KSFR: State auditor seeks new sanctions against agencies (2009-11-24)

-- Nov. 24, 2 p.m.-- New Mexico's state auditor says he hopes to get tough with state and local agencies that don't follow state law. Hector Balderas says he's working with legislative leaders to create new laws that will lead to punishment for agencies that either don't account for the taxpayer money they've spent or who try to obstruct audits by state officials. Balderas say there are 60 governmental agencies that have not submitted timely audits. He says they've spent $1 billion in taxpayer money without being accountable for it. Balderas says one of the measures he wants lawmakers to pass is a bill that would suspend appropriations for government agencies that have outstanding audits.

Some Santa Fe merchants and other businesses are questioning why the Rail Runner commuter train won't be running on Friday. They say the day after Thanksgiving is not only a big shopping holiday, it's also a regular day of work for many people. The head of the Rail Runner organization told the New Mexican that the ridership on Black Friday wasn't enough last year to support the train's operations. Even though it won't be running Friday, the train is scheduled to run on its regular weekend schedule on Saturday and Sunday.

Speaking of the holidays, the city of Santa Fe has a gift for people shopping downtown on weekends. It's free parking on Saturdays and Sundays at the convention center garage and the Railyard garage. The program runs through January 3rd. In addition, weekday shoppers will be allowed free parking for the first two hours at those same garages. It's all part of the city's "Buy Into It" campaign intended to encourage patronage of local merchants.

Starting next week, there could be some work activity around the site where the new Santa Fe courthouse will eventually be built. County Manager Roman Abeyta tells KSFR that he's hoping workers will be able to begin removing some of the contamination that's been found underground where the parking garage is to sit. Work on the site has been in limbo ever since severe petroleum contamination was discovered below ground this past summer.

Republican state senator Mark Boitano of Bernalillo is interviewing state residents today who are unhappy with their property taxes. Boitano is a member of the Revenue Stabilization and Tax Policy Committee. They meet at the Roundhouse this morning at 11 to hear about recent litigation affecting property tax rates. Of concern to the senator is what's sometimes referred to as "tax lightning"- wherein someone who buys a new home experiences an increase in property taxes because the property they are purchasing is no longer covered under the state's 3% annual assessment increase. Earlier this year, a district judge ruled against portions of the 2001 law governing property tax rates that allows for the increase upon transfer of ownership. The judge said it violated the state constitution.

The Los Alamos National Laboratory has been hit with a penalty of just under $1 million for failing to meet state requirements for monitoring radioactive contamination from the Lab's main waste management area. The penalty was imposed by the New Mexico Environment Department on Monday. The department, along with the City of Santa Fe, Santa Fe County, and the Buckman Direct Diversion Board, have repeatedly requested that the lab develop a robust monitoring network capable of gauging the performance of a final cleanup plan for the Lab's Area G and other waste sites at TA-54. Such monitoring is deemed vital to long-term safety of communities that will be drawing water for drinking from the Rio Grande and underground aquifers downstream of LANL. This is the seventh time the state has penalized the lab under a clean order instituted in 2005.

Weather for Santa Fe...the forecast calls for sunny skies through Saturday. Daytime highs around the 50 degree mark with overnight lows in the 20s. Colder, unsettled weather may arrive by Sunday.