Council President Peña Issues Statement on Council’s Dismissal of Key City Operation & Infrastructure Measures Addressed in Community Investment Tax Proposal

ALBUQUERQUE, NM — Council President Klarissa J. Peña issued the following statement regarding the Council’s vote to dismiss R-26-58, during Monday evening’s City Council meeting following a motion brought by Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn:

“I am deeply disappointed by the procedural maneuver taken tonight to defeat R-26-58 before the public ever had the chance to weigh in,” Council President Peña said. “To claim that these measures are identical in substance to previously failed Gross Receipts Tax (GRT) proposals is simply incorrect. The parent bill, O-26-57,  was thoughtfully designed with structural changes, unprecedented taxpayer protections, and guarantees for our workforce that set it completely apart from past legislation:

• Balanced Allocation (53/47): We shifted revenue away from traditional splits to guarantee 53% for Operations and 47% for Capital Improvements.
• Built-in Sunset Clause: The capital infrastructure portion of the tax was explicitly designed to sunset after 21 years, ensuring taxpayers do not fund capital projects indefinitely.
• Direct Protections for Employee Wages: The operational funds were strictly designated for employee wages only—excluding benefits, administrative costs, or general overhead—putting money directly into the paychecks of those who serve our city.
• Ironclad Taxpayer Protections: The ordinance introduced strict ‘supplement-not-supplant’ language, legally preventing any administration from siphoning existing funds away from core programs to fund pet projects.

At a time when federal dollars are becoming increasingly unreliable, R-26-58 proposal offered Albuquerque a responsible path to local fiscal independence—ensuring we can maintain essential services, protect city employees, and preserve the public investments our residents have already paid for.

The City Council has a fundamental responsibility to ensure city government remains resilient and capable through tough economic times. Denying our community the opportunity to even debate this tailored solution—and ultimately denying our voters their right to act as the final arbiter at the ballot box this November—is a disservice to the people of Albuquerque.”