
Council Watch
The Rumble of Democracy
On one side of the room: around 25 motorcycle enthusiasts wearing lots of leather. Scattered throughout: a couple dozen blind or otherwise disabled Albuquerqueans.
The bikers showed up at the June 22 Council meeting to comment on a proposed change to the city’s noise ordinance that would curtail loud engine revving. The disabled citizens populated City Hall in force to urge the renewal of the quarter-cent gross receipts tax for transportation projects. Two and a half hours into the meeting, the Council deferred the noise issue until August. The bikers took off at the break, and the sounds of Harley and Japanese bike engines rumbled away.
In other business, financial gurus told the Council that gross receipts are down about 5 percent, or $20 million, for the month of April. (There is a months-long lag in gross receipt reporting.) The General Obligation bond was approved for the October ballot.
Send your comments about the City Council to carolyn@alibi.com.