By Rodd Cayton
The public is invited again Thursday to give input on Albuquerque’s fiscal year 2026 budget.
Mayor Tim Keller last month proposed a $1.5 billion spending plan, which City Councilors are now reviewing.
Meeting as the Committee of the Whole, all nine councilors will take public input regarding the budget and capital improvements program proposed by the mayor.
Thursday’s meeting will be the last opportunity for public comment until May 19, when the City Council is expected to adopt the final budget.
The meeting will focus on physical goals, generally covering city departments that have minimal direct interaction with the public.
The transit department, which provides ABQ Ride and ART bus service and SunVan paratransit service, is funded at $67.9 million in the proposed budget, up about 3.8% from this year.
City officials say the purchase of alternative-fuel buses will save the department an estimated $1.7 million in fuel and lubricant costs, which will be used to meet operational bus security needs.
Transit is budgeted at 540 employees, down from 551 in the fiscal year 2025 budget. Keller’s administration expects transit to see more than 7.8 million boardings next fiscal year.
The Department of Municipal Development, responsible for designing, building and maintaining city roads and infrastructure, is set to receive $49.8 million in Keller’s budget. The budget proposes a department workforce of 335, down three for this year.
The planning department is funded at $23.6 million, up $1.3 million. The planning workforce is budgeted at 199 employees, a drop of two from the 2025 budgeted number.
One performance measure for the department is the number of construction permits issued. The target number for fiscal 2026 is set at 7,754 in Keller’s proposed budget. That’s well below the fiscal 2025 target of 12,662, but in line with the mid-year total of 3,692.
Keller’s administration wants to reduce the average turnaround times to 16 days for residential plan review and 13 days for commercial plan review. The 2025 targets are 17 days and 25 days, respectively. Mid-year numbers show the residential target has already been met, and the department is turning around commercial plan reviews in 14 days, on average.
Those wishing to speak at a City Council or committee meeting must sign up in advance.
LOWER keller’s admin salaries-way overpaid for what they do