Albuquerque mayor fears taxes will have to increase
Faced with an anticipated $40 million budget deficit, Mayor Tim Keller said on Thursday he may be forced to renege on his campaign promise to raise taxes only with voter approval.
“I remember my stance on that, and I want to try and keep that stance and I believe in that stance,” Keller said in a meeting with Journal editors and reporters. But, “it would be fiscally irresponsible for me to say we should wait three years to get funding for law enforcement.”
Keller had said during the mayoral race that he would raise taxes only as a last resort for public safety and only with voter approval.
City Council President Ken Sanchez and Councilor Trudy Jones introduced legislation last month to impose a three-eighths percent gross receipts tax increase to help patch the deficit and address the city’s public safety problem. Keller said Thursday that if the council voted for the increase in March, it would go into effect as early as July 1.
Read more: https://www.abqjournal.com/1140271/mayor-fears-taxes-will-have-to-increase.html