Tag Archives: community impact

ONE ABQ March Newsletter

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Dear Albuquerque, 

I want to talk to you about something that affects all of us—proposed federal cuts that could take away more than $200 million in funding for our city. These cuts threaten programs that keep our community safe, support our kids, and help small businesses thrive.

We’re talking about funding for 50 police officers, crime lab equipment, sexual assault kits, victim support, early childhood education for 900 kids, and assistance for 400 small businesses. These cuts could also impact projects like the Uptown Connect housing development and the Rail Trail, which are critical to our city’s future.

This isn’t the first time we’ve had to stand up against harmful policies, and it won’t be the last. I want you to know we’re doing everything we can to fight for Albuquerque. We’re ramping up legal action, working with our state and local partners, and finding alternative funding sources. We will not let these cuts define our future.

Now more than ever, we need to come together as One Albuquerque. You can help by getting involved—volunteer, advocate, and support local organizations that are also facing funding shortfalls. In the coming weeks, we’ll launch a new dashboard to track the impact of these threats and keep you informed on our response.

Together, we’ll protect the future of our city. Thank you for standing with our community.

Sincerely,
Mayor Tim Keller 

Defend ABQ Town Hall 

Mayor Keller led a town hall discussion on Sunday afternoon at Manzano Mesa Multigenerational Center with more than 230 residents in attendance to learn about the threats to City government and how the City is pushing back.

Funding at risk 
Mayor Keller outlined essential City programs and services that could be impacted by cuts, from funding for APD and community safety, to mixed-use housing and transit development, to bike and pedestrian safety projects. The cuts will lead to tough choices, but the City will continue to balance the cuts with keeping fees low for working families, maintaining quality of life amenities for residents, and prioritizing public safety. 

City fighting back 
Mayor Keller explained what the City is doing to defend Albuquerque from dangerous cuts. Protections range from ramping up legal support and grant writing, to engaging County and State partners for flexible funding that can be used to keep the City running. The City plans to tighten its overall budget, cut non-essential spending and evaluate sales of non-essential property, equipment, and vehicles. Lastly, freeing up additional funding, like opioid settlement and marijuana tax dollars, will be critical to fill the holes of potential cuts. Learn more.

Funding Threats 

The City has received multiple threats to vital programming, including a letter received by the Senior Affairs Department. The letter stated that unless the department immediately removed the terms ‘diversity, equity, and DEI’ from its programming, its AmeriCorps volunteer funding would be revoked—jeopardizing opportunities for 800 seniors to stay engaged and contribute to the community. The department responded within hours, meeting the deadline and preserving the funding. In the coming weeks, the City will launch a dashboard to track impacted services and similar threats.
Read the letter on our website.

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City Seeks Public Comment on Draft 2025 Action Plan for Department of Health, Housing and Homelessness

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The City’s  Department of Health, Housing and Homelessness has prepared its Draft 2025 Action Plan and seeks public input. A public hearing to present the Draft 2025 Action Plan will be held on Wednesday, January 22 at 5:30 p.m. at the Los Griegos Health & Social Services Center, 1231 Candelaria NW. 

The Action Plan serves as the COA’s grant application to HUD and includes specific activities to be undertaken with Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) funds, Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funds from HUD and other local funds in furtherance of the Consolidated Plan strategies during Program Year 2025, July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026.

Estimated funding from HUD includes $4,221,830.00 of CDBG funding;
$21,000.00 of CDBG program income;
$1,947,445.00 of HOME funding;
$100,000.00 of HOME program income;
$486,861.25 of HOME Match;
$376,019.00 of ESG funding;
and $376,019 of ESG Match.
The Action Plan will also include $866,656.00 in General Funds.

For individuals who need assistance at the public hearing, contact Yolanda Krantz (505) 768-2885 72 hours prior to the hearing. The public hearing will also be held via Zoom at the following link: https://cabq.zoom.us/j/8118271546. For more information, contact Tammy Jo Archuleta at: tammyjoarchuleta@cabq.gov.

Westside Coalition of Neighborhood Associations Hosting Capital Outlay Funding Seminar

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The Westside Coalition of Neighborhood Associations (WSCONA) is hosting a Capital Outlay Funding seminar on Saturday, September 28 at 9:00 a.m. at the West Mesa Community Center, 5500 Glenrio NW, and all neighborhoods are invited and encouraged to attend. This non-partisan seminar will provide an overview of how capital outlay funding works, how neighborhoods can request such funding through their elected officials, and an opportunity to ask questions of the elected officials who will be in attendance. Refreshments will be served. For more information, e-mail Becky Davis at: beedee3@lawyer.com.

Update on Westside Speeding and Lighting

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As many HOA members are aware, the Seven Bar HOA Board has expressed concerns to the City of Albuquerque regarding problems created by the expansion of Westside Blvd. Many more people are using Westside since the expansion to four lanes. Unfortunately, many of them are speeding. The expansion also included a large number of new streetlights. These lights are not properly shielded according to law to prevent excessive light from shining onto the properties that abut Westside.
Because of homeowner complaints about these problems, the HOA Board decided to give additional voice to these homeowners by petitioning the City to address these problems. We researched the speeding and light pollution issues and circulated a petition requesting speed cameras on Westside (there are currently 20 such cameras on city roadways) and calling for shields or hoods for the streetlights that comply with state and local laws. We gave the petition to Mayor Keller and Councilor Lewis on May 28, 2024.

This is an update on the City’s response so far. In our May 2024 Newsletter we reported on all traffic stops on Westside by the APD Northwest Area Command between November 2023 and early March 2024. We have recently been provided with new information about traffic stops that specifically involve speeding citations. From the beginning of this year through July 31, 2024, there have been 220 speeding citations issued. This was only for traffic going east on Westside, which the City claims is all they are responsible for. Traffic going west is said to be the responsibility of Rio Rancho, and we do not have their figures on any speeding citations issued.

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