Monday’s meeting of the Bernalillo Town Council kicked off with a swearing-in ceremony for one incumbent councilor even as the official outcome of the race for another council seat remains unconfirmed.
The council meeting began with Judge George P. Eichwald of the 13th Judicial District Court swearing in Councilwoman Sharon Torres-Quintana with her husband Paul at her side.
Torres-Quintana, Phillip Valverde and James S. Baca ran against each other for two at-large seats on the council. Torres-Quintana secured her seat with 354 votes in the municipal office election on March 15. However, a recount was triggered in the race for the second seat, after Phillip Valverde received 333 votes and James S. Baca received 324 votes.
The recount, due to their extremely close vote count, took place Tuesday at the town hall building. Unofficially, Valverde will retain his seat as the vote counts remain unchanged. However, the recount’s official outcome must be confirmed by the secretary of state.
Legislative highlights
Following the swearing-in ceremony, State Rep. Alan Martinez (R–Sandoval) delivered a legislative update to the Town Council.
House Bill 2 allocates $160,000 for advanced training on domestic violence for law enforcement and public safety workers. House Bill 193 provides funds for law enforcement retention bonuses and House Bill 236 allows retired officers to return after 12 months at base salary to fill workforce gaps. The Bernalillo Fire Department is getting $900,000 in capital outlay for a new fire engine.
Higher water rates
Many of Bernalillo’s businesses will now pay more for water under the new rate increase the council voted to approve unanimously.
Mayor Jack Torres said the rate increases are part of an attempt to bring all the town’s ordinances up to date.
As reported by the Signpost, this changes the base rate for water usage for businesses that use large amounts of water but does not affect residents.
The mayor said he instructed his staff to determine how many businesses would be impacted by the proposed tiered-rate increase for water usage.
There are a total of 86 businesses in the 0 to 2,000 gallons of water usage category, which will not have any increase in their water rates. However, 122 businesses in the 2,001 to 39,999 gallons of water usage category will have to pay $5.50 per gallon of water within that category. Similarly, there are 20 businesses in the 40,000 to 99,999 gallons of water usage category who will pay $9.50 per gallon of water in that category and 24 businesses in the 100,000 gallons and above category who will pay $15 per gallon of water in that category.
“I know that our water consultants are concerned that we’ve got some businesses that have high use and there isn’t a lot of concern on their end,” said the Bernalillo Public Works Director Troy Martinez. “The intent was that this would be a reason for them to start looking at why – whether they have leaks that they’re not fixing. They haven’t hired a leak detection company to figure out what’s going on in their business and they’re just willing to pay the bill currently.”
The top two water users in the town are Mister Car Wash at 324 US-550 and Ultra Health Dispensary Bernalillo at 55 Camino Don Tomas.
“What we’re trying to do is get them to understand that water is just not another cost of doing business,” said Torres. “It is the number one priority for us.”