Pieces of furniture from the previous occupant still fill records clerk Therisa Salazar’s new office at City Hall, but she doesn’t seem to mind because she has other things to keep her busy.
“I don’t like to sit here and not be busy, and with this job, there’s always something to do,” Salazar said.
She may be new to the building, but Salazar’s not unfamiliar to the city’s payroll — she spent the previous four years working as a court clerk at the Española Municipal Court.
Despite having the same last name, Salazar said she’s not related to Municipal Judge Stephen Salazar.
Like many of her fellow city employees, Salazar left the Española Valley area, only to return later. She grew up in Chimayó and graduated from Española Valley High School in 1998. A bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications from New Mexico State University followed six years later.
But chasing leads and shaking down sources wasn’t in the cards for Salazar. She spent the next four years working clerical jobs in Las Cruces, which eventually culminated in a secretarial position with the Doña Ana County District Attorney’s Office.
Salazar said she had her brush with “fame” when she worked with Gov. Susana Martinez, who was the district attorney at the time.
“She was a really nice person,” Salazar said of Martinez.
She returned to Chimayó in 2009 and took the court clerk position shortly thereafter.
City Clerk Tessa Jo Mascareñas said the position was advertised internally first, making Salazar the first and only applicant. Even with the truncated interview period, Mascareñas said Salazar was the “perfect fit” for the job.
“She had a vast understanding of retention schedules, record organization and was willing to take on a challenge,” Mascareñas wrote in an email.
In her personal life, Salazar said she enjoys being a single mom to her eight-year-old daughter.
Salazar said she takes photos as a hobby — a remnant from her days as a journalism undergrad.
While her office only has one chair and a non-functioning voicemail, her photographs adorn its walls.
Salazar’s first “challenge” since starting the job Jan. 6 is sorting through City Hall’s infamous basement, which is renowned for its disorganization and clutter.
“The basement is not a safe place to maintain documents as it is not climate controlled,” Mascareñas wrote. “In addition, there is very limited control over the contents. We have already begun to limit access and begun a system for structuring and managing the records.”
Salazar said she’s reviewing the city’s retention code in order to know which documents to eliminate and which to scan into the city’s computer system.
What the basement lacks in organization, it makes up for in comprehensiveness — Salazar said she’s already scanned a city document from 1927.
Mascareñas wrote the goal of Salazar’s efforts is to establish a records center in City Hall that every city department can access.
As the year progresses, Salazar will also begin to accrue more responsibilities.
Mascareñas wrote Salazar will soon start assisting her in replying to the “vast” amount of Inspection of Public Records Act requests, expediting the process.
Another area in which Mascareñas expects Salazar’s organization contributions to help, is in making the audit process more efficient. By organizing financial records, Mascareñas wrote the audit process will become easier and lessen the risk of losing any important documents.
In the meantime, Salazar said she’s focused on shredding irrelevant documents, like payment vouchers, police department radio logs and receipts from the mid-’90s.
“I expect to get a lot of things destroyed,” she said.