Residents urge council to restore ABQ Ride positions and animal welfare funding during budget hearing

Dozens of Albuquerque residents used the public-comment period at the Committee of the Whole budget hearing to press the City Council to restore proposed cuts to ABQ Ride and the Animal Welfare Department.

"Our system is already operating at roughly 60% of pre-pandemic service levels," said Jordan McConnell, a downtown resident and transit writer, urging the council to "restore the transit positions proposed for removal by the mayor and to support full implementation of the ABQ Ride forward recovery network." McConnell and other speakers warned that driver shortages and low mechanic pay have slowed service recovery.

Speakers across the public comment block also said proposed reductions to animal welfare would undercut enforcement of the citys HEART ordinance and increase shelter intake. "Cuts to these services would not simply reduce convenience — they would create real consequences," said Megan Dugan, noting response times and shelter capacity concerns.

At the departmental presentation, Transit Director Leslie Keener said the FY27 operating request totals $62.7 million and includes proposed deactivation of 52 vacant positions that would save roughly $3.8 million. Keener said ABQ Ride currently fields about 150 MCO drivers and has extended offers to about 20 additional applicants; the department would like to increase driver headcount by roughly 15 this fiscal year and add about 29 drivers overall to reach FY28 implementation goals. Keener also said mechanics remain a critical bottleneck, with roughly 16 mechanic-3 vacancies that limit bus maintenance capacity.

"To get to fiscal year 27 and implement the phases we would like, we would need 29 more driver positions and about five additional mechanics for FY28," Keener told the council, describing recruitment classes and hiring efforts underway.

Animal Welfare Director Carolyn Ortega told the council her FY27 operating proposal (about $16 million) reflects a lean operation and acknowledged painful deactivations. Ortega described animal protection officers as public-safety personnel who respond to crimes, fires and urgent animal-removal calls and warned that cutting 14 vacant positions — mostly held under prudent-savings measures prior to the hearing — would slow response times and likely increase shelter burden.

"Our response times are going to go down," Ortega said, noting the departments recent progress in reducing euthanasia and the role of partnerships such as Street Cat Hub. She asked the council to consider restoring animal protection positions; later in the hearing she said the departments single largest unmet request would be restoring animal-protection officers (she cited a need of 33 officers).

Councilors acknowledged the public concern and said they would weigh amendments before the next committee meeting. Several said the mayors proposal prioritizes some departments while reducing others, leaving the council to rebalance priorities through amendments. Chair opened the meeting by reminding the public that the FY27 budget is the mayors proposal and that the council will consider amendments before final adoption.

The committee deferred action on the full ordinance to May 14, giving councilors additional time to consider public input and departmental follow-ups. The administration and department directors signaled openness to working with the council and to monitoring midyear spend and hiring as the city transitions some programs and grant support.