ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The drama around city-sanctioned homeless camps in Albuquerque is ramping up yet again. More city councilors are voting to put a stop to “Safe Outdoor Spaces,” but the idea is a long way from dead. The ball is now in Mayor Tim Keller’s court after the city council voted to put a […]
Albuquerque City Council members approved an ordinance on Monday night, asking voters for a new gas tax.In a narrow vote of 5-4, members voted in favor of council bill O-20-18 that would impose a gas tax of 2 cents per gallon on all gas sold at stations within city boundaries. This money would be used to rehabilitate public roads in the city.“I’m not a great advocate of raising any kind of taxes, but this is the most fair - that I’ve been speaking about publicly for 5 years at least,” said City Councilor Trudy Jones. “As our expenses go up in the city, the cost to maintain and add new roads to our city is astronomical.”“You’re always trying to keep up,” said Johnny Chandler with the Department of Municipal Development. “If we had $500 million right now at one time, that’s about how much money we would need to make every road in the city of Albuquerque as good as possible.”About $500 million is how much Chandler said the city needs. Right now, they’re on