CITY of ALBUQUERQUE
TWENTY FIRST COUNCIL
COUNCIL BILL NO. C/S R-14-40 ENACTMENT NO.________________________
SPONSORED BY: Diane G. Gibson
RESOLUTION
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C/S Reallocating Funds To Address Deferred Parks Maintenance (Gibson)
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REALLOCATING FUNDS TO ADDRESS DEFERRED PARKS MAINTENANCE.
WHEREAS, $3 million in operating funds were allocated in FY14 to the Parks and Recreation Department for River Amenities, Enhancements and Bosque Restoration and Bosque Trail Development in addition to the regular budget for the Open Space Division; and
WHEREAS, those funds committed to ABQ The Plan were from the City's General Fund and therefore may be used for repair, maintenance, rehabilitation or capital purposes; and
WHEREAS, the recently-issued Five-Year Forecast expects expenditures to exceed revenues by about $6.8 million in FY14 and by $7.4 million in FY15, with the deficit increasing to $84 million by FY18; and
WHEREAS, the reduction in the food and medical hold harmless distribution from the State begins its 15-year phase out in FY/16. The first year of the reduction is expected to cost the City $2.2 million. The lost revenue from FY/16 to FY/18 is $9.8 million, and will increase unless GRT is increased to offset the loss; and
WHEREAS, the economic recovery is still tenuous in Albuquerque, as evidenced in the fact that more people left the State than moved into the State between July 2011 and July 2013, a phenomenon showing up in the state's latest economic forecast which showed the state's employment grew only 0.2 percent in the 12-month period ending November 30, 2013; and
WHEREAS, activities such as River Amenities, Enhancements and Bosque Restoration and Bosque Trail Development are not one-time expenditures, rather requiring additional maintenance funds, as underscored by the additional budget request for FY15; and
WHEREAS, the recent 2013 Audit on Parks Maintenance reported seven findings related to Parks Management; and
WHEREAS, the recent 2013 Audit characterized Parks Management as operating "in a reactive mode of 'organized chaos'"; and
WHEREAS, the recent 2013 Audit found that "Park Management maintains an inventory list of 291 parks, the list includes golf courses and future parks" and that "as a result of reduced department staffing and increased park acreage, Park Management has adjusted park maintenance standards"; and
WHEREAS, the recent 2013 Audit identified "obvious maintenance needs" at 59% of the parks sampled; and
WHEREAS, additional funds are necessary to implement the recommendations of the 2013 Audit on Parks Maintenance, including the development of a master maintenance plan for the City's parks, addressing the "obvious maintenance needs" at existing parks and constructing the already-funded additional parks; and
WHEREAS, neighborhood parks throughout the City are extensively used by residents.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL, THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE:
Section 1. That the scope of ABQ The Plan project (#7524030) in Fund 305 be changed to "To plan, design, engineer, construct, equip, furnish or otherwise improve, repair or maintain the City's existing inventory of 291 parks."
Section 2. That the City Council hereby directs, to the extent allowed by federal law, that any funds spent on, encumbered for, or in any way reserved for the Albuquerque Convention Center improvement project be reimbursed to project #7524030 from the new money proceeds of the recent refunding of Convention Center Lodger's Tax bonds to be used for the purposes set out in Section 1 above.
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