The North Central Solid Waste Authority’s Board voted Tuesday to extend its manager’s contract two and a half months, and to delay until mid-September hiring his replacement and approving the agency’s budget.
The Authority, which is charged with collecting trash and operating dumps throughout Española, Rio Arriba County and the Ohkay Owingeh and Santa Clara pueblos, is seeking a new manager in the midst of a budget crisis that could lead to noticeable cuts to its services (see box on page A5).
Current Manager Joe Lewandowski announced in January he would not renew his company’s contract to manage the Authority after it expired Aug. 18. His announcement came as the Authority struggled with $1.3 million in debt, and as Lewandowski faced criticism from Mayor Joseph Maestas, who was at the time the city’s representative on the Board.
Lewandowski had said at the time the Board planned to interview finalists and select a new manager by early July.
Instead, the Board voted Tuesday to invite the three final candidates for an in-person interview to take place sometime this month. The Board then plans to hire a manager by early September who would take over by Oct. 1, Board Chairman and Rio Arriba County Assistant Manager Tomas Campos said. The three applicants are Peter Holtzclaw, of Orinda, Calif.; Peter Spano, of Plano, Texas; and Pojoaque School Board member Jon Paul Romero, of Cuyamungue.
The Board also voted unanimously to extend Lewandowski’s contract through Oct. 31, to allow a month-long transition period during which Lewandowski and his replacement would overlap.
The Authority has paid Lewandowski’s company, Operational Consultants, $156,000 a year since 2006. Lewandowski said neither he nor the Board contemplated extending his contract past October.
The Board had postponed its decision on a new manager until now because the Authority is still putting together its budget for the 2009-10 fiscal year, Lewandowski said.
“They couldn’t negotiate a salary, because we didn’t know how much we had to negotiate with,” he said.
The Authority plans to offer its new manager a salary of $75,000 to $85,000, Authority Administrator Michele Martinez said.
The Board has not yet approved a final budget, and it likely will not do so until September, Lewandowski said. The Authority is waiting for the state Finance Administration Department to determine whether the Authority is, for fiscal purposes, a stand-alone agency or a subdivision of Rio Arriba County, Martinez said. The Authority called that into question when the Authority requested a loan to help consolidate its outstanding debts, she said.
Until now, the Authority has been considered an agency in itself, which would allow it to receive loans and funds directly from the state — and which has required the Authority to seek the Department’s approval of its upcoming fiscal year budget each July, Lewandowski said.
But if the Department determines the Authority is a subdivision of one of its member agencies — most likely the County — the Authority would have to apply for and receive loans and grants through that parent agency. Also, it would only be required to seek the County’s approval of its annual fiscal year budget, not the Department’s Lewandowski said.
Lewandowski said despite its debt, the Authority will have a balanced budget for the 2009-10 fiscal year.