Hello Albuquerque,
Building a better future for our families is something we will never give up on. I know some think the odds are against us. I get it: our challenges are formidable, but this city has a legacy of resilience and the heart and will to keep fighting.
We showed that in 2020 when, amidst the pandemic, DOJ oversight and national unrest, we created the Albuquerque Community Safety Department (ACS) to address behavioral health. Today, ACS has transformed public safety, and taken over 80,000 calls, freeing police to focus on violent crime.
We brought that spirit of innovation to APD, adding state-of-the-art tech like the Real Time Crime Center and shot detection, which we’re expanding so police have even more eyes covering schools, shopping centers and parks. We’ve added 480 cameras, 1,000 new streetlights, cleared thousands of felony warrants, and we’re taking back our transit system so that folks feels safe riding our buses.
At last month’s State of the City, we announced the Metro Homelessness Initiative (MHI), a multifaceted, all-in approach to get more people into houses and off our streets. This issue is the challenge of our lifetime, but we’re not backing down.
We’re expanding our Gateway network to include the newly transformed Gateway West, adding Youth, Family, and Recovery Gateways. By this time next year, all five can be working as an integrated system, helping thousands daily. We’re overhauling vouchers, strengthening our collaborations, and empowering through employment with “A Better Way Forward”.
But the City can’t do this alone. We’re inviting leaders, non-profit partners and the business community to join us, pool our resources and turn the tide, together. No idea is off the table.
There are so many great things on the horizon, a renewed sense of optimism and signs of rejuvenation. We’re giving Downtown its power back and working with City Council to inject $200 million in tax incentives. A second solar manufacturer is coming to Mesa Del Sol, bringing thousands of jobs and placing Albuquerque at the center of the renewable economy.
This is only a glimpse of what it’s in store for our families, and the generations that follow. It’s going to take us not backing down, rising to take on the challenges together, and pushing full throttle on what IS working for our city. Albuquerque, we have a future worth fighting for!
Sincerely,
Mayor Tim Keller
