On the Table

Hotel closes after 100 years, truckers go for zero, courts borrow more, and Bayard better.

Hotel Misses Payments, Closes

The historic Eklund Hotel in Clayton, which borrowed $200,000 from the state in 2003 for renovations, has shut down, making it the first project in the 20-year history of the preservation loan fund to default on a loan. The more than 100-year-old hotel, which also received $2 million in state and federal tax credits over the last few years, employed 41 people. The department is working with the bank to get a new operator.

Truckers Might Be Cheating State

Some commercial truck companies are getting out of paying the state’s weight-distance tax by reporting they are not traveling on New Mexico’s roads even though some are passing through New Mexico ports of entry, Motor Transportation Division officers report. Division officers typically pull over truckers who don’t file weight-distance reports and demand payment of fees. The “0 filers” file quarterly reports but the reports show 0 miles traveled and no tax obligation. LFC staff who visited the Lordsburg port for about 30 minutes in May observed four 0 filers passing through the port.

Courts Loan Grows

The Board of Finance has agreed to loan the Administrative Office of the Courts an additional $275,000, bringing the agency’s loan balance to $1.2 million. The agency is projecting its jury and witness fund will be $500,000 short in FY10, requiring a supplemental appropriation about the same size as this year. However, a new $5 jury fund fee should help make the fund solvent in FY11.

New Mexico has one of the highest rate of juror compensation in the nation. Jurors are paid $7.50 an hour under the state’s minimum wage law for a total of $60 a day. The National Center for State Courts reports almost half the states pay a daily rate at or below $15.

Justice Finds Improvements at Bayard

A follow-up visit to Fort Bayard Medical Center by the U.S. Department of Justice found the state-run nursing home has improved reporting and investigations of abuse and neglect, restorative and nutrition services and some record-keeping issues but medical and nursing services, especially training and documentation, are still weak. The Justice Department launched an investigation into “life-threatening” conditions at the facility in 2005 and has continued to monitor the home.

Transitions

The Central Consolidated School board has appointed Gregg Epperson as superintendent, ending a two-year search. Epperson comes from North Kitsap School District in Poulsbo, Washington, where he served as executive director.

Elisa Storie, deputy secretary of the Department of Information Technology, has retired.

Michael Sandoval, formerly Traffic Safety Division director, is the new director of the Motor Vehicle Division.

Marilyn Hill, acting General Services Department secretary, has been assigned to the Taxation and Revenue Department, where she was previously a deputy secretary.