City spent $97K on book about itself; report calls that a 'waste' of taxpayer money

Nov. 2—It cost more than $97,000 to write, edit, print and publish 598 copies of a city-sponsored book detailing how the city of Albuquerque adapted during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The number of copies sold directly to consumers? Ninety one.

Those are among the findings of an Albuquerque Office of the Inspector General report released this week that substantiated allegations of misused taxpayer funds.

"The OIG considered whether it is reasonable to believe, that in the event of another pandemic, someone would seek out and read a book of anecdotal stories as a guide of how to navigate such a crisis," 27-page report read. "Obligating the taxpayer's monies to fund a book that promoted the administrative achievements during the pandemic and where a calculated value may never be known appears to be a waste."

"City at the Crossroads: The Pandemic, Protests, and Public Service in Albuquerque" covered the early days of the pandemic and how various agencies responded to the pandemic, protests in the wake of George Floyd's murder, and the debate over the future of a controversial Juan de Oñate statue.

In an interview with the Journal last year about his call for an investigation, City Councilor Dan Lewis noted the book frequently highlighted Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller's experiences. The book includes a chapter dedicated to Keller called "the Metal Mayor," several dozen photos of Keller, an introduction written by the mayor and a foreword written by his wife.

But Keller's name was largely absent from the OIG report, with just three mentions of the mayor. The report focused primarily on the costs associated with the project, a lack of documentation of how contractors were chosen and errors in official documentation.

Taking into account the total project costs, the price per book purchased totaled $141.17 each.

As of June 9, almost 500 remained unsold, with some stored in the office of a contractor associated with the book, a few held at city libraries and others still available for purchase at a museum shop.

Just 91 copies, priced at $19.99 a pop, were sold directly to consumers. Ten were sold to the museum for $10 each and at a loss, the report states, as the OIG calculated that each book cost $10.25 to print.

Anyone who asked for a copy was given one for free, according to the report.

In a response to the report, the Department of Arts and Culture said that, like free Summerfest events, the Twinkle Light parade, and public art projects, the goal of the book was not to make money. The response added the book was not intended to pump up the administration, but to promote "the voices of Albuquerque."

In a statement to the Journal, Arts and Culture Director Shelle Sanchez said the department stands by the book, the author and the effort behind it. Sanchez said the department regularly publishes or co-publishes books about arts, culture and "exceptional times," and will continue to do so.

"Books like this one are important and lasting resources," Sanchez said. "... We strongly object to the Office of the Inspector General equating 'misuse or waste' with 'profit,' as it is inaccurate and misleading."

The report states that when asked if the city expected the book to sell, a project manager — who was later offered an unclassified position at the city — had this response.

"Great question," they responded. "The City is not a bookseller."

The contractor was identified only as employee 1, or E1, in the report. But in 2022, the Journal reported that Amanda Sutton was contracted by the city to work as a project manager for "City at the Crossroads" and later began working for the city in a permanent capacity. According to her LinkedIn, she started as a "Special Projects Manager" for the city of Albuquerque in July 2022.

E1 was paid $44,190, or $90 per hour, for work on the book, and $5,760 from other projects with the city.

E1 described the writing process as "chaotic," adding that it was sometimes "unclear on who was directing."

As the Department of Arts and Culture and the administration asked for more and more additions, including forewords, appendices and essays, they "started feeling the book became a 'kitchen sink,'" and the additional information, not written by the main author, would make the book not make sense.

The book was written by former Albuquerque Journal columnist Joline Gutierrez Krueger, who was paid $44,700, or $60 per hour, by the city of Albuquerque. Gutierrez Krueger contracted with the city while still employed by the Journal — a violation of company policy that prohibits moonlighting for government entities to avoid conflicts of interest.

Former Journal Editor Karen Moses wrote in a column that the 2018 freelance policy prohibits writing for "any organization or person related to a political party, candidate, or government agency."

Gutierrez Krueger said she was already planning to retire at the time and knew the book would be published after her departure from the Journal. She said there was a "clear, red line" between her Journal column and the work on the book, which she said was completed on her own time, and she was not in contact with the Mayor's Office besides interviews.

Gutierrez Krueger said she didn't think there was a conflict of interest during her time at the Journal. She said she was honored to be selected as the author and bring to light the work public officials took to "keep the city afloat" during the pandemic.

"The joy of writing it, for me, was writing these stories," Gutierrez Krueger said.

She added she wasn't interviewed by the OIG, and said the original call for an investigation came from people with "political agendas."

"I think one of the reasons the book struggled is people made criticisms of the book without reading it," Gutierrez Krueger said.

Almost a year ago, Lewis asked for a probe into the book to identify if the purchase violated city purchasing rules and had any public purpose.

Lewis said Thursday there was evidence of misuse that warranted looping in the OIG, and rejected that his call for an investigation was politically motivated. Lewis said it is routine for councilors to refer potential issues to the office.

"I'm just doing my job," Lewis said. "I'm not running for anything."

Lewis said he thought the investigation should be escalated. He said the City Council should consider censure or pushing the administration to adopt the several recommendations made by the OIG for future projects. He said he was considering reaching out to the FBI or the U.S. Attorney General's office for a higher level investigation.

"Maybe then this administration would take it seriously," Lewis said.

Lewis cited the department response characterizing part of the OIG report as a "short book review" as evidence the administration was "mocking" the office.

Certain allegations, including that the city's contract with the nonprofit One Albuquerque Fund violated the anti-donation clause, went unsubstantiated by the report. Each book purchase contributed about $2 to the fund.

Besides the misuse of funds, the report found that One Albuquerque Fund's experience in printing and publishing books was overstated in the memorandum of understanding between the nonprofit and the city.