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By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Burqueños can help decide how to spend $1.7 million in public funds on projects in District 1. The initiative builds on Albuquerque’s first participatory budgeting pilot in District 6.
Albuquerque City Councilor Stephanie Telles is inviting residents to submit ideas for projects funded through District 1’s $1.7 million participatory budgeting program. Under the city’s Capital Implementation Program guidelines, District 1’s $1.7 million comes from the $15.75 million set aside for the 2027 bond cycle. The funding is divided equally among Albuquerque’s nine council districts, with each councilor deciding how to use their district’s share. Telles is partnering with the community group Participatory Budgeting ABQ to help guide the process, following the lead of District 6 Councilor Nichole Rogers, who launched the city’s first participatory budgeting pilot in 2024, which is now in its second year. Anyone 14 or older who lives within Albuquerque city limits can submit an idea online by Wednesday, Nov. 4.
Proposed projects must be public capital improvements located in District 1, owned entirely by the city and expected to last at least 10 years. They should build, expand or make major improvements to public infrastructure. Telles told The Paper.’s City Desk that the set-aside funds come with city rules that prohibit using the money for ongoing costs such as staffing, programming or maintenance. “The best proposals will be one-time projects that improve the district for the common good while fitting within those guidelines,” she says.
She says she has intentionally stayed out of the decision-making process so residents can guide which projects move forward. The district had already received several ideas as of Monday morning, according to Telles. The submission form asks residents to explain how their ideas would benefit District 1 and reflect their local experiences and perspectives.
After the Nov. 4 deadline, a resident steering committee and the Participatory Budgeting ABQ team will review the ideas, work with city departments to check feasibility and narrow the proposals to at least 10 finalists by the end of November. District 1 residents will vote on the finalists in December, and winning projects are expected to receive funding in January 2027. Proposals that do not receive city funds may also seek capital outlay funding from state lawmakers.