"I've done some wall-and-fence issues and issues with neighbors that are feuding and having problems with each other. There's some other issues with animals too, where one cat has attacked another cat, or a dog has attacked another dog. Obviously, the dog or the cat can't speak for themselves or anything like that."

— Heidi Halstrom, mediator in the city's Alternative Dispute Resolution Program, who says pets are the major neighbor vs. neighbor topic

More Local

• ABQTrib.com to remain available
• Former Marine to serve two years in jail for killing Albuquerque robber
• Wilson-Pearce battle for U.S. Senate exemplifies party's disparity

MOST RECENT TRIB STORIES

• ABQTrib.com to remain available
  08:48 a.m., February 25, 2008
• Congressman is indicted
  08:37 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Series of attacks target Green Zone
  08:36 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Iran is defying U.N., agency says
  08:35 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Waterboarding approval probed
  08:34 a.m., February 23, 2008

TRIB IN THE BLOGOSPHERE*

• Ty Murray Invitational thrills fans in Albuquerque
• Is Rome Burning?
• Ominous Skies
• The Road to Invalidation
• Albuquerque company participates in “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”

*Note: The Tribune does not create and is not responsible for the blogosphere's headlines and stories. These links to blogs talking about ABQTrib.com are automatically generated. Use them at your own risk.

STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

SHARE THIS STORY [?]

Forget about Judge Judy.

When neighbors in Albuquerque butt heads over barking dogs or overgrown gardens, there are plenty of homegrown diplomats to help them resolve disputes before they ever reach a courtroom - and the service is free.

The 39 volunteer mediators in the city's Alternative Dispute Resolution Program stand ready to provide a forum for disputes without the influence of brawn, bias or pay scale.

"If two neighbors can talk to one another about a barking dog problem early on, then maybe they can avoid going to Animal Services or going to Metro Court," says Assistant City Attorney Shannon Watson, who manages the mediators.

Started in 1992, the program provides mediators in three categories: employee-employer disputes, community disputes and land-use facilitation. It's one-of-a-kind in its scope, Watson said.

"Albuquerque is very unique as a municipality for offering the workplace, the land-use and the community programs," Watson said. "There are some other municipalities, such as Seattle and New York, that offer workplace mediation programs. Sometimes you'll see community mediation centers run in other parts of the country, but they're usually privately run and not run by the municipality."

Workplace and land-use issues have produced about 100 cases a year during the past two years; community mediators handled 98 cases in that period.

The hottest topic in neighbor vs. neighbor complaints? Pets, with a little more than half of the cases, says mediator Heidi Halstrom.

"I've done some wall-and-fence issues and issues with neighbors that are feuding and having problems with each other," Halstrom said. "There's some other issues with animals too, where one cat has attacked another cat, or a dog has attacked another dog. Obviously, the dog or the cat can't speak for themselves or anything like that."

Like all the volunteer mediators, Halstrom has special training for the job, which started when she worked as a city police officer.

"They wanted to certify some officers to do mediations between the citizens - like if there were dissatisfied citizens that had a problem with something a police officer did," she said. "So, instead of having complaints turned over to the internal division, the mediator would try to resolve them first."

Halstrom said she continued to mediate for the city after she resigned from the Police Department last year. She wanted to stay home to take care of her daughter but she also wanted to continue serving the public, she said.

During her mediation sessions, Halstrom has had to sort out attacks, lease violations, incessant barking, and problems with cats and dogs roaming or jumping over fences, she said.

Most issues can be resolved in a two-hour session, she said, but more sessions can be scheduled if needed.

Halstrom said all proposed resolutions must come from the feuding parties.

"A mediator is not a judge or juror," she said. "It's important for people to know that the mediator isn't the one to solve the issues or bring up their own solutions."

Watson said the volunteer program cost the city $2,000 during the last fiscal year - and it's cheaper and more effective than litigation for those who participate.

"We often find that if people can come to an agreement in mediation, those agreements are more durable and last longer because those people are invested in making the agreement work," she said.

Watson said the city publicizes the service through various means.

"For the employee program, we advertise in the buildings," she said. "We go to some of the leadership development programs that the Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce has.

"We also do articles in the neighborhood newsletter that's produced by the Office of Neighborhood Coordination."

Employee mediator Dima Houpis-Brown said she enjoys helping resolve people's disputes. Her area of mediation often involves addressing pre-disciplinary notices that have been given to city employees, she said.

"Sometimes the issue in the notice is something that can be worked out rather than going to a disciplinary area," she said.

Houpis-Brown said Albuquerque residents should be aware of and take advantage of the mediation service.

"Let's say, for instance, two neighbors are having a dispute over a fence or a tree or some sort of misunderstanding or their children, then we can set up a mediation session for them to see if they can come to a resolution," she said. "And it's free to the community."