CITY of ALBUQUERQUE
TWENTY FOURTH COUNCIL
COUNCIL BILL NO. R-21-221 ENACTMENT NO. ________________________
SPONSORED BY: Klarissa J. Peña
RESOLUTION
title
Approving The One Albuquerque Age-Friendly Action Plan And Directing The City Of Albuquerque’s Department Of Senior Affairs To Use The Aging Population Study To Implement The Plan (Peña)
body
APPROVING THE ONE ALBUQUERQUE AGE-FRIENDLY ACTION PLAN AND DIRECTING THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE’S DEPARTMENT OF SENIOR AFFAIRS TO USE THE AGING POPULATION STUDY TO IMPLEMENT THE PLAN.
WHEREAS, the development of new programs and initiatives aim to improve the quality of life and support healthy aging for current and future older adult cohorts; Thereby, strengthening and affirming the City of Albuquerque’s commitment to making Aging a Top Priority; and
WHEREAS, adopting this Resolution furthers FY/21 Goal #1 on Human and Family Development aimed at providing people of all ages the opportunity to participate in the community and economy, and are well sheltered, safe, healthy, and educated; and
WHEREAS, it is projected, Bernalillo County’s older adults will account for over 40% of the County’s population in 2030; and
WHEREAS, it has been declared, poor health, economic instability and food insecurity of emerging older adults’ cohorts is negatively impacting how we are aging as a society; and
WHEREAS, it is reported, ageism and workplace discrimination also negatively impact our aging experience and reduce our ability to earn and save for retirement; and
WHEREAS, the City heavily relies on volunteer labor from the community in order to provide regular meal service for seniors at community center and senior center facilities; and
WHEREAS, adopting this Resolution furthers FY/21 Goal #1 Priority Objective #3 aimed at creating a marketing and volunteer recruitment strategy targeting individuals 50 years of age or older, including recent retirees and low-income seniors, to increase the number of volunteers in the Department for innovative opportunities such as addressing senior challenges, promoting age-friendly initiative and utilizing skills and specialized expertise to improve services offered by the Department; and
WHEREAS, it is suggested that one of the most effective ways cities can prepare for serving their growing older adult population and become more resilient is to adopt an age-friendly initiative; and
WHEREAS, adopting this Resolution furthers FY/21 Goal #1 Priority Objective #4 aimed at developing age-friendly policies that focus on the eight domains of livability and creating partnerships with a variety of stakeholders, including internal City departments and external businesses and organizations, to improve existing and/or create new age-friendly initiatives; and
WHEREAS, there have been many City Councils around the nation that have adopted Age-Friendly Action Plan Resolutions, including Tucson and Phoenix Arizona, and Seattle Washington; and
WHEREAS, the City of Albuquerque was designated an age-friendly community by AARP and the WHO in February 2021; and
WHEREAS, the Age-Friendly Action Plan focuses on three key areas: 1) Age-Forward Economic Development, 2) Age-Inclusive City Design, and 3) Resilient Networks for Healthy Aging; and
WHEREAS, as part of being designated an age-friendly community by AARP and the WHO, the City of Albuquerque will need to re-evaluate its Age-Friendly Action Plan every 3-5 years to ensure continued progress toward new age-friendly strategies and to adapt the plan to the changing needs of the community; and
WHEREAS, adopting an Age-Friendly Albuquerque Action Plan will allow the Department of Senior Affairs and City Council to assess how new age-friendly strategies are being implemented; and
WHEREAS, to continue the momentum behind this initiative, City Councilor Klarissa Peña commissioned the Department of Senior Affairs in 2020 to conduct a comprehensive study aimed at identifying strategies and recommendations for implementing the Plan; and
WHEREAS, Councilor Peña’s comprehensive study furthered FY/21 Goal #1 Priority Objective #6 aimed at preparing and planning to provide services for a growing aging population; and
WHEREAS, in October 2021, the Department of Senior Affairs presented the findings and recommendations from their Aging Population Study to the City Council; and
WHEREAS, one of the key recommendations from the Study was to encourage collaboration and partnerships with the Department of Senior Affairs and other City Departments to lead future Action Plan strategy cycles; and
WHEREAS, one of the key recommendations from the Study was for the Department of Senior Affairs to designate a team whose primary focus is advocacy and engagement aimed at building strong relationships among community businesses, organizations, and other City departments to raise awareness of aging issues; and
WHEREAS, the creation of this new team will also ensure enhancement of age-friendly programs and policies throughout the City, while allowing City departments to maintain their primary focus on implementing their respective programs; and
WHEREAS, the new team will also need to manage, assess, and expand existing programs and services along with special programming for the Age-Friendly Initiative.
WHEREAS, the new team will be responsible for community engagement, data collection, and quality control evaluation in accordance with the Age-Friendly Action Plan; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Senior Affairs will explore opportunities for establishing partnerships with the University of New Mexico and Central New Mexico Community College to develop innovative solutions through “think tanks” between students and older adults to address important issues facing the growing older adult population for Albuquerque; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Senior Affairs will also explore opportunities for creating and offering age-bias awareness programs to implement policies and practices that aim to change current bias around aging; and
WHEREAS, AARP New Mexico and Senior Affairs are currently in conversation on how to partner in creating age-bias awareness programming; and
WHEREAS, as part of the FY21 Budget Cycle, the Department of Senior Affairs will be hiring a Strategic Planning Manager who will be responsible for leading the new team’s efforts in evaluating the department’s internal and external capacity, coordinating community engagement and advocacy, data collection, and program and service delivery evaluation; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Senior Affairs is in the preliminary stages of defining the department’s strategic path for services and programs beyond the Area Agency on Aging grant funding; and
WHEREAS, in order to ensure the long-term implementation of the Age-Friendly Action Plan, the Department of Senior Affairs will need to assess its internal staffing capacity to implement the strategic plan, work with other City Departments to assess their own policies and programming as related to meeting the needs of Albuquerque’s aging population, and most importantly collaborate with local community groups and organizations who are already working to address the needs of Albuquerque’s aging population.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL, THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE:
Section 1. The City Council will formally approve the One Albuquerque Age-Friendly Action Plan.
Section 2. The Department of Senior Affairs will formally create an advocacy, engagement and quality control team to help implement the Age-Friendly Action Plan.
Section 3. The Department of Senior Affairs will work with the new team to focus on three key areas: 1) building relationships and investment from community groups and organizations working across the city, 2) assessing the Department of Senior Affairs’ current internal capacity to determine staffing needs for implementing and executing the Age-Friendly Action Plan, and 3) working across City Departments to identify any particular policy or programmatic change opportunities as related to meeting the needs of Albuquerque’s aging population.
Section 4. The Department of Senior Affairs and the new team will keep City Council informed about the Department’s most recent efforts by providing them with quarterly updates in the form of Interoffice Memorandums as well as Annual Reports. While quarterly Interoffice Memorandums will be used to update City Council on the internal work efforts of the Department of Senior Affairs, the Annual Reports will include policy and/or programmatic recommendations that could impact other departments’ work, such as amendments to the Integrated Development Ordinance or priority projects in the Capital Improvement Plan.
Section 5. The Department of Senior Affairs and the new team will regularly meet with various City Boards and Commissions to evaluate and review policy and programming that relates to meeting the needs of Albuquerque’s aging population in order to incorporate their most recent efforts into the Interoffice Memorandums and Annual Reports. These Boards and Commissions include but are not limited to the Americans with Disabilities Act Advisory Council, Older American’s Act Advisory Council, Senior Affairs Advisory Council, and the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council.
Section 6. The Department of Senior Affairs and the new team will continue to develop 1) the age-friendly asset inventory and 2) community partner age-friendly commitment statements. The age-friendly asset inventory provides the City a comprehensive list of age-friendly programs and services from private, public and non-profit partners. The inventory is created from community partners and City department commitment statements. With these statements, community partners sign a commitment supporting an age-friendly Albuquerque and list their age-friendly resources, services, and programs. This inventory can grow to become an important database of City and community-based aging resources and can assist Albuquerque’s aging network, including the Bernalillo County Area Agency on Aging, in growing alternative points of service for older adults.
Section 7. The Department of Senior Affairs will work closely with the Office of Neighborhood Coordination, Office of Civic Engagement, and the Office of Equity and Inclusion to identify best practices for coordinating equitable outreach to community members and organizations and other stakeholders.
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