The council set aside $8.2 million for city worker raises. The mayor's office says that money isn't real yet and warned of layoffs.

The City Council’s budget for this year sets aside $8.2 million for raises for city workers, the adopted budget book shows.

• $4.5 million for a cost-of-living raise. Firefighters’ union positions are left out.
• $3.7 million to bring every full-time job up to a pay floor, the 25th percentile of the city’s pay study.

Where the money comes from

The council is counting on money it expects to be left over from last year, about $11.1 million. The budget book calls it expected underspending from the year that ended June 30, meaning money city departments are expected not to spend.

Why the mayor’s office is worried

• Keller’s chief financial officer, Carla Martinez, called the money an “unrealized amount” in May, meaning the city doesn’t have it in hand. She warned it could lead to layoffs and hurt the city’s credit rating, City Desk ABQ reported.
• Keller said he was concerned the council built the budget around an “overly-optimistic forecast that could put core services at risk,” City Desk reported.
• The budget is built “on shaky ground with uncertain forecasts and high risk assumptions” and may need “major revisions or even cuts” by fall, Keller said, KOB reported.

Why the council says it’s fine

• The council says its staff found money left over from last year that Keller’s own budget left out.
• The council says the state finance department confirmed its staff’s assessment. Martinez disputed that in May, City Desk reported.
• “When the fiscal year closes, we are assured that the funding is waiting for them,” Councilor Renée Grout said in the council’s May 14 release.

Keller refused to sign it

The council passed its budget 7-2 on May 18. Councilors Dan Lewis and Brook Bassan voted no. Keller refused to sign it, and it became law without his signature.

What happens next

The city hasn’t posted its final numbers for last year. Those will show whether the money is there.

The last spending update it did post, using data available in March, projected last year would run $11.1 million over budget. Fire was projected $8 million over and police $4.4 million over, the third-quarter report shows.

Keller has already said the budget may need those revisions by this fall.

Updated Oct. 14, 2026: We revised this story to source its facts to public records where we could, and removed details and quotes we could not confirm from a record.