ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The Albuquerque City Council has narrowly voted to reverse its 2000 action at the start of the pandemic to expand the mayor’s emergency powers during a public health crisis.
The council on Monday voted 5-4 to revoke Mayor Tim Keller’s power under the city’s emergency powers ordinance to do such things as ordering closures of streets or places of mass gatherings, canceling city events and reallocating up to $1 million in the city budget.
Instead, the mayor could only “advisories and recommendations” during a public health crisis. the Albuquerque Journal reported.
Councilor Dan Lewis proposed the change, saying that Keller had hardly invoked his powers and mostly deferred to orders issued by New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration.
A high-ranking Keller appointee, Chief Operating Officer Lawrence Rael, opposed the change, saying the administration had used the newly revoked procurement flexibility and needed the ability to move quickly.
Lewis said the spending could have been accomplished “”in a variety of ways, including (getting) support from the council.”
Keller spokeswoman Ava Montoya did not immediately respond to an emailed query Thursday on whether Keller could and, if so, would veto the council action.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Stay connected with us on social media platform for instant update click here to join our Twitter, & Facebook
We are now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@TechiUpdate) and stay updated with the latest Technology headlines.
For all the latest Health News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
Denial of responsibility! NewsAzi is an automatic aggregator around the global media. All the content are available free on Internet. We have just arranged it in one platform for educational purpose only. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials on our website, please contact us by email – [email protected]. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.
