Editor:
I am the current treasurer for the Española Fiesta Council and I wish to express my frustration and dissatisfaction in dealing with the city of Española’s finance department, specifically Finance Director Andrew Perkins.
Like all members of the fiesta council, we took on this responsibility as volunteers. We have all worked long and hard to put on a very successful fiesta for the entire community to enjoy.
In addition to volunteering our time, many of us have incurred expenses that were paid out of our own personal accounts. These expenses have been approved for reimbursement by the fiesta council and have been submitted to the city of Española for payment.
For reasons unknown, the finance director has been dragging his feet on authorizing and issuing checks for reimbursement to these individuals. It is very frustrating when it takes well over 30 days to get reimbursed and in some cases payment has still not been issued. How does the city expect to have volunteers when those volunteers have to pay money out of their own pocket and then worry about when they will get reimbursed?
The Rio Grande Sun can help this situation out by making the public aware of how inefficient this process has been and perhaps it will lead to some action.
Joe Garcia
Fiesta Council Treasurer
Española