By Jesse Jones, City Desk in The Paper. –– While reviewing Mayor Tim Keller’s $1.47 billion budget proposal, a counterintuitive number jumped out in the city’s Health, Housing and Homelessness Department budget: despite contracts for substance use treatment more than doubling to $5.5 million,the city expects to serve fewer people, lowering its target from 650 to 460 — a roughly 29% drop.
When the mayor’s office was asked about it, a spokesperson said the change reflects more accurate tracking, arguing the city had previously been miscounting who received help all along. But at least one city councilor is skeptical about whether the shift points to deeper issues, including whether increased spending is translating into results.
The mayor’s proposed $5.5 million budget for substance abuse services includes continuing about $2 million in existing treatment services, primarily through a “treatment provider network” that includes programs such as Duke City Recovery Toolbox and Albuquerque Behavioral Health, along with several new initiatives. Among the largest additions are $1.76 million for recovery-based services through the New Mexico Peer Coalition and $1.5 million for school-based prevention and intervention programs in Albuquerque Public Schools.
Press Secretary Dan Mayfield told City Desk the mayor is not proposing to serve fewer people, but is “counting them in a more accurate way.” He said, “We are expecting to serve more people, and we are serving more people. The difference is how we will report it in FY27. In the past, we’ve reported services in several different ways that didn’t accurately reflect how many we do serve.”
But City Councilor Dan Lewis, who has been highly critical of the administration’s overall spending, is skeptical about whether the shift points to deeper issues. “You got a massive amount of spending going into HHH, I think at some point we have to have the discussion over, where are the results?” Lewis told City Desk. Councilor Stephanie Telles also raised concerns, focusing on how the city measures success. She told City Desk the mayor’s proposal is an “objective-based budget” that sets goals without enough data to show whether those efforts are working.
Chief Financial Officer Carla Martinez told City Desk the FY27 targets are conservative because ongoing contract negotiations for new programs are not yet finalized. She said the city expects “to exceed the proposed figures once those agreements are finalized.”
City Councilors will review the treatment changes and consolidations during budget hearings beginning April 30 and are scheduled to take final action by May 18.
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