IPRA Request made of the City of Albuquerque – Regarding ACS
SENT AS AN ATTACHMENT TO THE EMAIL ADDRESSES LISTED BELOW
Wednesday, June 7, 2023
Mr. Ethan Watson,
City Clerk and Chief Records Custodian
Office of the City Clerk
City of Albuquerque
600 2nd Street NW, Plaza del Sol
Building 7th Floor
P.O. Box 1293
Albuquerque NM 87103
Email: cityclerk@cabq.gov
This is an official request Pursuant to the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA).
RE: Contracts for personnel services, professional services, studies and related reports, community relations, and employee relations, and communications related to the forgoing, of the Albuquerque Community Safety department.
Dear Mr. Watson,
For context, our publication, The Candle, is doing research for a story about the creation of and operations of the Albuquerque Community Safety (ACS) department.
I request that you send me (delivered via email to editor@thecandlepublishing.com), an electronic copy of the following documents from May 2020 to present day :
1) Copies of the contracts and requests proposals for services provided by and for ACS, including but not limited to the following:
- a. Mental health providers,
- b. Public health providers,
- c. Public safety training,
- d. Human resources and employee relations consultants, including any consultants engaged to provide advice and/or legal representation for ACS (or other division/office of the City of Albuquerque) relative to employees organizing under the Public Employee Bargaining Act (PEBA),
- e. Human resources and employee relations consultants, including any consultants engaged to provide advice and/or legal representation relative to collective bargaining by ACS (or other division/office of the City of Albuquerque) with employees as provided within PEBA,
- f. Community relations,
- g. Employee relations,
2) Copies of the intergovernmental agreements (IGA’s) for services provided by and for ACS, including but not limited to the following:
- a. Mental health providers,
- b. Public health providers,
- c. Public safety training,
- d. Human resources and employee relations consultants, including any consultants engaged to provide advice and/or legal representation for ACS (or other division/office of the City of Albuquerque) relative to employees organizing under the Public Employee Bargaining Act (PEBA),
- e. Human resources and employee relations consultants, including any consultants engaged to provide advice and/or legal representation relative to collective bargaining by ACS (or other division/office of the City of Albuquerque) with employees as provided within PEBA,
- f. Community relations,
- g. Employee relations,
3) Research, reports, requests for proposals, contracts and similar documents used by Mayor Keller and his executive team/staff in developing concept of and creating the “community safety department” as described by the Mayor in June of 2020,
4) Documents relative to the search for the leadership team of the ACS, i.e.,
- a. notice of hiring of a director, deputy director, and manager and supervisor positions,
- b. professional and educational requirements/experience/qualifications for the positions of director, deputy director, and manager and supervisor,
- c. names and information relative to professional consultants used for recruitment.
5) Resume type records, and all employee records not subject to exclusions of the Inspection of Public Records Act for the following employees/positions of ACS:
- a. Director Mariela Ruiz-Angel,
- b. Deputy Director Jasmine Desiderio,
- c. Managers and supervisors of employees of ACS
6) Complaints and disciplinary related documents relative to the following employees/positions:
- a. Director Mariela Ruiz-Angel,
- b. Deputy Director Jasmine Desiderio,
- c. Managers and supervisors of employees of ACS
7) ACS personnel policy manuals and related documents, including but not limited to, salaries, salary schedules, sick, personal and vacation benefits, education benefits, and retirement benefits.
8) Policy documents describing the responsibilities of the ACS and its employees and contractors,
9) Performance reports relative to the policy responsibilities referred to in items #7 and #8,
10) Emails (and cc’d and bcc’d including attachments), texts, voice mail transcripts, letters, memos, notes, and all other communications of department of ACS employees (including legal counsel employees) and contractors (including, but not limited to, legal and investigative contractors) regarding any services, activities, and performance of employee responsibilities (including, but not limited to investigations and professional services), and organizing and barraging under PEBA as referred to in items # 1, through # 9, above, to and from the following individuals and entities:
- a. All employees of ACS,
- b. Mayor Tim Keller;
- c. General Counsel employees of the office of Mayor Keller,
- d. Leadership of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD),
- e. Leadership of the Albuquerque Fire Department,
- f. Executive leadership of the City of Albuquerque,
- g. Members of the Albuquerque City Council,
- h. Members of and employees of the local unions representing public employees of the various departments of Albuquerque government, including but not limited to the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and the Communications Workers of America (CWA),
- i. Contractors and consultants engaged by ACS management,
- j. Contractors and consultants engaged by executive employees, including those in the Mayor’s office.
As it relates to item # 10, above, emails, texts and similar communications made via electronic equipment and utilizing communication programs over the internet or similar internal systems used by the City of Albuquerque and/or its contractors or consultants, made on personal (as in non-government issued) equipment are also subject to this IPRA request.
If you have any questions regarding this inquiry, please call me at (505) 501-1570.
Also, please call me if there are to be any charges for this request, so I may discuss same. If another agency is responsible for the records sought in this request, please forward this request, and alert me of that information.
Thanks for the work you and your colleagues provide for the people of Albuquerque and stay safe and healthy.
Sincerely,
Bruce Wetherbee, editor
editor@thecandlepublishing.com
Phone: (505) 501-1570
New England Office
60 Thoreau Street · #103
Concord, Massachusetts 01742