The Northern New Mexico Regional Art Center received a $10,000 increase in their yearly budget, much to the chagrin of some City Council members, who said they neither heard about nor discussed the budgetary increase.
An invoice from the Center indicated Mayor Alice Lucero gave the green light for the increase.
“Please note that (Lucero) has informed the (Center) Board of Trustees that the City of Española Lease and Services Agreement has been increased by $10,000 for (fiscal year) 2014,” the invoice read. “Therefore (one-twelfth) of the contract agreement is $5,833.33.”
A copy of the agreement obtained from Board President Gabriela Silva stated that the now-$70,000 contract between the city and Center is approved annually, but a group of Councilors don’t remember any public meetings where they gave their approval.
“To my knowledge, this the first time hearing of (the increase),” Mayor Pro Tem Dennis Salazar said.
Lucero said they discussed and approved the increase during a presentation made by Center Executive Director John Werenko at a budgetary work session, though she could not provide a date. Councilor Pedro Valdez backed her assertion, saying that the Council also approved a budgetary increase to the Española Valley Humane Society.
If the Council did approve a budgetary increase for the Center, it was not during a public meeting.
“There is a possibility that (the Center) spoke with Councilors offline and explained their needs, however, there is no official record of such a meeting,” City Clerk Tessa Jo Mascareñas states in an email.
Councilor Cory Lewis said the news of the Center’s new budget came as a surprise to him and couldn’t recall ever discussing the issue. Lewis said it was par-for-the-course for city hall to hide things from the Council and Lucero should have more respect for the process.
“How can we support something that’s not done right?” Lewis said.
Councilor Peggy Martinez echoed Lewis’s comments.
“I feel that a lot of the time we’re playing keep away and hide-and-go-seek,” Martinez said.
Silva said she and the Center lobbied for a $15,000 increase to Lucero and Interim City Manager Joe Duran, and received $10,000 as a compromise. Silva said she mostly dealt with Lucero and Duran during the negotiations.
She said the Center asked for a budgetary increase because it was beginning to run out of money with their current contract. Silva said that after being flush with cash following the move to Española from Los Alamos in 2010, the center began running at a deficit and was becoming increasingly reliant on city funds.
“We do fundraisers that really don’t bring in a lot of money,” Silva said.
Lucero said it was imperative for the city to increase its contribution to the Center because of the service they were doing to the community in the wake of Community Services Director Len Cata’s termination.
Martinez said if she had heard of the circumstances surrounding the budgetary increase, she probably would have supported it.