Albuquerque city councilors overturned two of Mayor Tim Keller’s budget vetoes at the June 16 City Council meeting, restoring funding for events the mayor said raised legal and procurement concerns.
Keller had vetoed four parts of the city’s $1.5 billion budget, saying the changes were needed to keep the budget legally sound and avoid picking favorites among nonprofit groups. His line-item vetoes cut a proposed independent permitting office, shifted funding away from the Albuquerque Regional Economic Alliance and removed money set aside for the USAC Masters Cycling Championship and the PBS show Bands of Enchantment.
The City Council passed the budget May 19, with strong support. In the end, councilors upheld the mayor’s vetoes on permitting reform and nonprofit allocations but rejected his objections to the two tourism and cultural items.
“I think there was a misunderstanding regarding the mayor’s veto,” Councilor Dan Lewis said. “It described a reason for eliminating that language was because of a conflict with the state office, but that’s just simply not the case. Even the original language, I don’t believe, and certainly our attorney, who helped us craft that and draft that and did not believe that it was in conflict at all.
According to Lewis, the Council attorney found no conflict in the language. He added that after the July break, the Council can pass a simple amendment in August to clean it up and match what they approved in the council meeting.
The vetos and the overrides
- Independent Permitting Office:
The mayor struck a line in the budget that would have created an independent permitting office, saying the move would conflict with state law and construction rules.
“I agree with the sponsor of this provision that continuing to improve the efficiency in our permitting process is a priority,” Keller said. “However, the creation of an ‘Independent Permitting Office’ would be legally problematic.”
According to the mayor, the proposal may conflict with the state’s Construction Industries Licensing Act, Section 60-30-1 et al, NMSA (1978), and the Construction Industries General Provisions rules, Title 14, Chapter 6, Part 5.
Keller said removing the language allows the funding to stay in place, enabling the Planning Department to continue working to expedite permitting.
Lewis said the Council approved a resolution as part of the consent agenda to send budgeted funds to the Planning Department. He said the funding came with clear direction to improve the permitting process by assigning staff to focus on efficiency.
“I think there was a misunderstanding regarding the mayor’s veto,” Lewis said. “It described a reason for eliminating that language was because of a conflict with the state office, but that’s just simply not the case. Even the original language, I don’t believe, and certainly our attorney, who helped us craft that and draft that and did not believe that it was in conflict at all.”
He added that after the July break, the Council can pass a simple amendment in August to clean it up and match what they approved in the council meeting.
The veto override failed in a 5-4 vote.
- Regional Economic Alliance Funding Shift
Keller said he supports the Albuquerque Regional Economic Alliance (AREA) and included $203,000 for it in his budget, but pushed back on how the Council chose to fund it.
“This action pits our non-profit partners against each other and forces us to pick winners and losers,” Keller said.
To cover the cost, the Council cut sponsorship money from several local groups, including the National Hispanic Cultural Center, American Indian Chamber of Commerce, Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, Albuquerque Hispano Chamber and the New Mexico Tech Council.
“This didn’t cut funding to anyone — it just made sure that we followed through on the contract we already agreed to,” Councilor Louie Sanchez said. “AREA wasn’t on the nonrecurring list we got and we weren’t given a list of who else was being funded. It’s not Council picking winners and losers — it’s us honoring the commitment the administration had already made.”
Council President Brook Bassan said her concern was that the council put in the budget clearly said “we need to make sure AREA gets paid.”
“We didn’t say what had to be cut, or what didn’t,” Bassan said. The [mayor’s] message did indicate that the council is pitting these nonprofits against each other, and really the council just said, ‘We want to make sure that their contract was made whole.’”
She said it was unfair to suggest that overriding or upholding the veto meant the council is prioritizing one nonprofit over another.
The override failed in a 5-4 vote.
- Cycling Championship Earmark
Keller said the Cycling USAC Masters Championship may not come to Albuquerque this year, so setting aside money for it isn’t the best use of taxpayer dollars.
He said he’d rather see the funding go toward another tourism project, like the Route 66 Centennial.
Councilors questioned the administration why the cycling event was even in the budget if the event was not scheduled to come to Albuquerque.
“These are funds the Council has graciously appropriated several years running that allow us to support these events,” said Dave Simon, Director of Parks and Recreation. “They come to allow us to promote professional and amateur sporting events that do generate revenue for the city. So if they did come and we have the funds available, we would support that.”
Lewis asked, “If this veto stands, where does the money go?”
Lauren Keefe, the city attorney, said the transfer stays in place. The funding, originally intended for the cycling championship, remains with the Parks Department. Since it’s lodgers’ tax money, it must be used for tourism-related activities.
Lewis followed up, asking if it was overridden, where does the money go?
The attorney said the money would still be allocated to the cycling championship unless the Council passed a resolution to change it.
“Either way, we could bring forth a resolution and allocate these dollars, or if we override it, we have more of an opportunity to allocate these dollars.”
“Either way,” the attorney said, “the Council would need to reappropriate the funds and dedicate them to a specific program.”
Lewis said overriding the veto would give the Council a stronger reason to revisit the funding and decide where it should go, rather than letting the money potentially get absorbed by the department.
The council voted to override the mayor’s veto 6-3
- Bands of Enchantment Funding
Keller said he supports the PBS show Bands of Enchantment and included funding for it in the budget, but raised concerns about how the Council handled the money.
“I will ensure that the City continues to support it,” Keller said.
He argued the funding, as structured, violates the state’s anti-donation clause and the city’s procurement rules, which require a competitive process for spending at that level. He also said the Council overstepped by taking direct control of the money, which he said goes against the City Charter.
Deputy City Attorney Kevin Morrow said the proposal raises three legal concerns: anti-donation, procurement, and separation of powers.
“Generally, anti-donation prevents the contribution to private entities without proper services provided in return,” Morrow said. He noted that Bands of Enchantment appear to offer a public benefit and use public facilities, but the specific services would need legal review.
On procurement, Morrow said some services — such as booking musicians or advertising — can be exempt from bidding rules under the Procurement Code. Whether violations occurred would depend on the details of the contract.
As for the separation of powers, Morrow said it hinges on how the contract is carried out. “There is consideration as to whether the final contract would actually be,” he said, referring to how the structure might affect legal boundaries.
The Council voted 7–2 to override the mayor’s line-item veto, restoring funding for Bands of Enchantment. The money remains in the Council’s budget for now, but the Council must pass a resolution directing the administration to draft a contract. That contract will need legal and procurement review to make sure it follows city and state law.
Get Involved
With the City Council taking a summer break, the next City Council meeting is at 5 p.m. Aug. 4 in the Vincent E. Griego Chambers, basement level of the City of Albuquerque Government Center, 1 Civic Plaza NW.
To speak during public comment, you must sign up by 4 p.m. the day of the meeting. If you don’t have internet access, call 505-768-3100 for help.
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