UETF Operation Guidelines

I. The Ordinance Establishing the Urban Enhancement Trust Fund

A. Title: The Urban Enhancement Trust Fund Ordinance, Chapter 4, Article 2: City Funds, Revised Ordinances of Albuquerque 2004.

B. Intent: The Ordinance was introduced and approved by the Albuquerque City Council in 1983. "The intent is to create an Urban Enhancement Trust Fund (UETF) to enhance and enrich the culture of the city. The principal of the fund shall be maintained intact with the earned interest used to enrich the city’s cultural life." (Ordinance)

C. Definitions: The following definitions are derived from different sources and are referenced as follows: (Ordinance), (Guidelines). The source appears at the end of the reference.

1. "Urban Enhancement Trust Fund Committee" or "UETF Committee" shall mean the Citizens’ Committee established by this ordinance. (Ordinance) (Guidelines)
2. "Capital Improvements Program" or "CIP" means all projects financed by general obligation bonds, revenue bonds, and UETF Funds. (Ordinance) "CIP" also refers to the Capital Implementation Program, Department of Municipal Development (DMD). The CIP Division is responsible for administering the planning and execution of the Urban Enhancement Trust-funded projects, as well as the General Obligation Bond-funded improvements to Albuquerque and its infrastructure. (Guidelines)
3. "Public Art Program" means the Program, the activities and the entity including the Arts Board, the UETF Committee and City staff, which develop and implement the Art in Municipal Places Ordinance and the Urban Enhancement Trust Fund Ordinance, following city policies and procedures. (Guidelines)
4. "Cultural Projects/Services" means projects and activities, including educational projects and activities, which are dedicated to enhancing Albuquerque’s cultural vitality in the area of art, music, theater, dance, history, and literature, and that have favorable economic or cultural impact on the city. (Ordinance)
5. "Eligible Organizations" means organizations as defined by the Committee that provide services in art, music, theater, dance, history or literature within the Albuquerque city. (Guidelines)
6. "Cultural Plan" means the Comprehensive Plan of the City of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County which provides goals for cultural services, arts in education and funding resources. (Guidelines)
7. "Public venues" for the purpose of the Urban Enhancement Trust Fund program refers to publicly accessible facilities including buildings, parks, public spaces, or schools that are accessible to the general public. (Guidelines)
8. "Guidelines" is the term used to describe the regulations adopted by the Urban Enhancement Trust Fund Committee and approved by the Mayor that establish procedures to carry out the intent of the Ordinance. (Guidelines)
9. "Mayor" means the Mayor of the City of Albuquerque or designated representative. (Ordinance)
10. "Council" means the elected City Council members, each representing a specific city district. (Ordinance)
11. "Two-Year Cycle" refers to all the cultural services projects recommended by the UETF Committee and proposed by the Mayor for funding through the trust fund earnings anticipated during the upcoming two fiscal years. The two-year cycle shall be developed to coincide with the development of the CIP Decade Plan. (Ordinance)
12. "Decade Plan" is the ten-year plan for capital improvements in the City of Albuquerque that is updated biennially in conjunction with planning for the Two-Year General Obligation Bond Program. (Ordinance)
    

II. Goals for the Urban Enhancement Trust Fund Program

In developing the Urban Enhancement Trust Fund Program, the UETF Committee and the Administration of the City have established these goals to guide the Program.

• The Program will provide citizens and visitors with high quality arts and cultural services by providing funding support to organizations for specific projects.
• The Program will sponsor quality projects that can be enjoyed by substantial numbers of people and, which will have a high potential to significantly impact the community.
• The Program shall promote public-private partnerships, projects designed to leverage other funds, and projects that contribute to tourism and to the economic potential of Albuquerque.
• The Program will promote awareness and expressions of Albuquerque’s multi-cultural diversity.

III. The Urban Enhancement Trust Fund Committee

A. Membership: Established by the UETF ordinance and governed by the Albuquerque City Charter provisions regarding citizen advisory boards, commissions and committees, the Urban Enhancement Trust Fund Committee consist of eleven members. At least one of these citizens shall reside in each of the nine Council districts, and two shall be members at large. All appointments shall be for terms of three years. Terms may be renewed once unless the appointment is to fill a vacancy. The Urban Enhancement Trust Fund Committee is responsible for formulation and implementation of the Two-Year Cycle. The UETF Committee is also responsible for establishing guidelines that are necessary to carry out the intent of the Ordinance.

B. Duties: The UETF Committee shall develop criteria for project selection for each Two-Year Cycle; publicize application forms, instructions and criteria; accept applications written by eligible organizations; process and rank eligible proposals; and, forward final recommendations for funding to the Environmental Planning Commission and then to the Mayor as part of the Decade Plan approval process. When the Two-Year Cycle is approved, Committee members will serve as project liaisons for each funded project, to provide oversight throughout the two years.

IV. Program Administration

Public Art Program staff of the City’s Capital Implementation Program, Department of Municipal Development (CIP/DMD) shall administer the Urban Enhancement Trust Fund Program. Staff is responsible for implementing the guidelines and City administrative procedures in order to achieve the recommendations of the UETF Committee. Staff is responsible for the administration and development of the application and selection phase; processing and compiling comments/recommendations for the UETF committee; negotiating contracts with each funded organization, administration of invoices and payments, and for receipt of documentation and final reports covering each project.

V. Reprogramming of Funds

The UETF Committee and City staff shall review programmed allocations of Trust Fund monies for possible reprogramming, coinciding with the scheduled updates of the City’s Capital Improvement Program, and shall recommend to the Mayor and City Council the reallocation and apportionment of those monies.

ADOPTED February 6, 2004