Lawsuit between Mayor, Council over paramedic staffing comes to sudden end

Mayor Tim Keller’s administration and the Albuquerque City Council have reached an agreement to end a legal fight over paramedic staffing, ending a long dispute over who controls emergency response staffing.

Announced Monday, the deal resolves all outstanding legal challenges, including a separation-of-powers dispute filed earlier this year. The agreement establishes a formal review process for AFR’s Advanced Life Support (ALS) expansion pilot at seven fire stations. 

“This agreement reflects our shared responsibility to put public safety first,” Keller said. “By working together, we can build trust, support our first responders and ensure our residents receive the high-quality emergency care they deserve.”

City Council President Klarissa Peña said the new Council made settling the dispute a priority. 

“We made it a priority to bring the Council together and work closely with the administration to find a solution that strengthens public safety,” she said, crediting Councilors Dan Lewis and Tammy Fiebelkorn for leading negotiations.

Councilor Dan Lewis, who originally co-sponsored the resolution that launched the fight said, “By focusing on public safety, we were able to reach an agreement that protects the residents of Albuquerque.”

An internal AFR memo obtained by City Desk says, an ALS Expansion Working Group will include International Association of Firefighters Local 244 (IAFF Local 244) executive board members, ensuring union input in the evaluation process

How it started

The dispute dates back to early last year, when Fire Chief Emily Jaramillo announced plans to expand a staffing model that had been running as a pilot since 2021. 

The seven-station pilot began in 2021, according to the memo. Under the settlement, AFR will evaluate its results using data, operational experience and input from firefighters and the community

The firefighters’ union, pushed back, saying the change could delay life-saving care on critical calls where two paramedics can mean the difference between life and death

Last March, the City Council passed a resolution requiring two paramedics on every AFR rescue unit, which Keller legally challenged. 

The dispute escalated until the Intragovernmental Conference Committee (ICC) sided with Keller in July 2025, ruling that staffing decisions belong to the mayor. 

Despite the ruling, the union and council filed a petition for judicial review, keeping the legal fight alive until this week’s agreement.

The memo says the agreement puts the dispute back where it stood a year ago and reinforces Jaramillo’s authority to staff AFR. The memo also notes that no additional staffing splits or structural changes related to ALS expansion will occur during the current bid cycle.

Under the settlement terms outlined in the memo, the City Council will dismiss with prejudice its appeal of the ICC decision and its challenge to the labor board’s denial of legislative immunity, meaning the case cannot be refiled.

The council agreed to drop the appeal after the labor board denied immunity, leaving councilors personally exposed in the prohibited practices complaint.

AFR and Keller agreed to remove councilors as parties to that complaint, according to the memo. The case will move forward against fire union, with a hearing set for March.

The agreement requires the city to include frontline employees and union representatives in its review process. The memo says the settlement also creates an EMS Training Ad Hoc Committee made up of AFR leaders and the union to review paramedic, AEMT and EMT-B training, instructor coordinators and education options.

In December, then-Council President Brook Bassan asked the Office of Internal Audit and the Office of Inspector General to investigate whether City Attorney Lauren Keefe had violated conflict-of-interest rules by working with Keller’s lawyers while nominally representing both branches of government.

Councilor Stephanie Telles told City Desk the investigation remains ongoing but said she could not comment further because it is a legal matter.

“The International Association of Firefighters Local 244 looks forward to working with all parties in order to provide the very best emergency services possible to the citizens and guests of Albuquerque,” union President Miguel Tittmann told City Desk. This includes the City Administration, the City Council and AFR Leadership.”