During Mayor Tim Keller’s State of the City address in August, he announced a plan to freeze city fees for everything from business licenses to BioPark admissions. It came as a surprise to his own staff and city councilors who, by law, must set fees in the city.
Months later, all of those fees still exist and Keller’s staff insists his intent was misunderstood.
“For everyone, literally everyone, we are freezing fees citywide,” Keller said. “We got to do this to help everyone out there. We’re going to freeze fees citywide.”
Keller added that city staff weren’t informed beforehand.“The staff at the city didn’t even know I was going to say that, so I know we’re going to have to work on that, folks,” he said.
Days after Mayor Tim Keller made that announcement, city councilors questioned at the Sept. 3 City Council meeting what that actually meant.
City officials responded that mayor’s “fee freeze” does not eliminate city charges. Instead, it halts planned increases, keeping rates for services like zoo admission, swim lessons and restaurant permits at current levels.
During the meeting, City Councilor Renée Grout questioned Chief Administrative Officer Samantha Sengel about the mayor’s announcement.
“Freezing, to me, means a moratorium on fees, implying that the mayor intends to put a stop to all fees for a period of time,” Grout said. “But since the second quarter budget projection showed you all had overspent the budget by $12 million, I don’t think you mean cut revenue. What does freezing fees mean to the administration?”
Sengel said the freeze was widely misunderstood. She said it applies citywide but keeps existing charges in place, aiming to keep programs affordable.
She said the statement means the city will not propose any fee increases, rather than eliminating fees entirely. It also covers programs that already offer free access to city facilities or services.
“So the intent of freezing means that we would not be increasing any fees or proposing any fee increases.”
Cities around the nation have responded to criticism that local governments are imposing too many fees and regulations on business by eliminating or cutting city fees. In December 2024, San Francisco city legislators approved the mayor’s plan to eliminate all business registration fees in the city in an effort to help struggling businesses.
In the 2024-2025 city budget, Keller proposed raising city fees on many activities, including BioPark admissions and some programs in senior centers and summer programs. The City Council eliminated those increases after public comment criticized raising fees for popular programs for low-income residents.
City spokesperson Rebecca Atkins confirmed the freeze took effect “shortly before” the mayor’s announcement and applies to “any fees for any city facilities and services throughout the city.”
She said the freeze has no set end date and was implemented through a mayoral directive “due to rising fees nationwide.”
Atkins said the freeze will not affect budgeted revenue because “fees are remaining where they were last set.” She directed residents to the city’s Affordable ABQ website for a list of existing free and low-cost programs.
Councilors said residents were confused by the headline-grabbing promise and urged the city to clarify its meaning.
City Councilor Brook Bassan said the city should issue a statement clarifying the fee freeze, noting residents were confused and some mistakenly thought they would not have to pay fees, including water bills.
Following the council meeting, the city issued a statement introducing Affordable ABQ, a one-stop hub to help families save money and access free or low-cost programs.
According to the statement, the city plans to partner with local growers to bring fresh, affordable food to underserved neighborhoods, freeze fees on family-friendly programs — from the zoo to swim lessons — and expand free access to gyms, pet healthcare and public transit.
Keller said he was surprising staff with the announcement. According to Atkins, the majority of city staff were notified during the address, following a directive from Keller to his executive team.
Keller also announced a legislative push to increase access to fresh, locally grown food through partnerships with farmers, store incentives, and EBT programs.
Councilor Dan Champine said he wanted to be clear that any fee changes still require council approval.
“We can’t just arbitrarily raise things or lower things without going through due process,” he said.
Councilor Dan Lewis said he was initially excited by the mayor’s promise to freeze fees, recalling that during the April budget process, he had proposed lowering trash, restaurant, golf, pool, building permit and zoo fees.
“You guys adamantly opposed it,” he said. “All of those amendments were shot down, and this administration said, ‘Absolutely, we would not support lowering any fees,’” he said, noting that trash fees were even raised a year ago.
Lewis said the mayor’s announcement on TV promising cuts to restaurant fees seemed like a sudden change of heart.