Council approves a more equitable new food ordinance 

Albuquerque city councilors have approved a new food ordinance, updating a law that has been in place for up to five decades.

City staff said the current food sanitation ordinance dates back to 2010, and some rules were adopted as far back as 1974.

The new ordinance replaces the previous ordinances with a unified set of rules that brings Albuquerque up to date with state and national standards and eliminates inconsistencies in the existing code, said Mark DiMenna, deputy director of the city’s Environmental Health Department.

New fee plan

Much of the discussion among the council centered on a new fee schedule, which will go into effect Aug. 1 with the rest of the ordinance. Permit fees will range from $200 to $1,400, depending on the risk category an establishment falls into. DiMenna said the lowest group would include retail stores that sell packaged foods as a sideline to their main business, while the highest risk category would include restaurants that serve large numbers of customers.

DiMenna said the flat-fee structure should be more equitable and easier to calculate than the current fees, which are based on the previous year’s gross receipts taxes.

The measure passed 8-1, with Council President Dan Lewis casting the “no” vote. Lewis took issue with fee increases and the money being placed into the general fund.

“It really boils down to just grabbing some money from restaurant owners that we don’t need,” Lewis said.

In response to a question from Councilor Louie Sanchez, DiMenna said no fees have been increased since 2010, with some dating back to the 1980s.

Supporting the police

In response to a question from Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn, city Chief Financial Officer Kevin Sourisseau said most city departments are supported by the general fund. He said that this budget year, the police department is receiving about 32% of general fund money.

Lewis noted that nothing in the city code requires the police department to receive that proportion of general fund revenue in the future.

“It’s not guaranteed anywhere in law, but it is guaranteed with the council because I have been here for several years now and I’ve not seen one single reduction in APD’s budget,” Fiebelkorn said. “This year, they’re 32.1% of the budget. And I do not see that number going down. So I think that we can safely say that APD will always be about a third of our entire city budget, and based on a $1.4 billion budget, they will continue to get the same level of funding.”

Restaurateurs support updates

Carol Wight, CEO of the New Mexico Restaurant Association, said the organization hoped the city would update its food safety rules and that city officials have listened to members’ concerns.

“We’re pleased to convey our full support for the ordinance … recognizing its positive impact on the safety and quality of food establishments in Albuquerque,” she said. “The updated regulations will provide the latest and most modern approach to maintaining food safety.”

Wight did speak in support of an amendment offered by Councilor Renée Grout, which would have explicitly forbidden the Environmental Health Department from charging duplicate fees for similar services. She said an establishment could be charged for multiple inspections, for different parts of the same building.

That amendment failed, with only Grout and Lewis voting in favor.

DiMenna said that some food establishments are required to have several inspections a year, but are not charged more for additional inspections. He said those with multiple food-service areas could apply for a less-expensive secondary permit, allowing parts of an establishment to remain open if other parts are shut down.

DiMenna mentioned a grocery store that might have a problem in the deli area while the rest of the store passes inspection.

He and Grout said environmental health is focused on community safety, with no goal of just shutting down food servers.

DiMenna said the safety goal is supported by education efforts, food safety and preopening inspections.

He said that as the food industry gets more complicated and innovative, inspectors are seeing bigger workloads, as more food manufacturing is taking place in Albuquerque.