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By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Albuquerque voters may soon decide whether to modernize how the city’s Public Safety Tax is spent, all without seeing any increase in their actual tax rate.
We all already pay the Public Safety Tax – 1/4 of 1%, or 25-cents on each $100 transaction – as a part of the city’s larger gross receipts tax on transactions. The tax is estimated to generate just over $58 million split between police, fire and housing/homelessness programs, according to city budget documents.
A pair of companion measures sponsored by City Councilor Nicole Rogers would shift existing funds to modernize how Albuquerque administers and distributes its Public Safety Tax to reflect the city’s evolving public safety model while increasing transparency and oversight. Resolution R-26-29, co-sponsored by Rogers and Councilor Joaquín Baca, would place a question on the Nov. 3 General Election ballot to update funding allocations. The resolution would update funding allocations and formally include Albuquerque Community Safety (ACS) and City Code Enforcement as part of the city’s public safety system. The new tax distribution shifts funds to provide 35% each to the police and fire/emergency preparedness departments, 25% to ACS and 5% to Code Enforcement. The change will not increase the current tax rate we pay, only reallocate how it is used.
“With the addition of ACS as a third branch of our first-response system and the vital role Code Enforcement plays in preventing hazardous conditions,” Rogers said in a press release. “Our tax allocations must reflect the reality of how we keep Burqueños safe today. This is about making sure every cent of the Public Safety Tax is working effectively, transparently and in line with what the community expects.”
Its companion measure, Ordinance O-26-31, is meant to tighten oversight of how Public Safety Tax money is spent. The ordinance gives the Public Safety Tax Advisory Board, which reviews how the city spends money from the Public Safety Tax, more authority and clearer rules to review all police, fire and emergency spending.
If approved, it would also strengthen transparency by adding public reporting tools, including a dashboard to track implementation and outcomes.
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