Albuquerque city councilors approved three Gateway Center contracts Tuesday, Sept. 3. The vote reflects a growing reality: Albuquerque has become New Mexico’s hub for homeless services, managing problems that extend far beyond its borders.
The 100 new shelter beds, approved in 7-2 votes, will serve a population of 2,740 homeless residents — a 109% increase that includes people sent from communities across the state.
“It’s really well known at this point. A lot of the small towns send their unhoused populations here; we have the services they don’t,” Councilor Joaquín Baca said after the meeting. “I think we should get annual appropriations from the state, [because] we’re helping them. How much? That’s an open question.”
Two contracts for women’s and men’s services (EC-25-426 and EC-25-427), each worth up to $3.6 million a year, passed 7-2. A separate $2.3 million deal to open a 41-bed shelter for young adults won unanimous support.
The new contracts boost capacity to 100 beds for women and 92 for men. The young adult shelter will convert a former hotel on San Mateo Blvd. into housing for 18 to 25-year-olds, many of whom aged out of foster care.
Councilors delayed a separate $21.8 million state funding package until Sept. 15 to allow more public input. City rules require two hearings for funding.
“The Gateway System of Care is about identifying and bridging gaps that have long existed in our city,” Mayor Tim Keller said in a statement. “This is about making sure young adults don’t fall through the cracks.”
But the meeting revealed complex pressures facing Albuquerque as it manages a crisis extending far beyond city limits.
Baca’s shift from blocking contracts in August to supporting them at the meeting shows the complex pressures on a city managing a crisis that attracts people from across New Mexico.
Baca’s Political Evolution
Baca’s shift from August critic to September supporter shows how sustained pressure for transparency can change city politics.
In August, Baca led the push to delay the two Gateway contracts, saying he had “no idea what’s going on” with the $70 million program.
What changed wasn’t state oversight but the city administration finally providing details he and other councilors had demanded, even as some Gateway programs like the pallet home recovery facility have shown positive results.
Between the August deferral and Tuesday’s vote, Baca joined multiple meetings with the mayor’s staff alongside Councilors Nichole Rogers and Tammy Fiebelkorn.
“A lot of my questions, I wouldn’t say, fully answered, but definitely a forward path,” Baca said of the discussions with city staff.
His evolution was about getting answers from his own city government.
The $21.8 million state funding package — which carries strict oversight rules — was deferred until the next City Council meeting, meaning those accountability measures aren’t yet in place.
“We got a lot of it. I haven’t got everything. There’s still a lot of work to do,” he said.
Council Tensions
The meeting turned tense over how councilors questioned contractors.
After approving the women’s housing contract with Chicanos Por La Causa without raising pay issues, Councilor Louie Sanchez pressed Community Bridges Senior Director Anne Marie Johnston during the men’s contract discussion. “How much money do you pay yourself out of this contract?” he asked.
Councilor Nichole Rogers called out the double standard.
“Why didn’t you ask the man the same question?” she said, adding that salary information was already included in council packets.
During public comments, Dr. Lisa Christopherson also criticized the exchange.
“The optics is what we might look to think about when a man was not questioned, but the female was and rigorously,” She said. “The optics on that sitting here is disgusting as a female.”
Sanchez defended his line of questioning.
He said he had heard complaints about nonprofit leaders “bragging about how much they’ve made off the city” while people remain homeless.
“I think that everybody should have a reasonable salary if you’re going to be providing a reasonable service,” he said. “And I don’t think that somebody should be taking advantage of the city,” he said.
State Oversight Deferred
Councilors deferred $21.8 million in state funding through Resolution R-25-188 until Sept. 15. The measure comes with oversight requirements that Councilor Dan Lewis called “unusual” and evidence of the state’s “lack of confidence” in city performance.
The funding agreement requires weekly reports starting two weeks after approval, monthly payment requests with detailed documentation and operational plans for all funded programs. The city must also submit sustainability plans by December to show how services will continue when state money runs out.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this,” Lewis said of the extensive reporting requirements. “My only assumption is that the governor, this cabinet secretary, are probably not real confident that this money is going to be used wisely if there weren’t a pretty heavy amount of requirements attached to it.”
Chief Administrative Officer Samantha Sengel said the city can meet the state’s demands. She said the administration “worked carefully” with state officials and “feel absolutely confident that we can report this information.”
Council President Brook Bassan moved to defer the measure, noting that appropriation bills require two public hearings under city rules. The delay gives the public more time to review the accountability measures before the Sept. 15 vote.
State officials have pushed for the monitoring to ensure Albuquerque’s homeless programs are effective before approving more funding.
Regional Financial Reality
The financial strain of serving as the state’s homeless hub is drawing attention from lawmakers.
In a May 30 letter to Mayor Tim Keller, State Rep. Nicole Chavez (R-Albuquerque) said the city receives a disproportionate share of state homeless funding because of “the concentration of need in the city.”
Chavez noted that New Mexico allocated nearly $25 million for homeless initiatives this fiscal year, with $19.7 million for statewide programs and $5 million for local projects. “It is reasonable to assume a significant portion will be directed towards Albuquerque,” she wrote.
Chavez also raised concern that “despite these substantial investments … the number of individuals living on the streets in Albuquerque continues to rise,” and she requested a detailed accounting of the city’s homeless programs.
The Gateway contracts fund $9.17 million in annual operations — $3.6 million each for expanded men’s and women’s services and nearly $2 million for a new young adult shelter. If approved, the deferred R-25-188 would provide an additional $13.5 million for operations and $8.3 million for capital improvements and property acquisition.
Since buying the Gateway Center in 2019, the city has spent $70 million and counting on the facility.
“We should get annual appropriations from the state like they should be. We’re helping them, right?” Baca said, suggesting the regional burden deserves ongoing state support rather than one-time funding.
What’s Next?
The Sept. 15 vote on R-25-188 will determine whether the city accepts the $21.8 million in state funding along with the oversight requirements.
If approved, the city will start weekly reports to state officials within two weeks, creating a new level of accountability for homeless services that serve people from across New Mexico.
The Gateway contracts will expand bed capacity in the coming months, with the young adult shelter expected to open after renovations at the San Mateo Boulevard hotel are completed.
The vote will test whether the state’s strict oversight can address the accountability concerns that led Baca and other councilors to defer the contracts in August.