Mayor Keller Hosts USCM's Affordability Tour | Roundtable

The US Conference of Mayors affordability-tour roundtable, hosted in Albuquerque by Mayor Tim Keller on October 9, 2026, focused on New Mexico’s universal, state-funded child care program and ways cities can expand provider capacity. Participants said the program is funded through oil and gas revenues and saves families an estimated $12,000 per child annually. Albuquerque described efforts to match providers with unused city-owned rooms offered for free, identify child-care service gaps, and use vacant public properties or development agreements to encourage child-care development. The city also expanded zoning to allow home-based child care in all residential zones. No contract awards, procurement votes, or formal spending motions were reported.

Discussion also covered workforce and small-business support: Albuquerque’s Job Training Albuquerque program offers eligible businesses with 500 or fewer employees up to $15,000 per year for employee training; 39 early-childhood provider organizations and about 500 individuals have participated. Speakers noted barriers including provider shortages, licensing and business costs, workforce recruitment, and limited lending. Mayors discussed potential policy approaches such as employer-based child care and zoning changes, with Albuquerque’s vacant-space, property-use, and provider-support efforts presented as models for other cities. These initiatives may create future opportunities for child-care providers and developers, but no specific solicitation or vendor selection was announced.