Albuquerque budget dispute puts diversion program funding and court schedule in focus
Albuquerque’s proposed FY2027 budget has become the focus of a dispute over funding for a criminal-diversion model, with Mayor Tim Keller’s administration warning that a proposed City Council amendment would remove $400,000 set aside for legal work while council members said separate amendments restored funding for criminal diversion.
The conflicting public accounts, both issued June 1, leave the final treatment of the funding unresolved in the supplied materials. They also come as hearings before Metropolitan Court were scheduled to begin in July 2026.
Proposed legal funding at issue
The mayor’s proposed FY2027 budget included $400,000 for the City Attorney’s Office to build the legal side of the diversion model, according to the Mayor’s Office. The administration said a proposed council budget amendment would remove that allocation.
The administration also said the legal side of the program was already moving forward. Its announcement described the model as a consistent and accountable alternative intended to connect people with services instead of jail.
That description identifies the intended function of the proposal, not a completed program or a documented outcome. The supplied sources do not establish that the diversion system was fully operational, how many people it would serve, or the results it would produce.
Council cites restoration amendment
In a separate June 1 announcement, Albuquerque City Council members said they had successfully sponsored budget amendments restoring funding for criminal diversion and for Vision Zero programs. The council described the diversion amendment as a public-safety and restorative-justice action.
The available announcements do not provide a final adopted FY2027 budget document or reconcile the mayoral and council descriptions of the budget action. As a result, they do not establish whether the specific $400,000 proposed for the City Attorney’s Office was ultimately removed, restored, changed or retained.
No vote total, final appropriation amount, or implementation date for the diversion model is provided in the supplied materials.
Court hearings were scheduled for July
Metropolitan Court hearings on the program were scheduled to begin in July 2026, according to the Mayor’s Office. The packet does not state the number of hearings, their outcome, or whether they occurred as scheduled.
The budget question matters because the disputed allocation was intended to support the legal and accountability infrastructure for a formal diversion system. The City Attorney’s Office funding and the court process are separate but related parts of the effort described by the administration.
For now, the public record in the supplied material shows an active municipal budget disagreement rather than a documented final funding decision. Confirmation of the final FY2027 budget treatment and any court action would be needed to determine the program’s next formal step.
Sources
- Council Cuts Proposed Diversion Program that Connects People to Services Instead of Jail, City of Albuquerque Office of the Mayor
- Albuquerque City Councilors Successfully Sponsor Budget Amendments Restoring Funding for Criminal Diversion and Vision Zero Programs, Albuquerque City Council