The Española City Council at its April 22 meeting voted 8-0, with no discussion, to approve a joint powers agreement with Rio Arriba County, possibly paving the way for state funds to flow through the County to accomplish city projects.
Mayor Alice Lucero said the city previously asked the state Department of Finance and Administration if the County could be the city’s fiscal agent. The Administration’s Local Government Division Director Wayne Sowell told city officials at a Jan. 2 meeting, the city could not use the County as a fiscal agent until the city is current on its audits.
Lucero said she approached Gov. Susana Martinez during one of Martinez’s recent visits to Española, asking her to reconsider.
“(The governor) spoke to DFA and they suggested a joint powers agreement,” Lucero said.
The agreement presented to City Council listed the existing city projects, which await state funds. The City Hall expansion, La Joya Fire Station improvements, Veteran’s Memorial Wall improvements, library construction and kitchen equipment, computer technology and building/roof renovations are all projects listed in the Agreement, which require funding.
The City Hall, fire station, veteran’s wall and library have a total of $800,000 in capital outlay funds appropriated for them. The city cannot receive the funding until its audits are current. The kitchen equipment, computer technology and building/roof repair projects have $280,630 in Agency on Aging funding that is also out of the city’s reach.
County Manager Tomas Campos said the County will charge the city a 5 percent agreement fee to facilitate the projects.
“Española is a part of the County,” Campos said. “We don’t want Española losing their money. We want them to be able to do their projects.”
The Agreement calls for the County to receive all state funds and execute the listed projects. It calls for the city to approve projects and the County to pay bills on time, seek approval from the Administration for payment and be responsible for projects. Once a project is complete, the city owns it, the Agreement states.
There is no mention of an administration fee to be paid to the County. It calls for strict accountability of all receipts and disbursements and that any surplus money shall be distributed to the city and County in proportion to the contributions made.
City Attorney Frank Coppler said the Council was viewing a second draft and once approved, “No substantial changes will be made.”
Lucero told the Council the Agreement still had to be approved by the Rio Arriba County Commission and then the Administration. Should all three governmental entities agree, the funds could be part of the state’s bond sale in June.
SUN staff writer Barron Jones contributed to this story.