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By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Mayor Tim Keller stood before Burqueños weeks ago and laid out his vision for Albuquerque’s future in his first State of the City address of his third term. But one idea drafted in his speech never made it to the microphone: an “honest conversation” about merging the city and county.
That part of the 15-page written remarks speech he deliberately skipped caught our attention at The Paper. and we wanted to know why.
A unified government could cut overlapping zoning, permitting and public safety services, potentially speeding up delivery and saving money, Keller was prepared to say. He pointed to at least 15 local government entities and taxing authorities as a source of friction. Opponents, however, said consolidation could reduce representation for residents in unincorporated areas as their local priorities compete with citywide concerns.
The debate is decades old. Albuquerque and Bernalillo County voters have rejected merger proposals several times over the past half-century, turning them down in 1959, 1973, 2003 and 2004, according to a University of Tennessee study of municipal government mergers. In 2004, a University of New Mexico financial study commissioned by the Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Unification Charter Commission found that city taxpayers provided over $40 million in subsidies to the county. It also showed that equalizing employee pay would cost millions more and raise property taxes in unincorporated areas. The study also showed residents in unincorporated areas generated 26.5% of county revenue but accounted for 69.8% of county service spending. City residents paid 71.9% of county taxes while receiving just 27.6% of its services.
Somos unidos?
To find out if the idea was worth revisiting, we asked Albuquerque City Council members and Bernalillo County commissioners a simple question: Would they support exploring a city-county merger?
Local leaders are divided. In City Hall, City councilors Brook Bassan, Tammy Fiebelkorn and Dan Lewis support exploring consolidation. That makes 3 of 9. Others told us they want more details before taking a position. Councilor Renée Grout said she is unsure what to make of Keller’s comments and Councilor Joaquín Baca said the idea is worth discussing, but he is not sure what that would look like.
Councilor Stephanie Telles said conversations about consolidation resurface periodically because the city and county manage large public budgets while providing some overlapping services. But she said a merger is only one option. Any serious proposal would require years of research on the costs and benefits, followed by more years to plan a transition. She also said the effort would need near-universal support from city and county voters because a rejection by either group would end it. “If city voters say yes, but county voters say no, or vice versa, it fails,” she said.
Across Downtown, at the County Government Center at Alvarado Square, County Commissioners Frank Baca and Walt Benson told The Paper. they oppose the idea. Commissioner Baca said a larger government would not better serve unincorporated county residents. Benson said the county provides a check and balance on the city under the current model that consolidation would erase. He said the proposal is unworkable without broader changes to the city’s government structure. Other commissioners did not respond to our questions.
The Paper. reached out to the mayor’s office for more details about Keller’s intent and why he left the idea out of his speech. A city spokesperson told The Paper. that Keller delivered the address in a “free-flow style” rather than reading his remarks verbatim, leaving about 20% of the written remarks, including the consolidation proposal, out of the live speech. The spokesperson said local leaders have periodically examined consolidation because of Albuquerque’s irregular boundaries and that “it is worth taking a look at the issue again and letting the voters weigh in.” The spokesperson said consolidated metro areas have seen “increased responsiveness, reduced bureaucracy and red tape.” Keller also raised the idea in remarks to the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce and remains willing to discuss it with anyone.
Residents can contact their city councilor or county commissioner to ask where they stand on consolidation.
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