By Jesse Jones, City Desk in The Paper. — Albuquerque city workers filled the City Council chambers hoping a new tax would fund long-awaited raises, but they left empty-handed.
Councilors voted 8-1 Monday night to kill a proposed gross receipts tax increase before the state deadline, shelving a plan meant to fund community projects and boost employee pay.
The ordinance met a dramatic and unexpected demise. Sponsored by Councilors Brook Bassan and Joaquín Baca and backed by Mayor Tim Keller’s administration, the measure would have raised the city’s GRT by 0.4875%, bringing the total rate to 8.113% and generating about $119 million a year for capital projects and raises.
Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn successfully pushed floor amendments that changed the revenue split from 50-50 to 70-30, dedicating 70% of any increase to employee pay and cutting the proposed tax hike to just 0.1275%…