City Council defers operating budget; hearing covers airport, transit, planning, animal welfare and other department budgets

Albuquerque — The City Council’s Committee of the Whole on the city operating budget held a multi-hour hearing that focused on physical-goal departments including aviation, transit, planning, municipal development, environmental health, animal welfare and others. Councilors voted to defer formal action on the city operating budget legislation, R-25-132, to the council’s May 15 meeting.

The postponement motion passed on a roll-call vote after department directors answered council questions about staffing, capital projects and grants. Councilors and department officials also discussed the Sunport’s concession openings and runway work, transit staffing and security, changes to planning and code enforcement, an expanded sustainability staff in Environmental Health, and animal-welfare programs including Street Cat Hub and spay/neuter activity.

Why it matters: The deferral leaves time for councilors to review department presentations and follow-up data, and preserves the normal sequence under which the council considers amendments and final adoption of the FY26 operating budget.

Aviation: City presents Sunport budget and capital priorities

Director Richard McCorley presented the Aviation Department’s proposed FY26 operating budget of $120,900,000 with 306 positions. Highlights he listed included recurring staffing and security contract increases, a $2,500,000 nonrecurring request for an enterprise asset management system (EAMS) and $29,300,000 proposed for purchase of land adjacent to the airport. McCorley described the airport’s recent concession openings (new security checkpoint and food hall) and a schedule of additional food and retail openings targeted for October and the Balloon Fiesta season. He told councilors the primary runway project is an FAA-funded project with the FAA providing approximately 85% of funding and that the runway is scheduled to be reopened before the air show after a final 3-week closure period for lighting work.

Transit: staffing, security and shelters

Transit Director Leslie Keener described the department’s FY26 proposed operating budget of $67,901,000 and said the department is shifting some marketing positions from a now-ended state grant into the transit operating fund to keep outreach and rider information functions in-house. Keener told councilors that driver recruitment and mechanic vacancies remain the principal constraint on service expansion; she reported recent hiring classes and retention efforts (differential pay for split shifts and evening work, recognition events and in-house training). Keener also said plexiglass driver barriers are installed across the fleet and that transit is pursuing federal capital grants for shelters, electric buses and other infrastructure. She noted a completed first delivery of two new shelters and a plan to install 55 shelters by summer 2026 (subject to grant execution).

Animal Welfare: shelter metrics and preventive programs

Director Carolyn Ortega highlighted year-to-date performance gains and program metrics for Animal Welfare: reduced intake, a reduction in euthanasia rate, increases in reclaimed pets and expanded spay/neuter throughput. Ortega said since July 2024 the city’s community veterinary clinic performed 2,571 spay/neuters and provided thousands of vaccines and microchips. Ortega also described a Street Cat Hub (TNR) effort tied to a $500,000 nonrecurring allocation; she told councilors that the hub reduced shelter intake and that bringing street-cats into the shelter would be far more costly than continuing hub operations.

Planning and code enforcement: one-stop system, inspections and abatement funding

Planning Director Ellen Varela reviewed the department’s FY26 requests, including body items to support building-safety wages and a new code-enforcement officer required by local resolution. She reported rework and data issues during the city’s technology migration (one-stop/Tyler) and said the department requested reappropriation and encumbrance of remaining funds for multi-year project costs. Varela said electrical inspection staffing had recovered from a severe vacancy-driven backlog and she reported actions to stabilize inspection turnaround times.

Public comment and other departmental highlights

Members of the public urged continued support for public art trust revenues and conservation, and representatives of the firefighters raised concerns about staffing at a new Station 23, asking councilors to fund additional firefighter positions to meet the department’s stated operational needs. Other departments presenting during the hearing included Environmental Health (sustainability staff moves into EHD and questions about cannabis retailer oversight and air quality), Municipal Development (large capital projects, road infrastructure and rail spur work), Solid Waste (convenience centers, street sweeping, illegal dumping), City Support, Finance & Administration (grant accounting and ARPA status), Technology & Innovation, Human Resources, Internal Audit and the Office of Inspector General.

Votes at a glance

R-25-132 — Ordinance appropriating funds for the FY26 operating budget (motion to defer to May 15) Motion: Defer consideration of R-25-132 to the May 15 Committee of the Whole meeting. Mover/Second: motion moved and seconded on the floor (not specified in roll-call excerpt). Vote (roll call as read into the record): Bassan — yes; Champagne — yes; (Fugal Court listed) — yes; Lewis — no; Pena — yes; Rogers — yes; Sanchez — yes; Grama — yes; result: motion passed. (Transcript records the roll call as entered by the clerk near the end of the hearing.)

What’s next

Council staff said the committee will receive written comments and department follow-ups before the May 15 meeting; the budget, as amended or substituted, will then be forwarded to the May 19 full council meeting for adoption with a final opportunity for public comment.

Source material: presentations and Q&A from department directors, councilor questions and public comment recorded in the Committee of the Whole budget hearing transcript (Committee of the Whole, Albuquerque City Council).