By Pat Davis and Jesse Jones, The Route 66 Independent – For years, Edgewood commissioners have relied on leftover Covid-era federal government handouts and previous year budget surpluses to pay for new town services including police, parks, events and streets without raising the taxes to fund them long-term. With just a month until the end […]
Jesse Jones
Jesse Jones is a reporter covering local government and news for The Paper. through a local journalism fellowship from NM Reports.
Posted inLocal Government
After Lindy’s collapse, Councilor Baca pushes $5,000 vacancy fines, maintenance rules for Downtown buildings
By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Residents and visitors can’t help but notice the empty buildings Downtown; the sudden structural failure of the Lindy’s building made those eyesores into a public hazard. Now, a councilor who pushed for stronger regulations on vacant and unkept properties Downtown other councilors removed from a prior bill. Sponsored by […]
Posted inNM.news
Councilor eyes higher fees for nonresidents dumping trash in ABQ city convenience centers
Staff report, City Desk in The Paper. — Just days after the City Council stripped similar fee hikes from the citywide budget, one city councilor is proposing a targeted $12 trash surcharge for nonresidents aimed at funding taxpayer-funded convenience centers while keeping local disposal costs at $5. Sponsored by Klarissa J. Peña by request, O-26-35 […]
Posted inCity Desk ABQ
Council said no to more safe outdoor spaces but Mayor Keller started one anyway. Now the funding and future may be in jeopardy.
By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Almost a year ago, Mayor Tim Keller told reporters the city needs 100 more Safe Outdoor Spaces for its homeless population but the city council has never gotten on board with authorizing zoning and ordinance changes to get anywhere close. Even now, the city has only one privately run […]
Posted inCity Desk ABQ
Why Burqueños might feel safer on buses
By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Burqueños riding public transit may be feeling safer lately as new ABQ Ride data shows security calls across the transit system are dropping even while ridership continues to grow. Data reviewed by City Desk from ABQ Ride’s third-quarter report shows safety calls dropped 21% from last year, averaging 1,871 […]
Posted inCity Desk ABQ
After mayor warns of budget woes, Council OK’s city’s biggest budget ever
By Jesse Jones, City Desk in The Paper. — The City Council passed the city’s largest-ever budget, $1.5 billion, Monday night overcoming earlier warnings from the mayor that future spending would have to be cut to meet slower economic projections. The spending plan, passing 7-2, with councilors Brook Bassan and Dan Lewis voting against it, […]
Posted inLocal Government
Councilors will push $15 min. wage, increased tipped wage to meet affordability crisis
By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Burqueños struggling to keep up with rising rent costs may soon see relief as a bloc of city councilors pushes to raise Albuquerque’s minimum wage amid an expanding affordability crisis. The ordinance would address Burque’s widening affordability gap, where average earnings per job are about 20% below the national […]
Posted inLocal Government
Council says it found $11 million budget error by mayor. He says they don’t understand the budget.
By Jesse Jones — City Desk in The Paper. — Division has split Albuquerque City Hall as a clash is erupting between the City Council and Mayor Tim Keller’s administration over an $11.8 million discrepancy council staff uncovered in the city’s financial projections while reviewing the mayor’s proposed $1.4 billion fiscal year 2027 budget. It […]
Posted inNM.news
In next battle between council and mayor, Councilor wants voters to remove key directors from mayor’s supervision
By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — An Albuquerque city councilor wants to keep the city’s top legal officer and chief record-keeper independent of the political winds that shift with each municipal election. Council Vice-President Dan Champine is sponsoring a pair of measures at Monday night’s City Council meeting that would let voters decide in the […]
Posted inLocal Government
City Council considers stricter repair timelines for ‘Bad Actor’ landlords
By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — City councilors and landlords all agree that a handful of “bad actors” are giving landlords citywide a bad image, but a proposal before the city council to increase fines and require faster repairs by the worst offenders faced challenges in it’s first hearing. The city received more than 2,111 […]