An attempt led by local legislators to reinstate a state meat inspection program stalled during the 2021 legislative session, but a $500,000 appropriation will be used to advance the effort.
What’s next for stalled state meat inspection program? Read More »
At its April 21 meeting, EB’s city council approved a budget adjustment that added about $111,000 to the $200,000 already allocated in the General Fund to support the golf course this fiscal year.
Tooley, who will leave May 7, will become outside plant supervisor for Ethos Broadband, a division of the telecommunications company that is building a fiber optics network to provide internet access to rural Sierra Countians.
Paul Tooley, county emergency services administrator, steps down Read More »
A 2007 state law declares that cities and counties “shall not” restrict the size of privately-owned solar systems. T or C has limited the generating capacity of solar systems installed by its electric utility customers since it passed Ordinance 664 in 2014.
PUAB Chair Szigeti says T or C’s restrictions on private solar systems are “not legal” Read More »
The resolution granted Serina Bartoo the same powers her predecessor Bruce Swingle had during his seven-year tenure. Those powers are summarized in the chart at the end of this story.
If a referendum to create a special hospital district is held this November, county voters will essentially be deciding whether to increase their property taxes to support Sierra Vista Hospital, because a hospital district has its own taxing authority.
The airport, which lost more than $225,000 in the last fiscal year, advertised for a manager without success last fall. Virgin Galactic crew chief Chad Rosacker was hired last month on an emergency basis to temporarily fill the job after he approached the city with a proposal to provide mechanical services at the airport.
Did you know that New Mexico is second-highest pecan-producing state in the nation? Read on for more interesting factoids about this species of hickory, which is native to northern Mexico, East Texas and the Mississippi River Valley. “We have lots to celebrate when it comes to New Mexico pecans,” said New Mexico Agriculture Secretary Jeff
Lured away from his position as Sierra County manager by his interest in helping Truth or Consequences address its challenges—and a raise in salary—Swingle will hire Serina Bartoo as interim county manager before he leaves for his new job.
New T or C city manager Bruce Swingle will spend first days assessing “what is going on” Read More »
The question of whether electric utility rates in Truth or Consequences are too high has been raised several times recently on social media. Opinions abound. The Sun did the research to provide a definitive answer and here are the results.
How T or C’s electric utility rate compares to other cities in New Mexico Read More »
A staff report that the City of Truth or Consequences is carrying $700,000 in unpaid utility account fees prompted the city commissioners’ outrage and immediate action to reimpose red-tag procedures suspended during the pandemic.
The city will soon enter the electric vehicle charging business, as can be surmised from a publicly unvetted “Request for Proposals” advertised in the Sierra County Sentinel, which specifies that four stations are to be constructed on a site next to the Healing Waters Plaza.
The public board voted on March 15 to uphold a restrictive Truth or Consequence ordinance that mandates private solar systems must be sized at 90 percent of the owner’s previous year’s use of electricity and requires owners of newly constructed homes or businesses to wait a year to establish their baseline electricity usage before they can install a system.
The New Mexico Senate and House passed a measure last week that would enable New Mexicans for the first time to see how each lawmaker spends public infrastructure money under their control.
Capital outlay transparency bill awaits governor’s signature Read More »
Until the passage of the New Mexico Civil Rights Act (House Bill 4) during this legislative session, citizens could not sue for damages for violations of their civil rights, except in some law-enforcement cases. The government entity whose employee or elected representative violated a person’s rights will, if the governor signs HB4, now pay the damages.
During an hour-and-a-half executive session this morning, the Truth or Consequences City Commission discussed the field of five candidates and emerged to unanimously pass a resolution in open session to hire Swingle.
Sierra County Manager Bruce Swingle offered job of T or C city manager Read More »
It appears the Truth or Consequences City Commission violated the state’s Open Meetings Act by taking action to narrow the field of candidates for city manager during its closed executive session on Monday, March 15.
Update: T or C city commission manager’s search has transparency problems Read More »
At their last meeting, T or C commissioners learned that the city has $14 million in current capital projects secured with combination grant/loans and is applying for another $17.65 million in funding for additional capital projects, but no information was provided concerning how accumulated debt will grow or be paid off.
Capital projects report: nearly $7 million added to T or C debt load so far this year Read More »
The news was broken this morning by the Sierra County Sentinel, owned and edited by Truth or Consequences City Commissioner Frances Luna, one hour after the commission’s executive session to review the job applicants’ resumes. Luna was highly and continuously critical of former T or C City Manager Morris Madrid during the five months their tenures overlapped before Madrid submitted his resignation. For most of Swingle’s six-plus years as county manager Luna worked closely with him as a county commissioner.
Sierra County Manager Bruce Swingle among T or C city manager applicants Read More »
Over the past 14 months, the average time between breaks has been about 22 days. In the last five weeks, the average time between breaks has been about six days.
Truth or Consequences’s water lines are breaking at an escalating pace Read More »