City employees required to pick up trash during work hours ahead of Balloon Fiesta

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Mayor Tim Keller’s administration sent out an email Friday telling non-union city workers they were required to spend two hours of their work time picking up trash. That didn’t sit well with some employees including another email that went out stating not to post about it on social media.

Story continues below

• Investigation: Arresting deputy refuses to testify in DWI license hearing
• News: City employees required to pick up trash during work hours ahead of Balloon Fiesta
• Community: City of Albuquerque officially opens long anticipated slide near Tijeras Canyon
• Trending: Neighbor speaks out about Sunday’s police shooting in Valencia County

In an email sent out last Friday that KRQE News 13 obtained, the city stated that unclassified and clerical workers will be required to sign up for a two-hour paid clean-up shift during their regular work time. That includes about 1,000 workers from many different departments including Parks and Recreation, Animal Welfare, Economic Development, and even the Mayor’s Office.

That had some city workers reaching out to KRQE News 13 angry they were being forced to help. They didn’t want go on camera because of fear of retaliation. The city’s Chief Administrative Officer Samantha Sengel said during Balloon Fiesta, the city needs to be focused on keeping the city pretty. “It’s hard for me to imagine anybody would be frustrated with the idea that if we all come together and pitch in we can make a difference,” said Sengel.

Different departments will be bussed to pick up trash in the four quadrants of the city including Old Town, International District, and Taylor Ranch. When asked if this was because of a staffing issue Stengel said, “We do have staff and employees that this is part of their duties every day. This is not a staffing issue. This is about if we come together in a One Albuquerque effort, we can do some extra work together.”

The city did point out in the email that staff will not be asked to clean up human waste or pick up needles. However, workers said that because it is during Balloon Fiesta, this is their busiest time of work.

The CAO said she hasn’t received any complaints but Monday was the deadline to sign up and only about half of the roughly 1,000 workers have signed up.

Sunday night, the city also sent out an email asking employees not to post on social media about the effort. City spokeswoman Staci Drangmeister said a social media post could be shared at a later date with approval.

The Mayor’s Office sent a statement on Tuesday night:

It’s typical for the City’s Director of Communications to review public content before its distributed, it’s something I do every day

Staci Drangmeister, Director of Communications, Marketing

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos.