5/28/09
Out of hundreds of items in the city of Española’s 200-plus page, $10.7 million budget for the 2010 fiscal year, one $66,500 item in particular chafed the City Council.
That’s how much it would cost the city to pay Weed and Seed coordinator Stephanie Marquez-Martinez an additional six months, while she spends $150,000 she failed to use during the grant’s four-year term, Acting City Manager Veronica Albin said May 18 in a Council meeting.
Weed and Seed is a federal grant program intended to “weed” out crime and “seed” development in target communities. But Española’s program has failed to aggressively focus on its target community — the west side of town — since it started in 2005, citing police staff shortages, lack of participation by its committee members and even negative publicity.
For example during the 2008 fiscal year, Weed and Seed money was spent largely on salaries and funding police overtime that was not directly related to crime prevention in that neighborhood. In previous years, the program has also paid to send teens and children to an anti-drug camp and to build a Teen Technology Center float for the annual Electric Light Parade.
Police Chief Julian Gonzales said for this coming fiscal year, the city has already budgeted the $150,000 to spend on police overtime, bike patrols during the Parade and the Fiesta — both city-wide events that take place on the west side — and programs at Española Middle School — which serves students throughout the Española Valley.
But without permission from the federal Justice Department to extend the grant another six months, the city can’t spend a dime of the $150,000 after Sept. 30.
However, the grant only helps cover Marquez-Martinez’s $50,000 annual salary during the first four years, which end in September. That means if the city wants more time to spend the leftover money, it must foot the bill for Marquez-Martinez’s $50,000 annual salary and benefits starting Oct. 1, she said.
Upon hearing that, District 3 Councilor Chayo Garcia threw up her hands and shook her head.
“Why didn’t they spend the money?” she asked. “What’s the problem here?”
Mayor Joseph Maestas just laughed quietly at Marquez-Martinez’s explanation that the program didn’t spend all its funds because former chief financial officer Elias Martinez didn’t prepare the budget properly.
“I don’t think, ah, that doesn’t sound … I don’t know about that,” he said.
Marquez-Martinez said the city will not find out until August whether it got the six-month extension. She declined to comment further.