Latest news with #Fiebelkorn
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
After clashes over opioid funds, City Council and mayor find common ground
May 7—The Albuquerque City Council sent about $4.6 million in opioid settlement money to three Gateway Center services, the latest vote in a series of decisions about how to spend the historic settlement. The council's resolution approved at a meeting Monday night states that the funds will help cover operational costs at the First Responder Receiving Area, Medical Sobering Center and Micro-Community Recovery Housing. Overdoses in New Mexico declined 8% in 2023 from their peak in 2021 with 1,029 deaths, according to recent data from the New Mexico Department of Health. The vote came about a month after the City Council set guardrails for spending money from the historic settlement between local governments and big pharmaceutical companies. That settlement gave Albuquerque $80 million over several years. The funds must be spent in ways that remediate the effects of the opioid epidemic, per the settlement agreement. In that agreement, pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors accused of spreading misleading information about opioids' addictive nature while overprescribing the drug were forced to pay millions to states and local governments. That ruling followed years of litigation. The city of Albuquerque formed a joint committee with Bernalillo County to help determine what to do with the money. Together, officials decided the money would primarily go to nonprofits and providers doing on-the-ground work with people experiencing addiction. The council gave some money to Albuquerque Public Schools to expand its Crossroads treatment program and set aside money for the mayor's office but set strict guidelines about how they can use it. The council said the mayor's portion could not be used for police vehicles, police salaries, safe-use sites or naloxone vending machines. Additionally, they said 40% must be spent on disconnected youth, while 60% must be used on treatment efforts. Mayor Tim Keller's office objected to the plan. The office raised concerns that the nonprofits and providers would use the money for infrastructure and capital development, arguing it would be better spent on further investment in the Gateway Center. The objection led to heated disputes between the mayor and the council, but those tensions did not resurface on Monday night. When introducing the legislation, Councilor Tammy Fieblekorn said this proposal from the mayor's office perfectly aligned with the council's guidelines. "This is just closing that loop on the opioid settlement funds for this year," Fiebelkorn said. Fiebelkorn co-sponsored the legislation with Councilors Nichole Rogers, Renée Grout and Dan Champine. The measure passed unanimously. After the late-night vote, Keller released a statement touting the city's "work to build a continuum of care for folks experiencing addiction and homelessness," highlighting the services the council funded. "With this funding, City Council is doing its part to open a critical component of the Gateway system — the Sobering Center — and to provide recovery housing to help people turn their lives around," Keller said.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Albuquerque lawmaker wants to enforce habitable living condition laws in rental properties
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Renters across Albuquerque have complained that they're living in unsafe conditions and the city has laws on the books requiring landlords to fix the problems, but one city councilor says, those laws aren't being enforced. Story continues below Don't Miss: Family reunited with lost cat who was missing in desert for nearly a month Crime: Former APD officer used MVD info as tool to bring more clients into DWI scandal National: Former Disney Channel actress 'shot in the face' at birthday event for husband The resolution was introduced by Albuquerque City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn who said issues like no heating, no water, and even black mold aren't getting resolved quickly enough. 'We should make sure that every single person has heating, cooling, running water, hot water, locks that work, be mold-free, rodent free,' said Councilor Fiebelkorn. Those are all the basic functions of a home that property owners under Albuquerque's Uniform Housing Code and state law (UORRA) are supposed to maintain and fix. But Fielbelkorn said that's not stopping landlords from neglecting their properties. 'The enforcement part is missing and so we hear from folks all the time, that you know, it's winter and I've been without heat two or three weeks and it hasn't been fixed and that's not okay,' said Councilor Fiebelkorn. The Peoples Housing Project, which tries to help tenants in those situations, said it's far too common. 'It does take a toll on you because oftentimes when these landlords aren't addressing these issues people don't want to live in these conditions so they're using their own money to address it or they're forced to sleep on their friend's couches or find other places to live,' said Lila Nezar, an organizer with the Peoples Housing Project. Councilor Fiebelkorn is introducing a resolution that would require the city's Planning Department to enhance their code enforcement to hold landlords more accountable. 'Landlords in general do a great job of providing for their tenants but we do have some bad actors and we need to make sure that they are aware that the city of Albuquerque will ensure that you do correct things when they go wrong,' said Fiebelkorn. If her proposal passes council, there will need to be a full-time code enforcement officer focused solely on these tenant complaints and handle them promptly, prioritizing calls based on the severity. If passed, the resolution would also require a dedicated process outside of 311 for people to report violations. KRQE News 13 asked the city's planning and zoning department what the proposal would mean for the department. They sent us this statement: We support and help protect tenants' rights by enforcing the Uniform Housing Code. As far as process, our Code Enforcement Division is driven by complaints received through 311. Once received, calls are prioritized by severity with complaints of threats to life and safety usually being responded to the same day. Currently, our Code Enforcement Inspector team is 90% staffed, and we encourage job seekers to apply. We currently have 19 Code Enforcement Inspectors and 2 vacancies. Tim Walsh, PIO, CABQ Planning Department Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Albuquerque City Council works on ordinance changes to deal with nuisance properties
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Fires, trash buildup, run-down buildings, and more. The city of Albuquerque is trying to figure out what to do, about nuisance properties. City council is now ironing out the details of a proposal that would create new rules for property owners. Story continues below Crime: 4 teen suspects in deadly attempted robbery in Albuquerque to stay in jail Weird: Española mayor drops shopping carts in a city hall parking spot causing controversy Health: Two measles cases identified near New Mexico's southeast border Podcast: What's Behind The Dip In Fentanyl Overdose Deaths? One city councilor has been trying to overhaul the city's nuisance abatement ordinance but the proposal is running into concerns from the community. Concerned members of the community spoke at Monday night's city council meeting. 'Seems like the purpose of this ordinance is to allow the city to shut down anything it doesn't like at any time. Insane amount of power to give anyone,' said one community member at Monday night's city council meeting. Some said the Nuisance Abatement Ordinance is too vague and believe it is a way for the city to target businesses or the homeless population. 'It allows HOAs to more easily harass their members. It allows the city to target businesses they do not like,' said another community member at the meeting. In December, Councilor Renee Grout proposed the changes, to focus on how the city deals with repeated criminal activity like squatters starting fires at vacant buildings. 'It amends the definition of public nuisance to eliminate the long list of crimes that could constitute a nuisance. Instead, providing that repeat criminal activity, or the repeat ordinance violations will be deemed a nuisance,' Councilor Grout told KRQE in December 2024. Supporters claim it's an effort to hold property owners accountable when they do not keep their property up to code. However, some city councilors like Tammy Fiebelkorn still have concerns. 'One of my problems is just that we're equating criminal activity with things like sound ordinance problems. Those are not equal in my mind and in the mind of citizens,' said Councilor Fiebelkorn. Fiebelkorn agreed the focus needs to be on criminal activity at properties but said work needs to be done to clarify what constitutes as criminal activity. She introduced a couple of changes which the council agreed to. One change was not deeming a property a nuisance simply because a property owner allows a homeless person to camp there. Another removed weed and litter violations from the criteria. 'We did remove that from the ordinance, and I think that makes it stronger. We are now focusing in on real criminal activity, fire code problems and animal cruelty problems,' said Councilor Fiebelkorn. Under the proposal, after three violations, the city would be able to start fining a property owner and could call for a hearing to take further action ranging from an order to fix the problem to closing the building or business. Councilors agreed to defer a vote for 30 days to allow more time for public input and changes. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
