CITY of ALBUQUERQUE
TWENTY THIRD COUNCIL
COUNCIL BILL NO. O-18-9 ENACTMENT NO. ________________________
SPONSORED BY: Ken Sanchez & Trudy Jones
ORDINANCE
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Adopting A Three Eighths Of One Percent (.375%) Municipal Hold Harmless Gross Receipts Tax (Sanchez, Jones)
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ADOPTING A THREE EIGHTHS OF ONE PERCENT (.375%) MUNICIPAL HOLD HARMLESS GROSS RECEIPTS TAX
WHEREAS, public safety is the top priority of the Mayor and the City Council, and the City desires to ensure that it provides sufficient funding for Albuquerque's first responders so that the public feels safe in their homes and neighborhoods; and
WHEREAS, a shortage of officers within the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) has resulted in increased response times to calls for service and has hampered APD's community policing efforts; and
WHEREAS, the recruitment and retention of officers is an increasing challenge for police agencies in the State and across the Nation; and
WHEREAS, for the past several years, APD has similarly experienced a decrease in the number of officers on its force; and
WHEREAS, while APD is aggressively marketing and recruiting new officers, selecting, vetting, and training new applicants is a lengthy process, making it difficult to quickly fill officer positions; and
WHEREAS, additional funding is necessary to ensure that the City has the resources in place to attract more police officers and other first responders to Albuquerque; and
WHEREAS, the City's five-year forecast currently projects a deficit in the City's general operating fund of approximately $40 million in Fiscal Year 2019; and
WHEREAS, a large part of that deficit is due to the recent actions of the New Mexico State Legislature, who passed legislation phasing out the City's Hold Harmless payments at a rate of approximately $2.45 million per year; and
WHEREAS, by the time the state mandated phase out is completed, the state will have taken from the City approximate...
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