I still remember the look of frustration on her face. She was already tired from a long day’s work. Yet there she was writing each bill on her wide-ruled notebook. My mom kept her notes, bills, payments, everything she needed to do her monthly budget. Item by item, she would go down the list. She would list the most important things on top – the things we couldn’t put off. The mortgage, the car payment, insurance. Then there were the utilities, a few credit card bills – we didn’t have many. Most of our school clothes were purchased in June on 90-day layaway terms at JC Penney. That notebook took hours, if not days, to figure out. But somehow she did it.
Budgets are hard, and even harder to stick to. Which is why I was appalled by the last City Council meeting where councilors and mayor spent a whopping four hours deliberating how to spend your money for the next year. I think I’ve spent more time debating which tie to wear or how much to spend on underwear. But there you have it, four hours to determine how to spend $16 million.
There may also be a hidden agenda to passing the budget so quickly. City officials are quick to acknowledge that somehow there’s no money to pay for city elections scheduled for March 2025. They will say we are “suddenly” and “unexpectedly” forced to opt in to the state election cycle. Doing so will extend the term for the current administration another atrocious eight months until November, forcing us to suffer through their abysmal poor choices.
To be fair, the councilors usually just ok what staff and the city manager have prepared for them. The assumption is that the people who know best are in charge. But there is no city manager; he’s been demoted to special projects coordinator. The former finance director left several months ago (the fourth in three years) and the current finance director says he has no idea how the budget is looking because he’s new. All good reasons to depend on council.
Yet this is the council whose finance chair Pedro Valdez suggested (and is planning to follow through with) a 2% increase in Gross Receipts Taxes. That’s right. The city’s solution to a burgeoning deficit and poor budgeting is to enact the largest tax hike ever. The proposal would go to Española voters during the next school board election and if affirmed, Española residents and shoppers will pay the highest taxes in the entire state of New Mexico. How’s that for an incentive to move out of the city?
Budgets are hard, and this one was rammed down councilors’ throats three days before it was due to the state for approval. What were councilors supposed to do? Well, they could have voted no. Councilor Samuel Ledoux did just that – he was the only dissenting vote. Yes, there would be consequences. But the consequences of mediocrity and acquiescence are far worse than the consequences of facing the music. And though I’m not one for making prognostications, I fear the city’s lackadaisical methodology for budget approval will hurt our chances of success. Oftentimes I’ve been asked why we are so poor as a community. First, I say we are rich. Rich in culture, love and community. But what we lack in financial capability comes from the fact that our leaders keep us poor – through their shortsighted decisions, desire to stay in elected office, currying favor to constituents for the sake of remaining popular, lack of knowing or experience and king-building, even when they don’t know it. And sometimes it’s because politics is all they have.
During the budget meeting, councilors were told to pass a “flat budget,” meaning all department expenditures would remain the same and even more fraudulently, councilors were expected to pass a budget assuming that revenue will be equal to that of last year. The city appears to believe blindly that all is well in the world of tax collection. I don’t know about you, but given all of the store closures and people choosing to shop elsewhere, I fear a decline in city revenue.
To wit, the Española School District recognizes the harsh reality that we are shrinking. According to officials at the district, it expects to lose 150 out of 2,500 students this coming year. Whether the loss comes from students choosing other school districts, families moving away, or a lack of natural growth, our community faces a decline in the number of citizens and tax dollars. The writing is on the wall and tough action requires strong decisions. Resilient leaders must pave the way toward improvement by recognizing our inherent weaknesses and focusing on our strengths.
Unfortunately, the commitment and ability of those in charge remains flaccid. They’re too busy struggling for power, cajoling, or trying to be liked – to make a legacy. Yet at the next city meeting, councilors oohed and aahed over Capital Outlay money from the state. Councilors excitedly thanked everyone under the sun for the money that dropped from the sky. What they failed to remember/acknowledge/cogitate was that the money was allocated a year and a half ago but the city was ineligible to receive it because it hadn’t completed its audits. It just sat there. Only last month did it finish the audit due Dec. 23 that makes it eligible to receive money. (The audit due December 2024 still has not been completed). Yet even after all the hoopla, the city presumably still missed its deadline to fill out the state’s mandatory questionnaires last week, putting in jeopardy any financial disbursements.
I hope I’m wrong, and I hope the facts refute my inclination. But I remember those days when my mom would rest her head on her hands in worry. Plan for the worst and hope for the best, she would say. The city is far from recognizing that dictum.
Javier Sanchez is a former Española mayor and is an El Rito Media investor.