TMS Negotiations Sputter; Town Privatizes Facilities

(Below, the watcher reports on current negotiations between TMS, the teachers, and union representatives.)

Town of Taos

At the Town of Taos during a special (secret?) meeting last week, Mayor Darren Cordova and his two cronies, Mike Silva (Mr. Conflict of Interest) and Rudy Abeyta (Leader of Men) voted three—two against community advocates, Gene Sanchez and Amy Quintana, to rent out, i.e. privatize a convention facility, at absurdly low rates by letting Don Fernando Hall, approximately 4, 752 square feet plus the 1000 square foot patio go for a monthly fee of $1500 plus a portion of pro-rated utilities.

Don Fernando Hall is part of the town’s convention center complex, aka the old swimming pool, attached to the town meeting chambers and meeting rooms on the south side of Civic Plaza Drive. According to the Town’s web site, Don Fernando Hall generally rents out its 4,700 square feet of exhibition space at the following rates: 4 hours
or less ($300),  4-8 Hours ($375); Over
8 Hours ($500 to $600).

Apparently, the Mayor made a deal with supporter Debbie Friday Jaggers, local General Motors dealer (DMC Advertiser?), effectively creating an economic enterprise zone for her start up business, High Altitude Athletics, a gymnastics venture. Apparently the venture will compete with the 20-year old extant Taos Gymnastics business. The latter business owner is not an intimate of the Cordova-Silva-Abeyta circle.

According to Councilman Sanchez Friday-Jaggers will pay about .21 cents a month for the privilege of occupying the space. To his credit, Councilor Silva asked for an appraisal of the rental agreement when he seconded the motion to approve. No “request for proposal” was published. Given that the Mayor and the same cronies voted to lease a portion of the KCEC Command Center for about $1.25 a square foot or $5,000 a month plus utilities, you can see what a deal Friday-Jaggers got.

Meanwhile, the deal reminds this reporter of previous town fiascos–the affordable housing project,  the swimming pool boondogle, wherein violations of the anti-donation clause, state procurement code, and town ordinances occurred.  You can also forget about ethics or conflict of interest issues with this group of power brokers.

Friends of this powerful Mayor, like KCEC CEO Luis Reyes and car sales person Debbie Friday-Jaggers, get special treatment. We can’t help noticing that Friday-Jaggers got her GM franchise back after the U.S. government bailed out General Motors. Now the Town of Taos is subsidizing her new venture with rent many local businesses or under-privileged nonprofits would die for. If the USDA–RUS isn’t subsidizing KCEC, the Town of Taos is. Que Pasa?

Below we post an analysis of a proposed lease-rental agreement by the town attorney. According to Friction sources, the Mayor did not like the in-house advice and hired a second attorney to come to the meeting and clear the way of legal obstacles. When he did not like the Town Manager the Mayor triggered a golden parachute for the young wunderkind.

Town Attorney
——– Original Message ——–
Subject: High Altitude Lease
Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2011 10:20:45 -0600
From: John H. Clough
To: Darren Cordova , Council , Abigail Adame
CC: Ron Yachinich , Renee Lucero

The High Altitude Athletics Lease/Rental Agreement proposes to lease roughly 6,000 square feet of a 7,500 square foot building. (the 1,000 square foot patio excluded for the moment) I have not been privy to many of the details and I can only approximate the square footage from the diagrams attached to the proposed lease. Excluded is approximately 500 square feet of space for the mechanical room and the IT room. Also excluded is about 1,000 square feet of common area hallway that provides common access to the leased area.

It is not clear whether the space designated as office space and other areas is actually part of the building. There is no access to that space from any of the portions to be leased. In essence this lease is for the entire building excluding certain areas for the owner’s use and the common access hallways. It seems clear that it is a lease for what is essentially the entire building.

Also to my knowledge there is no recent appraisal that exists concerning this building and I am advised that the cost of such an appraisal would be about $4,500.

Therefore, in my opinion, NMSA § 3-54-1 requires an appraisal for the High Altitude Athletics Lease or Rental Agreement. In addition, the statute requires that such a lease be duly noticed and adopted by ordinance. It should be noted that the common law and basic law in general defines a lease as a contract by which the owner of real property conveys the right to use and occupy that property in exchange for consideration, to wit: rent.

The lease can be for life, for a fixed period, for a fixed period, or for a period terminable at will. See Black’s Law Dictionary (7th ed.) at 898-900. The statute cited above makes no distinction as to the type of lease involved and requires not only an appraisal, but also that the lease be adopted by ordinance. Unless there is a statute modifying that language or case law supporting some other interpretation, in light of the plain language of NMSA § 3-54-1 requires not only an appraisal, but adoption by ordinance of any lease regardless of the length of its term in this case.

The problem is that there is no bright line that declares the result of any after the fact judicial determination whether or not this agreement will be declared a lease and the statute is applicable. This could come up in any litigation involving this lease. I cannot ignore the condition of the rooms identified as the center and north storage areas. These rooms have jagged edges of raw concrete with some rebar exposed that pose a hazard to any person who might come against it for any reason. This causes concern that we may be leasing a dangerous space unless it is repaired by either the Town or the Lessee.

Thus, sufficiency of insurance becomes an issue as well as direct potential liability to third party occupants and the likelihood that there might be litigation that would draw the legality of this agreement into question. I would recommend that this matter be analyzed by the Municipal League’s Risk Management department. Thus, the risk that the Town may be exposed to is potentially great.

In my opinion this lease as it presently stands is illegal in light of NMSA § 3-54-1 and should not be entered into without appropriate safeguards and conditions. This concern is sufficiently great that I believe that it is my ethical duty pursuant to Rule 16-113 of the New Mexico Supreme Court to ensure that all members of the decision making body are fully informed so that the appropriate questions may be raised as thought to be needed.

Negotiations Sputter at TMS

By Lorraine Coca-Ruiz

On Thursday, August 25, the employees were notified via email by the superintendent’s office that a mandatory meeting would be held Friday 26, Aug. at 4:00 pm. Later that day the meeting was changed: two meetings were scheduled, one at 3:00 pm and a second at 4:00 pm.

Superintendent Rod Weston spoke. I was told that he said the budget had been shrinking and that it had been on the red for the last three years. What he said omitted some of the facts.

Last year the (previous) board informed the superintendent that during the new fiscal year he would not have emergency nor stimulus monies with which to balance the budget. The previous board recommended a hiring and travel freeze. But the superintendent continued to hire and promote employees, while allowing travel.

We must ask: Did Superintendent Rod Weston forget that he had signed contracts for all employees for the 2011-2012 fiscal year?

While the mandatory Aug. 26 meeting was going on, I interviewed some teachers out in the parking lot. PED representatives arrived and asked several question concerning the propriety of the meeting. The state representatives of the education department said that they would be checking at every detail of the budget. Superintendent Rod Weston had not informed them of the meeting, which could affect the PED previously approved budget.

Several union members spoke with me though they asked not to be identified because negotiations are ongoing and because they don’t want to be pink-slipped by the gang at CRAB Hall. Here’s what they said.

• The union’s contract expired. Not having a new contract contributes to low staff morale. “Our teachers are under extreme pressure” and “Working conditions are very difficult now” a union member said

• The longer negotiations take, the more it wears people down and people get nervous, a union representative said. The representative also said not having a contract by the holidays would add to staff anxiety.

• Negotiations require shared sacrifice said a union member.

• Union representatives said they went through the same thing last year. But this year both the length and the difficulty of the negotiations as well as the scare tactics are unusual.

• The majority of teachers said they don’t get paid for what is really a full day of work. They go home, correct papers, read essays, and plan the next day’s class. And now, what has become known as “The Chuby Plan,” the Superintendent wants to cut pay and add an hour to the workday at TMS.

• Some union members said they were not happy with their own union leaders.

• Union representatives’ said they had visited with Senator Carlos Cisneros but were disappointed that he could not or would not help them.

Dirty Laundry

The Aug. 26 meeting included all employees, union and non union employees. They were given he following handout (Italicized):

The following is NOT a formalized proposal. The following is an option under discussion with the TMS board and administrative team. The survey you are taking is NOT a formal ratification vote.

OPTION: A 3% pay cut in the form of a furlough days plus a 1.5% pay percentage reduction

3% of the cut will be taken through 6 furlough days and 1.5% will be a direct percentage pay cut.

(Some people will be less affected by this cut because of New Mexico laws requiring that no employee be paid beneath their level. For example, if a teacher at level II is paid $40,035, then they would only be cut $35. Because their income cannot legally go beneath $40.000. Alternately, if a level I teacher is making $31,500. they could be cut $1,500 because their income cannot legally go below $30,000.)

Bu choosing this option, we assure ourselves of 6 furlough days with which we can use to generate alternative income, do other work required in our lives, or be with our children.

IF WE DO NOT CHOOSE THIS OPTION, THE DISTRICT WILL EITHER ILLEGALY IMPOSE A 4.5% PAY CUT OR LEGALLY TERMINATE 12 POSITIONS OR RESORT TO A MIX OF BOTH PAY CUTS AND TERMINATIONS. SEE OPTION B AND C BELOW

OPTION B: The district legally terminates 12 positions

If we do not agree to a pay, the district will be forced to make up the deficit somehow. One way would be to terminate 12 positions further increasing class sizes and putting the burden on the rest of the staff.

OPTION C; The district illegally cuts staff pay by 4.5%

The district may also choose to make up the deficit by illegally cutting staff pay by 4.5%. This cut would be unlikely to include furlough days. If the district imposes an illegal pay cut, TFUSE will add this violation to a Prohibited Practice Complaint that is currently in abeyance. Prosecuting the PPC might involve taking the case through the New Mexico State Labor Board and District Court. The amount of time involved in prosecuting the case could be between 6 months and 1 year/18 months. Additionally, we will not be guaranteed furlough days as recompense for lost pay.

WHATEVER YOUR CHOSE, PLEASE CALL YOUR ELECTED REPS AND THELL THEM DEFUNDING PUBLIC EDUCATION IS UNACCEPTABLE!!!

DEMAND THAT THEY RAISE REVENUE BY:

A. Closing corporate tax loopholes: New Mexico is one of 2 states that allow giant multinational corporations like Wal-Mart to move profits out of state without taxing.
B. Moving aggressively on legislation that uses more Permanent Fund interest of fund education.

Commentary

Before the superintendent and the administration negotiation team can come to an agreement, certain issues must come to the table. Both sides are fumbling in the dark.

The budget was sent to PED and employee’s contracts were signed. Why is the board going along with this craziness? It’s creating a real hardship for teachers, students and everyone else that it affects. Later this year or next, I fear that the budget problems could get worse as federal aid is further reduced.

The Superintendent’s poor management late last spring resulted in lay-offs, then rehiring of teachers and several secretaries. Unbeknownst to board member Stella Gallegos, her niece was hired as a bi-lingual secretary to Director of Instruction Rose Martinez. (Editor’s Note: Ms. Gallegos brothers will tell you she can’t be influenced against her better judgment by family members–regardless of their politics!) Now Ms. Martinez has three secretaries that include a secretary to the secretary. When I interviewed Ms. Gallegos concerning the hiring of her niece, she said she found out about it after the fact. Some of the budget busting occurred due to excesses at CRAB hall, where administrators seem immune to cuts.

Superintendent Rod Weston has allowed every Tom, Dick and Harry to travel, while also allow administrative cronies to take time off without identifying causes for their actions. Weston does not address the real needs of struggling students, nor does he address the need for bi-lingual councilors at the high school. But he hires an administrative assistant to help councilors. Do they really need an administrative assistant?

A special TMS Board meeting that was scheduled for Monday at 5:30 pm was cancelled. The excuse given was that two board members were going to be absent. Three board members constitute a quorum. I believe the meeting was cancelled because negotiations at the August 26 meeting were deemed improper. It’s very likely that the superintendent and staff have a lot of homework due PED.

I also received a call from a bus contractor who is very upset. He must fix one of his school buses but needs the money to perform the service. He has not gotten paid for transporting students during a summer program. He was told that he would be getting paid out of the emergency monies that the school district was awarded. However, someone dropped the ball and has not submitted the paperwork to the NM State Transportation Department.

Bus contractors cannot continue driving their school buses if they cannot fix them or buy fuel. This is a safety issue. Someone needs to be accountable for not getting the paper work done.

Perhaps the number of students in over–crowded classrooms will decline if the buses cease running.

Mighty Matt van Buren, reporter, called me wanting to know about the meeting and accusing me of being the one who called PED. It seems his conversation was a fishing expedition for Chuby Tafoya. I wonder how much the school district is paying The Taos News to intimidate members of our community?

I’ll be watching