARTICIPATE:
WHEN: 5 p.m. June 3
WHERE: Vincent E. Griego Chambers in the Albuquerque Government Center, 1 Civic Plaza NW
VIRTUAL: GOV-TV or on the city’s YouTube channel
“There’s just quite a few other pretty controversial things on the air so it’s gonna take a while,” Fiebelkorn said.
Charter changes
City Councilors Dan Lewis, Klarissa Peña and Renée Grout introduced four charter amendments that propose changing the city’s majority rules for voting and the appointment and removal of key officials. If the proposed changes are approved, they will be sent to voters in November.
Read more about the proposal here.
Mayor Tim Keller has criticized the proposed changes as the “opposite of transparency and efficiency.”
Currently in order to be elected a mayor or city councilor must have at least 50% of the vote or be subject to a run-off election. The proposal would instead require the winner to have at least 40% of the total vote.
The charter currently states that the city clerk and city attorney is appointed by the mayor with the “advice and consent” from two-thirds of the council. This amendment proposes changing that process by adopting a committee that is composed of mayoral and city council appointees to recommend candidates.
Allowing the City Council to remove the Albuquerque Police Department and Albuquerque Fire Rescue chiefs without cause is another item on the charter changes. Currently, the council does have the power to remove a chief with a two-thirds vote but must have a reason.
Read more about the process to fire a police chief here.
The last proposal establishes a way to fill vacancies of a three-member conference committee that resolves disputes between the executive and legislative branches. If either body fails to appoint a member within 45 days the other body will make the appointment.
Immigrant-friendly policy
Another agenda item that will take the hot seat is the city’s immigrant friendly policy. Councilors Brook Bassan and Renée Grout are seeking to reverse the policy so police are allowed to contact federal authorities if an undocumented immigrant is charged, not convicted, with drug offenses or certain violent crimes.
The current policy prohibits police from asking for someone’s proof of immigration status unless it would be important for their investigation.
Read more about the proposed changes to the immigrant friendly policy here.
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