City releases report card on progess

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - The city of Albuquerque has released a new snapshot of the community and its progress, something the mayor calls a report card he hopes will encourage more citizen involvement.

"It's a snapshot in time for all of us, not just the mayor or the city council or city hall, but it really talks about things that we do as a community," Mayor Richard J. Berry said at a news conference Wednesday morning.

This time the mayor wants to make the report more accessible to the public.

A condensed 11-page version was published as an insert in Wednesday's edition of the Albuquerque Journal.  The insert itself cost $22,000 for printing and design.

Online:  The entire 150-page report on cabq.gov »

The snapshot, assembled by the city's Indicators Progress Commission, includes updates on progress toward goals in areas like human and family development, public safety, infrastructure, economic vitality and environmental protection.

For example, when it comes to public safety, the topic labeled "The public is safe" resulted in a "desirable" classification but also with a mark that shows it "needs focus."

The snapshot also revealed city residents are the "most fit" when it comes to healthy lifestyles when compared to six other peer cities in surrounding states.

"As people look at this report what I'd like them to do is look at it as a report card on all of us, yourself as a citizen, us as a community," Berry said.  "If you see something in the report that sparks your interest, let us know.

"We can get people involved."

The data contained in the report come from Research and Polling Inc. and from information collected from various city departments.

Similar reports are produced every four years.