A tax bill that was expected to help Valencia County begin to recover nearly $6 million in delinquent property taxes is dead at the state legislature, according to Commissioner Pedro Rael, who helped write it.

“It’s not going to make it through this legislature,” Rael said, adding, “They have much bigger fish to fry. To us, it’s a big tax problem, but to the state, it’s a small problem.”

The bill, which hasn’t gotten out of committee, would have shortened the amount of time the government must wait before it can get aggressive in collecting delinquent taxes. Right now the county must wait until the fourth year of a delinquency to take legal steps to collect, and it can only do so through the state.

“It’s a very, very weak system once it goes to Santa Fe. It sort of gets lost in the shuffle,” Rael said.

The bill also would’ve established the “local option,” letting counties pass an ordinance to collect delinquent taxes themselves instead of sending them to the state for collection. Under the bill, anyone who willfully wasn’t paying their taxes would be charged for all the expenses of collection.

With the county’s total budget at $12 million, Rael said bringing in even a portion of the $6 million in delinquent property taxes would help the county support much needed programs and improvements, things like paving roads and possibly constructing additions to the Valencia County Detention Center, which is overcrowded.

“I think we need to look at the bill again for next year,” he said.

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Valencia County Treasurer Dorothy Lovato is asking county commissioners to allow her to hire at least two temporary employees to help her collect delinquent property taxes before the end of the fiscal year in July — or risk losing money to the state that would otherwise come to the county.

The county can collect delinquent taxes between 2007 and 2009. Once taxes become delinquent for four years, however, collecting them automatically becomes the responsibility of the state. In July, collection of 2007’s delinquent taxes will become the state’s responsibility.

“Should the county collect those delinquent taxes, the interest and the penalty would come to the county if collected within three years,” said County Manager Eric Zamora. “If we turn those taxes over to the state, the state collects the interest and penalties.”

Commissioner Don Holliday called the amount of delinquent property taxes “startling,” which totals more than $6 million over about 10 years.

According to the county officials, Valencia County accounts for almost 50 percent of the total amount of delinquencies in the state. Lovato said that’s because the county sends out around 209,000 tax bills, while most counties don’t have nearly that many property owners.

Lovato wants at least two temporary employees who will focus on collecting delinquent property taxes from 2007, an amount that totals $648,000.

“If we can collects even just half of the $648,000, the county gets to keep everything — taxes, interest, penalty,” she said, adding, “I really don’t want to send Santa Fe all this money.”

The hired help would track down the delinquent property owners for eight hours a day between now and when the county turns over 2007’s delinquencies to the state. The biggest problem with collecting the taxes, according to Lovato, is having the wrong address for a property owner.

The treasurer’s department has several employees who can also devote time to delinquent collection while completing their other duties. Lovato said one employee, for example, focused on delinquent taxes in September with great results.

“She called people. Wrote letters to them. Within two weeks she brought in $98,000 in delinquent taxes,” she said. “So just imagine what four to five people could bring in.”

Lovato said that’s proof the new employees would pay for themselves through their collections. Zamora agreed.

“This would pay for itself and then some,” he said.

Zamora said the county could set this up as a program, bringing in temporary hires each year to collect delinquent taxes before the July deadline.

Because hiring of the temporary employees was only a discussion item on the agenda, no action was taken by the commission, but in general all of the commissioners supported the idea.

Commissioner Ron Gentry said the county should continue to look for a fix to the core problem with delinquent taxes — that the treasurer, assessor and clerk don’t have a software program to properly share data between those offices.

“We’ve talked about this for five or six years. The problem, as I see it, is the coordination between the clerk, the assessor and the treasurer,” he said.

Gentry recommended having employees in each of the departments who can work to improve communication independent of office politics.

Zamora said he thinks the county has the money it needs — approximately $140,000 a year for six years — to upgrade the software.

While the county was recently awarded money for information technology improvements, the commission will need to discuss software options and costs in more detail.

“It’s nice to sit here and talk,” said Commissioner David Medina. “But let’s take a serious look at it in the next few months as we start looking at next year’s budget. Let’s see if we can come up with it.”

Commissioner Pedro Rael said he thinks the county should also be looking to the legislature for assistance, advocating a bill he and Rep. Elias Barela co-wrote that will give more authority to the county to collect delinquent taxes.

He called Lovato’s approach “a good start.”

“The problem is much, much bigger than just the three years you’re working on,” he told Lovato.

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An attorney for the Los Chavez Community Association and more than 40 Los Chavez residents argued in district court today that the Valencia County Commission shouldn’t have rezoned 40 acres of agricultural preserve land to rural residential, calling the zoning change “arbitrary and capricious.”

The zoning change to Rural Residential 2 (RR-2) took place early last year after a public hearing before the county commission.

The change means the 40 acres can be subdivided into two-acre lots, instead of five-acre lots under Agricultural Preserve (AP).

If the RR-2 zoning is upheld by the district court, the land, owned by John Whisenant and Rep. Elias Barela, will be subdivided into lots between 2.5 and 2.2 acres for 15 homes in a development the owners called Rancho de Los Chavez. As AP, the owners could construct eight homes.

The attorneys argue

According to Catherine Davis, representing the association and residents, the county’s zoning ordinance sets criteria for rezoning AP land that goes above and beyond what’s required of attempts at rezoning non-AP land.

She said Whisenant and Barela failed to provide substantial evidence to meet much of the criteria.

One criterion requires evidence indicating land in the area of the AP rezoning request has been changed, to show a pattern of development or higher density.

Since 1999, Davis said, there have been no changes to the zoning of land in the area, except when land that was RR-1 (a one-acre minimum) was changed to RR-2 to require two-acre minimums.

“It increased the lot size. It didn’t allow a higher density,” she said.

That was done in part to preserve open space and agriculture to allow recharge of the valley’s aquifer, she said.

“The valley is a highly sensitive aquifer recharge area,” she said.

Steven Chavez, the attorney for Whisenant and Barela, said there was also a change in 2005 that reduced the AP minimum acres from 10 to five, increasing the density.

“That’s a major change,” he said.

It didn’t change the zoning of any land in the area, however, just the subdivision minimum.

Davis said the land was zoned AP in the 1970s, a point countered by Chavez, who said the first “real” zoning of land in Valencia County was in 1986.

Whisenant purchased 30 acres of the total 40 acres in 1977, after the AP zoning was put in place, according to Davis. Barela, owning the other 10 acres, purchased his land much later.

When the land was zoned in 1986, it remained AP. When the county took a comprehensive look at county zoning in 1999, the AP zoning for the land remained in place.

While the appeal filed by the association and residents is against Valencia County, Chavez, who wasn’t representing the county, argued the critical points.

Chavez said 49 percent of the rezoned land — 19 of 40 acres — is being set aside for agriculture, with those 19 acres subdivided among the 15 lots.

There’s been a lot of debate during every step of the process over whether or not the 40 acres can be farmed. At times Chavez, Whisenant and Barela have argued it can’t be farmed, which is why it’s perfect for housing. But at the same time, all three have touted the 19 acres being set aside for farming.

Regardless, Davis said the 40 acres has been farmed and can continue to be farmed. After subdividing the land down to two-acre lots, even with 19 acres set aside for agriculture, farming could decline, she said.

“There’s no evidence it’ll be used for agriculture. There is evidence there will be housing,” she said.

After homes are built, she pointed out, there will be little water left from the water rights to allow for adequate irrigation of the 19 acres. She also said farming on 15 separate lots owned by 15 different people could burden the water rotation schedule among nearby farmers, harming their agricultural activities.

Chavez said the land will be regulated by restrictive covenants that could require an agricultural use.

He said it’s also a planning goal of Valencia County to encourage master-planned communities that cluster homes.

One criterion for the approving the zone change was to show the development would have adequate water and wastewater infrastructure.

Davis made the argument that wells and septic tanks at the development will negatively impact the groundwater, saying the Valencia County Planning and Zoning Commission was concerned about it and that’s why that commission voted against the zoning change.

Chavez said a hired professional had testified during a public hearing that the development could meet all state and county laws to provide the infrastructure.

Otero-Kirkham’s vote

Beyond arguing zoning law and court precedents, the attorneys debated whether or not it was appropriate for Commissioner Georgia Otero-Kirkham to vote when the issue came before the county commission.

Otero-Kirkham is Barela’s first cousin. She was the tie-breaking vote when the commission decided to rezone the land as rural residential.

Davis, citing the New Mexico Code of Judicial Conduct, said Otero-Kirkham should have recused herself from the vote because an objective observer would have seen a conflict of interest. She said it didn’t matter whether or not there was a bias “in reality,” but rather it matter if there was the “appearance of bias.”

She noted that one citizen had openly questioned the conflict of interest during the public hearing on the matter before the county commission, and that Otero-Kirkham herself realized there was the appearance of bias when she asked the county attorneys to clarify if she could vote.

“The commissioner should have recused herself. Her vote was improper,” Davis said.

Chavez countered that the code of conduct doesn’t apply to Otero-Kirkham because she isn’t a judge.

He also said the New Mexico Judicial Standards Commission is the body that investigates complaints concerning the code, suggesting it isn’t the duty of the district court.

Adren Nance, the county’s attorney, said there’s nothing that says the commissioner must recuse herself from voting on matters involving cousins, calling Davis’s argument weak.

“This is basically, in my opinion, an argument of last resort,” he said.

District Court Judge John Davis said he will work to decide the case within a month.

While Whisenant was in the courtroom today, Barela wasn’t.

Chavez said Barela couldn’t attend because he was required to be present for a roll call vote on the state’s budget at the legislature. Had he left to attend the court hearing, Chavez said, the New Mexico State Police could have arrested him.

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The Valencia County Commission on Wednesday night again gave the county manager the authority to enter into contracts valued at under $5,000 without bringing the contract to the commission for approval.

The commission first delegated that authority to County Manager Eric Zamora last August, at the time setting an expiration date for the policy of December 31, 2009.

The county manager’s authority over small-dollar contracts is intended to expedite minor expenditures.

“Authorizing the manager to enter into contracts of $5,000 or less is something that just makes this operation a little bit easier and smoother. You don’t have to come to the commission every single time you have to purchase something,” said Commissioner Pedro Rael.

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Rudy Jaramillo, a restaurant owner and city councilor, said he’s running for mayor of Belen because he wants to make city government more pro-business.

“The mayor and city council have never really addressed business issues, seeing what we can do to help businesses during the economic crisis that’s happening right now. I think we should step in and ask what we can do,” he said.

He wants to focus on the interior of Belen’s business community, to help existing businesses, before looking outside of the community for new business.

“If we take care of our businesses, they will hire employees. They will create jobs,” he said.

He said as a restaurant owner he’s seen how businesses can create jobs. He also stressed that major companies like Signet Solar, a solar manufacturer who wants to build a plant and create 600 jobs in Belen, are also important for the community.

He said city government should pay more attention to youth, helping foster a better future for them in terms of quality of life and jobs.

With businesses and the public in mind, Jaramillo said he voted against a gross receipts tax increase approved by the city council in 2008 without a public vote.

“I felt that it should have been brought to the voters, giving them a voice instead of four city councilors telling people we’re going to raise their taxes. I stood up against it. The vote was 3 to 1,” he said.

Jaramillo said he’s worked to put money toward neglected infrastructure.

For example, he’s spent years fighting for sidewalks, including one along Delgado Avenue near Belen High School for the safety of students who sometimes walk on the road to stay out of the mud.

“They walk in the road. Thank God nothing’s happened, but it’s an accident waiting to happen,” he said.

Part of Delgado Avenue, between the high school and Mesa Road, now has a sidewalk, but he’d like it to extend down to Tenth Street.

Jaramillo said Belen has a lot of infrastructure needs the city government should take a look at.

“Our roads are in disarray. They need a lot of attention,” he said.

He said the city’s done a good job of improving sewerage and drainage.

If elected mayor, Jaramillo would also focus on hiring a city manager who has good management skills, an education and even some engineering in his or her background.

“Our city employees do well. They can take care of their positions,” he said. “But the city manager’s position needs to be closely looked at and addressed.”

Jaramillo said he’s contributed a lot to the community over the years, and as mayor, he’d continue to be there for citizens who need his help.

“The mayor needs to be a community leader,” he said. “I’ve been involved with the community in all aspects. I involve myself with many events and issues.”

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A head-on collision that claimed the life of a woman in Meadow Lake over the weekend is spurring concerns from residents who say Meadow Lake needs more than one road in and out of the community.

“It’s a shame it takes this type of an accident to point out just how vulnerable Meadow Lake is by only having one access road in and out of a community of almost 6,000 residents,” said Bob Gosticha, who lives in Meadow Lake.

The wreck occurred on a one-mile stretch of Meadow Lake Road between the Manzano Expressway and Dairy Road, shutting down access to and from Meadow Lake for nearly four and a half hours. That short stretch of road is the only way a vehicle can get in or out of Meadow Lake without off-roading on private or state land.

Three roads run east and west through much of Meadow Lake. Of the three, Meadow Lake Road is the central boulevard residents use to get in and out of the area. Another is Fence Line Road, which isn’t paved and runs along Meadow Lake’s northern border with Isleta Pueblo.

Fence Line Road has the potential to be an alternative route out of Meadow Lake, but the road isn’t publicly accessible west of Meadow Lake because it runs into private property. The road, however, does provide access to many other neighborhoods within Meadow Lake, which is why Gosticha said Fence Line Road must remain open and accessible.

Another resident, Liz Turner, said roads that run perpendicular to Fence Line Road have been gated shut by some Meadow Lake residents, making the road more difficult to access than it used to be.

She said a recent fire north of Fence Line Road highlighted the problem.

“I watched the fire trucks go up and down roads trying to figure out how to get to it,” Turner said. “We have got to open our roads back up so we can get to Fence Line. We’ve got four roads blocked off.”

Commissioner Don Holliday, who represents Meadow Lake, said the property owner at the western end of Fence Line Road has refused to allow the road to continue west through the property, blocking a second route out of Meadow Lake.

With that private property to the west and Isleta Pueblo to the north, the only other way out of Meadow Lake is south, where the State of New Mexico owns land.

“There needs to be another way in and out,” Holliday said.

That’s why he’s weighing a potential solution to Meadow Lake’s problem.

He wants the state to allow a new and possibly limited-access road south of Meadow Lake on state land, connecting Dairy Road with the Manzano Expressway. If necessary, the road could be closed with a lock and used only during emergencies as an alternative route in and out of Meadow Lake, he said.

“In the case of an emergency, we could divert the traffic,” he said.

Holliday plans to initiate talks about the issue with state officials.

“I’m going to present it to our legislators and see what they can do for us,” he said.

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Sen. Eric Griego is proposing to create the New Mexico Department of Commerce and Economic Development, which would combine four separate departments into one.

Under Griego’s plan, detailed in SB242, the departments of economic development, tourism, regulations and licensing, and workforce solutions would be consolidated.

“The purpose of the Commerce and Economic Development Department Act is to establish a single, unified department to administer laws and exercise functions formerly administered and exercised by the economic development department, the tourism department, the workforce solutions department and the regulation and licensing department,” the bill says.

The new department would handle everything from alcohol and gaming to construction industries, even the New Mexico Film Bureau.

The secretary of the department would have the authority to further consolidate or eliminate divisions of the department “for better efficiency and effectiveness,” according to the bill.

The department would also be tasked with several specific actions, including the implementation of the state’s economic development and tourism plans, promotion of Indian arts, crafts and culture, and promotion of defense-related technology.

If passed, the 219-page bill would require all functions, appropriations, property and contractual obligations to be transferred from the various departments being consolidated to the new department.

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Residents of Los Chavez are preparing for a court hearing on Friday that will pit agricultural preservation against subdivision and development, an appeal of a controversial decision made by the Valencia County Commission more than a year ago.

“We appealed the decision,” said Dr. John Huchton, the president of the Los Chavez Community Association, the group that filed the appeal along with 41 Los Chavez residents. “It’s taken us until the end of this week to get on the docket.”

The land owned by John Whisenant and Elias Barela near John and Edmundo roads in Los Chavez was zoned Agricultural Preserve (AP), which meant it could be subdivided into five-acre lots. The county commission changed the zoning to Rural Residential 2, allowing two-acre lots.

The zone change took place after the Valencia County Planning and Zoning Commission denied the zone change and after Los Chavez residents banded together to try to stop it.

The county commission overturned the planning and zoning commission’s denial with a controversial tie-breaking vote by Commissioner Georgia Otero-Kirkham, who is Barela’s first cousin.

“This is not a family venture,” she said at the time.

Whisenant and Barela plan to build 15 homes on the land, calling the development Rancho de Los Chavez. If the land remains AP, eight homes could be constructed.

“We’re not trying to prevent people from developing their property,” Huchton said. “What we’re trying to do is have them develop the property as it was zoned when they bought it.”

If the zone change is allowed to stand, Huchton said, he and others think it’ll mean the end of agricultural preservation in Valencia County.

“If they want to build a bunch of houses, go build them on the mesas, don’t build them in the agricultural zone,” he said.

Huchton said several outcomes are possible. The judge can overturn the county commission’s decision, uphold the commission’s decision, or send the issue back to the commission to be voted on with Otero-Kirkham recusing herself.

If the judge upholds the county commission’s decision, the judge’s ruling can be appealed to the New Mexico Court of Appeals.

The Los Chavez Community Association has been working with its attorney to prepare for the case. It’s also been reaching out to Los Chavez residents and other groups to get people to attend the court hearing.

Neighborhood associations in the agricultural communities of Tome-Adelino and Southern Valencia County have teamed up with the Los Chavez Community Association to pay the attorney fees for the appeal, hosting fundraisers.

The court hearing is scheduled to begin at 9:30am on Friday at the Valencia County 13th Judicial District Courthouse.

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Alonzo Baldonado, a Los Lunas realtor, says he’s running for state representative in House district 8 because he wants to be a voice for the people of Valencia County.

“In state government, there’s a lack of listening to the people, listening to the constituents. I’m committed to the constitution of New Mexico, where it says the power is in the people,” he said.

District 8’s seat is currently held by Rep. Elias Barela.

Baldonado said district 8 needs leadership, in particular someone who will build coalitions in state and local government.

“We need someone who will sit down with the mayors’ offices in Belen and Los Lunas, who will sit down with the county commissioners, and ask them what direction they’re headed in,” he said.

Baldonado wants to bring sustainable growth and new development to Valencia County.

“We have good plans and great opportunities to grow here in Valencia County,” he said.

He also wants to create jobs, saying young people throughout the county shouldn’t have to leave the county to get a good job.

“They’re going off to work elsewhere because we don’t have a sufficient work environment for them to stay here,” he said.

Signet Solar, a solar technology manufacturer, was recently denied a federal loan guarantee, which has halted the construction of a plant that could create 600 jobs in Belen. Baldonado said he applauds officials with the City of Belen who are in Washington, DC, lobbying for Signet Solar.

As a realtor, Baldonado has seen the challenges of balancing growth in an urbanized area like Los Lunas with agriculture in a community like Los Chavez.

“The sustainability of this county lies in growth — in terms of controlled, planned, well-thought-out growth, not just ‘Let’s just throw it together and make it happen,’” he said.

Baldonado is a Republican and so far has no announced opponent in the district 8 Republican primary.

Barela will face Julian Luna, a Belen Consolidated Schools board member, in the Democratic primary.

To run, state representative candidates must formally file in mid-March. The primary election is scheduled for the first Tuesday in June.

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Sen. Eric Griego wants all Senate committee meetings to be broadcast on the internet via webcams, introducing a resolution to do just that.

The resolution — SR4 — would allow the public to watch all committee meetings online from the moment the meetings are called to order until they’re either recessed or adjourned.

Griego’s resolution is similar to Sen. Michael Sanchez’s proposal to expand the use of cameras in the Senate chamber.

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