Mayoral candidate Robert Seeds has made cleaning up Española one of his main talking points while on the campaign trail.
But as the current city councilor discusses clearing trash and litter from the city, his struggle to pay for trash pick-up at his residential tow company are less transparent.
North Central Solid Waste Authority records state Seeds was frequently delinquent with his trash bills since opening an account in 2007. In addition, he has issued multiple checks, that were returned for insufficient funds, when making payment to the Authority.
Of the 73 bills Seeds was charged with since Dec. 31, 2007, Authority records state he made late payments 70 percent of the time.
In some instances, Seeds went almost a year before paying his trash bills.
From July 31, 2008 to May 31, 2009, his trash bills went unpaid, amassing $1,072 in debt to the Authority, in the process.
While Seeds paid the bill the next month, he found himself in a similar situation when his solid waste fees weren’t paid for from June 30, 2010 to Feb. 28, 2011. Before paying the majority of the bill’s balance, Authority records state he owed $1,050.
In addition, Seeds failed to pay his most current bill, Dec. 31. With his next payment due Jan. 31, he currently owes $232.
Even when Seeds did submit payment to the Authority, it didn’t always mean his debt was cleared.
Authority records state Seeds’s checks were returned for insufficient funds seven times since 2009. He bounced a check as recently as June 28, 2013 when he attempted to clear up a $280 bill.
In recent weeks, he has made trash in Española a political issue.
A Seeds campaign ad printed in the Jan. 16 issue of the Rio Grande SUN, stresses the importance of a clean community.
“A basic quality of life issue is to have a community that takes pride in its appearance, clean streets, nice buildings, vibrant parks and safe neighborhoods,” the ad states.
At a Jan. 13 Public Works Committee meeting, he also said the city should pay for residents’ trash bags after the joint powers agreement and memorandum of understanding are signed with the Authority.
Seeds did not return a request for comment.
However, Seeds isn’t the only one with delinquent bills. He and Councilor Peggy Martinez share much in common: they’re both running for mayor, run businesses out of their homes and have identical Authority bill payment delinquency rates.
Like Seeds, Authority records state Martinez hasn’t paid 70 percent of her trash bills on time since 2007.
However, Martinez’s billing rate is significantly lower than her mayoral opponent.
Authority records state Martinez’s longest stretch of non-payment was from July 31, 2009 to Jan. 31 2010. Over that period, she accrued $239 in debt to the Authority.
While Authority records state Martinez currently owes $110, she said in an interview that the figure is no longer up-to-date.
Upon learning of the SUN investigation, she said she sent her husband to pay their current bill.
Martinez said her husband pays the Authority bills, while she handles the utility expenses and said she has never had her services cut off because of non-payment.
As a member of the Council’s Beautification Committee, she is responsible for improving the aesthetics of the city.
Martinez said negative attention toward her trash bills was counterintuitive.
“If people put that energy into something positive, just imagine what we could do,” she said.
Unlike Seeds and Martinez, Mayor Alice Lucero does not operate a business out of her home, which means her bills are processed through the city.
City documents state her husband Elmer has not missed a payment since Jan. 31, 2009, which is as far back as the records go.
Last year, the Authority had trouble collecting fees from many of its customers, regardless of their ambitions for municipal office.
Budget records state the Authority received $286,022 in revenue in 2013 as opposed to the $1.3 million they budgeted.
In addition to the nearly $1 million budget shortfall, Nov. 20 meeting minutes state Authority consultant Rick Sandoval said the Authority had $185,000 in debt.
Authority Manager Gino Romero declined to comment for this story.