[Editor's Note: This is part 3 and the final of the Grant County Commission special meeting held March 21, 2023. It begins with the budget hearing with presentations by county department heads giving their requests.)
By Mary Alice Murphy
After public input and a report from the county financial counsel, commissioners heard from those who have so far applied for the Gila Regional Medical Center Board of Trustees, which readers can access at the links at the bottom of this article.
Following those presentations, commissioners entered the budget hearing where they heard from department heads requesting items for their budget for fiscal year 2024.
Jason Lockett, facilities and grounds maintenance superintendent, presented his request for five line-item increases.
The first on the list was an additional $5,000, a 14% increase, to the equipment, maintenance and repair line item, due to increasing costs of parts and supplies.
The second increase for $10,000, 17% increase, on the county facilities repairs also addresses the increasing costs of supplies and materials.
The third for grounds maintenance improvements, $5,000, a 14% increase, addressed increasing costs and supplies and would help the dedicated full-time employee for grounds.
A new line item asks for $72,000 for knowledgeable staff members to do in-house projects outside of the regular maintenance funds. "We will call it an in-house projects budget. It would cover bathroom remodels, smaller re-roofing jobs and the like. It would save the county tremendous amounts on labor."
The final item asked for an increase of $8,300, 70%, for fuel, not only because fuel prices have increased, but "also with the addition of the full-time employee, we have another truck driving to jobs and parks."
The final item talked about capital outlay of $115,000, divided up with $30,000 to paint jail shower stalls, $70,000 for a flatbed 1-ton 4X4 truck and $15,000 for a heavy-duty dump trailer.
To a question about labor savings with the new line item, Lockett said it would be labor-based costing, and would cost less than contracting. "Next year, we would be able to show the savings. The costs would be strictly for materials needed for the projects. I do have staff in place for all this."
District 3 Commissioner Alicia Edwards asked if some of that cost would cover preventative maintenance.
Lockett replied: "Yes, we know a lot needs to be done, but a lot we can handle with our current staff, such as aesthetic things that need to be done."
District 4 Commissioner Billy Billings asked about if the capital outlay was from last year or is expected.
"It is expected capital outlay," Lockett answered.
Edwards asked if the $72,000 could come from the bond sales. Manager Charlene Webb shook her head: "No."
The next report came from Clerk Marisa Castrillo. She said she was asking for a couple of increases, but no other changes.
Edwards asked for her to explain the increases.
Castrillo said she had requested $4,000 increase in overtime, due to an increase in the number of elections. "During elections, we always spend a lot of time in the office, and we're never sure what overtime is going to be, but it's always a lot, with staff sometimes working from 8 a.m. to 8 or 9 p.m. We have another employee, so I'm asking for an additional $1,000 for training so she can take classes she needs to get started. The third item is maintenance and contracts, with a requested increase of $10,000 for maintenance of new equipment, as we will be changing Movus out. So, I need the increase for the new contract we will be doing. The biggest increase I have is $25,000 for the precinct board. The reason is with new election changes, we will need to pay more poll workers for the elections."
The next report came from Assessor Misty Trujillo. She said she had a few requests (nine).
The first increase she requested was that all elected officials in the county, including hers, be raised to the maximum amount allowed by House Bill 69, which was passed in 2018, allowing for her and other elected officials' salaries be raised to $75,733. She noted that county resolution R-19-19 had capped salaries at $63,590. "I would like to request a new resolution for elected officials to be paid at their max. As elected officials, we should also be included in the cost of living, inflation and longevity." The increase would total $12,143.
In her second request, several increases in salaries were listed. The deputy to the elected official is paid at 90 percent of the elected official, so for the deputy official, the increase would total $10,929.
The request also included a position reclassification of the GIS Specialist/Title Examiner to GIS Coordinator. She noted she had submitted the change to the union and the HR department along with a questionnaire on why she was requesting the change. It would increase the base pay to $22.69 an hour from $14.95, for an annual increase totaling $16,307. The third item included in the one request would increase compensation to assessors and appraisers for IAAO (International Association of Assessing Officers) courses from $7,500 to $9,000, for a total of $7,200, with incentive pay for four at 80 percent and four at 100 percent, based on Senate Bill 324.
The third item requested a $400 increase in printing and publishing for advertising, e-notices and sharing costs with Catron County, because, as of January 2024, Grant County will be responsible for advertising for both counties.
The fourth item addressed capital outlay for a new truck, which Trujillo said she would remove from the budget, as she did not consider it a priority. "We accommodate other departments, as long as I have our people covered who are in the field."
Because of a potential request of the union to increase by 10 percent full-time salaries across the board, she put that in her budget and said it would total $2,380.
She also submitted and requested having a step plan in place, similar to the one in the Sheriff's Department.
For the 1% re-appraisal fund, she requested a clothing allowance, at $300 each for boots and jackets for all employees every two years, totaling $3,000, which creates two new line items in the fund. She also requested five cell phones for reappraisal and safety purposes at a cost of $3,000, which is also a new line item. Three phones would be used for field work and the other two for the assessor and deputy assessor.
A request for an increase of $1,000 was to cover increases in fuel costs.
District 5 Commissioner Harry Browne asked about the discrepancy on full-time salaries between the budget of $286,000, but projected activity at $213,000.
Trujillo said the office currently has two vacancies, one of chief appraiser and another for appraiser. "We will be putting out a search for an appraiser position. They are hard to get because of our pay. We bring in value but doing that for $13 - $14 an hour is hard. I appreciate that our benefits are very good, but I have employees who are looking for other positions because of the pay."
Capt. Steven Gallegos presented the Sheriff's Department budget requests.
The first item requested an additional $1,000 for office supplies, because of cost increases. The second item requested $3,900 for decals on the new units that are arriving and will be arriving.
The capital outlay request for $50,000 will purchase a new unit to replace an old vehicle.
A request for an additional $500 would cover catch all costs, such as a towing fee increase.
Per the union contract, a request for $20,000 would supply new Class A and Class B uniforms. In addition, a clothing allowance for $7,000 would adjust all uniforms for 39 required staff members.
Full-time salaries would increase by $3,313 to adjust the chief deputy to 95 percent of the elected official salary.
District 2 Commissioner Eloy Medina said the adjustment for the chief deputy should be 90 percent of the elected official's salary.
Gallegos said he wasn't sure.
District 1 Commissioner and Chair Chris Ponce confirmed the resolution states 90 percent.
Treasurer Patrick Cohn presented the budget requests for his department.
The first item requested an adjustment of $12,147 to match the 2018 elected official pay, as well as to compensate the treasurer for also supervising the Solid Waste Department, as no treasurer has received additional pay for the supervision. "I am working on a plan to make the Solid Waste Authority stronger."
The second item, totaling $12,431 would increase the 90 percent for the chief deputy and also asks for a 5% increase for cost of living for both senior county service specialists. "I didn't know the union was considering asking for a 10% increase."
The third item requests an increase of $750 to pay for the annual Tyler Technologies bridge pay charge, which would cover the continued maintenance for merchant services to accept credit/debit cards online with the merchant terminals in the treasurer's office.
A non-capital equipment request for $5,800 would purchase scanners and set up fees for $5,000 with the Eagle Treasurer Software to scan images of checks and documents. "This would help efficiency with research, balancing and audits. The $800 would purchase a currency counting machine to help with the detection of counterfeit bills and help verify the large amount of cash brought into the office."
The final request addressed a 5% increase for the Solid Waste Authority account specialist.
The next request for fleet maintenance came from Road Department Supervisor Joe Grijalva. For projected increase in cost of parts, lubricants and shipping, he asked for a total of $9,000, with $6,000 of it for the fleet maintenance and repair for the Sheriff's Department and the remaining $3,000 for the Road Department fleet maintenance and repair.
For the Road Department, Grijalva requested an increase of $2,402 for longevity pay for full-time salaries, and $5,000 to reflect a projected increase in overtime salaries. For increases in fuel costs, he requested $13,500, and for utilities, an increase of $500. For cost increases in Social Security and F.I.C.A., he asked for $617.81. To address the increase in the costs of asphalt, concrete, base course, fill material, road signs - posts and hardware, safety signage and striping and other costs, he requested $26,000. For training the request was $1,000, as he plans to send mechanics to multiple online and in-person trainings. To replace the outdated diagnostic tool for newer vehicles and to replenish broken, outdated or lost hand and power tools and equipment, Grijalva requested an additional $9,000.
Ponce noted that with all the rain the area has had, he thought the $5,000 for overtime might be a little short.
Grijalva said he was trying to be conservative in his cost estimates, but it might be a bit short.
Ponce recommended he prepare for the worst.
IT Director Adam Baca presented his requests for additional funding. For full-time salaries, he requested an additional $58,913 because he would like to create a network administrator role to handle daily maintenance and upkeep of the new managed network environment and the virtual server environment, as well as manage cyber-security county-wide. "I wish to retain the IT Specialist (Robert Hood) as well in order to ensure continuation of daily management and upkeep of front-line computing, including desktops, laptops, printers and peripherals."
He requested $103,401 in maintenance contracts for transitioning to the Tyler Cloud Hosted solution, rather than hosting Tyler products on servers on premises. "The Tyler Content Management solution would allow uploading and attaching of documents, scans, invoices, etc. in any module within Tyler products."
Baca's final request was for $20,000 for redundant firewalls to add another layer of fault tolerance to both the networks at the Administration Center and the Grant County Detention Center.
Edwards asked if the county has enough bandwidth for the Tyler Cloud Hosting solution. Baca replied: "Yes."
Edwards also asked if the county could add bandwidth if needed.
Baca said he would have to work with the provider to provide more bandwidth. "Tyler is our primary application."
Edwards asked how it compared with the previous services provider Spectrum.
"The benefit we have now is that we have local support and help immediately, rather than having to wait for a technician to get here," Baca said. "We're much better off, especially for emergencies. We have one or two on rotation on call if something happens in the middle of the night, for instance."
Browne asked about the full-time salaries. "When you look at the spreadsheet it doesn't add up. There is one line for Tyler."
Baca agreed and said: "We would have to ask for maintenance."
Edwards asked if ransomware is worse on local machines or in the cloud.
Baca said: "If it is managed by Tyler, they can address it immediately. On our local servers, someone would have to notice it."
Browne asked Manager Webb if she was feeling good about additional staff.
"Yes," Webb replied.
General Services Director /Fire Manager Randy Villa gave a brief report. "Our only request is for an additional $4,000 for postage due to the rising cost. Otherwise, it's a flat budget. I do support the Maintenance Department and Airport, which you will hear in a few minutes, budget requests."
Probate Judge Mary Ann Sedillo was not present, but her budget request was for an additional $3,000 for mileage and per diem, as she has been appointed to two committees through the Probate Judges' Affiliate and will be required to do some extra travel.
Planning and Community Development Director Randy Hernandez was in training, so Webb presented his report.
"He is asking for an additional $7,900 to include the Code Enforcement Officer mobile line and an increase of $1,115 for cards, citations, etc. for the Code Enforcement Officer," Webb said. "He is also asking for an increase of $1,027,076 in match funding for three Colonias project grants and two New Mexico Department of Transportation grants. He also requests an increase of $17,000 for the increase in the maintenance agreement for the copier, the plotter and the GIS software."
Edwards asked why the bond proceeds couldn't be used as matches.
Mark Valenzuela of Bosque Advisors LLC, county bond counsel, said: "As long as grants are listed in the bond question, the funding could be used for matches. The bond funds cannot be used for salaries or operating purposes."
Webb said the North Hurley Road contracts would be appropriate to use bond funding as a match.
Browne suggested the commissioners talk to Manager Webb and Finance Officer Linda Vasquez on how they can use the bonds.
Rebekah Wenger, Grant County Airport manager, noted she has been serving in the position for six years. "Incredible."
In her explanation for asking for an increase of $2,100 in full-time salaries, she noted that it is hard to keep any staff for longer than a year. "I'm asking for an increase of $2 an hour for weekend stipend pay. Airport employees are required to work weekends, and it has been a continuous issue for employee retention. I believe a shift differential will incentivize the weekend shift."
For fuel, she requested an additional $150,000 due to increased cost. In capital outlay, she requested $52,000 for a new truck. "We have only one road-worthy vehicle."
Based on current expense, she requested an additional $2,300 for utilities, as well as an additional $8,000 for the actual cost of leased equipment. "We need an additional refueler for fire season."
Airport insurance has increased industry-wide, so her request was for an additional $15,000. "The airport never paid for its coverage until last year. I was able to use a grant to cover that cost, but I do not anticipate having grant funds available for this coming year. I am asking for an increase of $13,600 to pay gross receipts tax, based upon actual fuel sales."
She also asked for an additional $5,000 for equipment maintenance and repair. "It is impossible to do inhouse. I'm bringing in a company from Las Cruces. I also ask for $3,000 for building maintenance, and $1,000 for the AWOS (FAA Airport weather observation station)."
The next report came from Detention Center Administrator Joseph Andazola, who requested an additional $5,000 for overtime salaries. "I have looked forward on how to keep the jail running. I know salaries are a big discussion, and we address it in our 5-year plan. Part of the plan is to create a special response team, which requires training. They will need to put in at least 16 hours of extra training above the already required 40 hours of training. I may need help with the special response team. I may go to El Paso, where there will be no cost for the training. But we'll need $5,000 for the lodging and for accreditation of the SRT."
He requested an additional $1,000 for the rising cost of items and shipping, as well as an extra $500 for fuel. Andazola requested an additional $15,434.17 for the maintenance contract with APIC Solutions, for a total price of $55,434.17 for fiscal year 2023-24. For utilities at the jail, he requested $20,000 more as the costs have risen 35% since the FY2021-22. For feeding of prisoners, he asked for $15,000 because of the rising cost of food and shipping, which was 8.2 % higher than January 2022. He said he would be going out for request for proposal for food services in September. He noted that Procurement Officer Veronica Rodriguez had suggested an increase would be required for the RFP. "Once we go out for RFP, we'll find out."
Ponce asked how the county is doing on transferring inmates to Albuquerque and Bernalillo County. "What are we doing to keep Grant County inmates in our facility?"
Andazola said if it's a dangerous person, "we go to the District Attorney and get permission to send them to Bernalillo County. Our problem is juveniles. We can't house them. There are only four facilities in the state that house juvies. It costs $145-$150 per day per juvie. The Detention Center has no control. Housing for juvies is dwindling."
Edwards asked Webb what the conversation is around the state on dealing with juveniles.
"It is a continuing conversation," Webb said. "Texas is looking at housing out-of-state juveniles. I know the judicial system is trying to limit juvenile incarceration, but there is no real answer."
For the Commission budget, Webb said it was relatively flat, with just a 10 percent insurance increase.
Ponce said: "Last year, we directed someone to give information to the employees about the county providing 100% of their benefits and how much it was worth to the employees. I understand they want salary increases, but I want them to know that when we take on that insurance increase, that is a raise for the employees, because they don't have to pay that increase."
"The cost of premiums goes to the new hires," Webb said. "There is a statement we can send out to the employees that the insurance increase is something that didn't come out of their salary. I plan to do that."
Browne asked why the regional dispatch has shifted to another line item. Webb said she would follow up on that, as well as the fact they had not received the ag line item.
Webb said Vasquez had texted her that dispatch is paid through gross receipts tax.
"What about the $30,000 for community support?" Browne asked.
"This is a new one, I know nothing about," Webb said. "We used to have a set-aside for commissioners. I recommended we cut that in the last budget I worked on here. I'll ask Linda and get details."
In the Manager budget, Webb requested $74,980 in additional full-time salaries.
"That reflects the increase for the assistant manager and the human resources position," Webb said. "We also split Kevin's position into two part-time positions, for which I request an increase of $27,440."
She requested an additional $1,000 for printing and publishing to cover anticipated expenses, as they went over budget in fiscal year 2023.
Her request for $10,000 is for "decent furniture for the manager's office personnel. I also request $2,000 to increase training for my staff. I have identified human resource training, and I would like to send candidates to leadership training."
The sole agreement on the agenda addressed the renewal of the engagement agreement for municipal advisory services and limited disclosure services with Bosque Advisors, LLC. Commissioners approved the agreement without discussion.
As the Grant County Health Care Claims Board, commissioners approved an indigent burial claim for $600 to Terrazas's Funeral Chapels.
After reconvening as the Grant County Board of Commissioners, the commissioners gave their reports.
Medina had no county report.
Billings thanked all those who applied for the GRMC Board of Trustees and encouraged others to apply as the process was still open.
Browne had no report.
Edwards also thanked all those who applied. "I also thank county staff on preparing the preliminary budget. I appreciate getting it early enough for us to have discussions on it."
Ponce echoed that: "We really appreciate county staff. I hope we as a commission go back to basics and look at where the county and staff are at. I like to see the budget in March. I still want more discussion. We really need to look at the reports. We need to do more resolutions, so they know we are listening to staff."
The commissioners went into executive session and anticipated no action afterward and would adjourn from the closed session.
To visit the previous articles, click on these links: https://www.grantcountybeat.com/news/news-articles/77330-grant-county-commission-holds-special-meeting-032123-part-1 ; and https://www.grantcountybeat.com/news/news-articles/77353-grant-county-commission-holds-special-meeting-032123-part-2 .