Albuquerque voters approve trio of public safety, arts ballot measures

Albuquerque voters approved three municipal ballot measures in the Nov. 3 general election six days ago, the Albuquerque Journal reported. The three questions address issues ranging from public safety to performing arts centers.

The City Council placed all three questions on the ballot earlier in the year, the Albuquerque Journal reported. Two of the approved questions will change the City Charter. All results remain unofficial until county and state election officials complete the canvass.

One approved measure elevates the leader of Albuquerque Community Safety to chief rank, similar to the police and fire departments.

The proposal, City Charter amendment P-26-1, officially designates the head of the Albuquerque Community Safety Department as the “ACS Chief,” according to a City of Albuquerque announcement. It was sponsored by District 2 City Councilor Joaquín Baca and District 6 City Councilor Nichole Rogers.

The ACS chief measure was approved by 70% in favor, according to unofficial election results reported by the Journal.

Under the change, Article V, Section 4 of the City Charter will be amended to expressly require the mayor to appoint the ACS chief with the advice and consent of the City Council. The position will undergo the same appointment and confirmation process as the city’s police and fire chiefs.

The current department director is Jodie Esquibel. Under the approved change, Esquibel would need to be appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the City Council, the Journal reported.

The charter amendment goes into effect Jan. 1, the Journal reported. Mayor Tim Keller must appoint and present Esquibel for council confirmation by Feb. 15, 2027, the Journal reported.

In a statement Wednesday, the day after Tuesday’s election, city spokesperson Rebecca Atkins said the change places ACS on “equal footing” with the Albuquerque Police Department and Albuquerque Fire Rescue.

Prior to the amendment, the director established operational policies and oversaw frontline personnel without the formalized oversight applied to the police and fire departments, according to the city announcement. The chief will now be required to enter into a formalized employment agreement specifying terms, conditions, and provisions for early termination. That agreement expires at the end of the current mayor’s term.

District 6 City Councilor Nichole Rogers stated that for four years ACS has responded to some of the city’s most complex and challenging calls, freeing up police and fire services, according to the city announcement. District 2 City Councilor Joaquín Baca stated that ACS handles frontline responses to behavioral health crises, homelessness, and community safety calls.

In early April, Councilors Baca, Rogers, Tammy Fiebelkorn, Dan Lewis, Stephanie Telles and Klarissa Peña voted to put the ACS question on the ballot, while Councilors Dan Champine and Renée Grout voted against it, the Journal reported.

A second approved measure revises how revenue from the city’s public safety tax is spent. Proposition R-26-29, enacted by the City Council in June and also cosponsored by Baca and Rogers, updates how the city’s existing 0.25% Public Safety Gross Receipts Tax is allocated, according to the city announcement.

The distribution measure, which will not raise the tax rate, was approved by 72% of voters, the Journal reported. Last year the tax raised $58 million, the Journal reported.

Before the change, the tax was split into four categories: police; fire and emergency response; corrections; and crime prevention and intervention. The Code Enforcement Division and ACS were excluded from receiving revenue allocations, according to the city announcement.

Under the approved change, ACS will receive 8% of the public safety tax budget and Code Enforcement will receive 5%, according to the Journal and the city announcement. The Albuquerque Police Department will receive 35% of the tax revenue, up from 34%, and Albuquerque Fire Rescue will receive 38%, up from 34%, according to the Journal and the city announcement.

Under the change, 6% of the revenues is allocated for Prisoner Transport, according to the city announcement. The change will take effect on the first day of the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, the Journal reported.

The third measure eases funding rules for performing arts venues. In that election, 57% of voters voted to repeal the City Charter restriction on appropriating money for a performing arts center without a public vote, the Journal reported.

The proposal, City Charter amendment P-25-8, repeals Article XI, Section 7 of the City Charter, according to the city announcement. That provision prohibited the city from appropriating funds for a performing arts center costing more than $10 million without a direct public vote in a municipal election.

The repealed restriction was adopted in the 1990s as part of a broader attempt to rein in city spending after controversy over a quality-of-life tax, the Journal reported. Voters unhappy with the tax approved an amendment to the charter in 1991 that required any “large building projects” to be put to a public vote, according to past Journal reporting.

Councilor Baca initially sponsored the legislation to repeal the performing arts center restriction, the Journal reported. Baca said that by repealing the mandate, the City Council and administration now have the flexibility to pursue, fund, and develop major performing arts venues through the standard municipal budgeting and legislative process, according to the city announcement.