Rodd Cayton, nm.news

Albuquerque’s $1.5 billion budget is approved, but city councilors aren’t celebrating

Albuquerque City Councilors Monday night approved a $1.5 billion city budget that none of them seemed to love. Perhaps the council’s biggest disappointment was an inability to provide the pay hike they wanted for city employees. The budget, as amended, calls for many workers to receive a 2.5% pay raise. Mayor Tim Keller’s proposed budget […]

ABQ council set to consider Mayor’s proposed budget

By Rodd Cayton Albuquerque City Councilors will consider Mayor Tim Keller’s proposed budget Monday evening, but they will also weigh several other matters, including a possible pause in new fiber internet installation permits. A proposed resolution would halt construction on fiber internet installations until the City Council creates new standards for the activity. The city […]

Budget season winding down in ABQ

By Rodd Cayton The City of Albuquerque’s next budget is headed for the home stretch and city employees could find their paychecks a little bigger. The City Council’s Committee of the Whole voted Thursday to move the $1.5 billion financial blueprint to final adoption at Monday’s regular meeting. Councilors have been reviewing Mayor Tim Keller’s […]

Choosing the chief

by Rodd Cayton, nm.news May 14, 2025May 14, 2025

By Rodd Cayton Bernalillo County is asking the public to help find the right person to serve as its next fire chief. Community members are invited to a community input session Monday. URE Consulting, a firm that specializes in executive recruiting services for police and fire agencies, plans to gather feedback from residents about their […]

Budget crunch time

By Rodd Cayton Albuquerque City Councilors continue to work through building a spending plan for fiscal year 2026. They’ll get more scrutinous after Thursday evening as they fine-tune adjustments to Mayor Tim Keller’s $1.5 billion proposed budget. All nine councilors make up the budget-focused Committee of the Whole. The overall budget, including all revenue sources, […]

County ethics board finds hiring of former clerk violated rules. But there isn’t much they can do about it.

By Rodd Cayton A board looking into the Bernalillo County Treasurer’s Office Tuesday found Linda Stover broke county ethics rules when she accepted a deputy treasurer position the day after her term as county clerk ended. However, the Code of Conduct Review Board noted the matter is in state district court and clarified that its […]

Ethics panel to take up treasurer hiring issue

by Rodd Cayton, nm.news May 12, 2025May 12, 2025

By Rodd Cayton An ethics issue that has been working its way through Bernalillo County government could come to a conclusion as soon as Tuesday morning. The county’s Code of Conduct Review Board will meet at 9 a.m. to discuss an allegation by county commissioners that Linda Stover violated the code by accepting an appointment […]

Albuquerque Police Department finished with federal oversight after years of reform

By Rodd Cayton Federal oversight of the Albuquerque Police Department is over. The city and the U.S. Department of Justice filed a joint motion in federal court Friday to release the department from monitoring connected to high numbers of excessive-force incidents and police shootings. On Monday, U.S. District Judge James O. Browning officially dismissed the […]

The story of Albuquerque’s budget

By Rodd Cayton Albuquerque is moving closer to having a budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. City Councilors, Thursday night, sought answers from department heads as they search for the best use of $1.5 billion. At Thursday’s Committee of the Whole meeting, they questioned staff on topics that included performance metrics, hiring efforts and future […]

Congestion now, freedom later?

By Rodd Cayton City of Albuquerque crews are preparing to launch what is being billed as the largest construction project in city history, to the benefit of Westside drivers. The Unser and Paseo del Norte widening project will start this fall, and will include new lighting, bike lanes and trails as well as adding traffic […]