Summary

In the July 1, 2025, meeting of the Mountainair Town Council, the primary focus was on addressing the town’s infrastructure capital improvement plan (ICIP), approval of a decision to charge credit card fees to the town’s utility and solid waste customers, and the hiring of a public works employee.

Actions

• Action on hiring a public works employee: unanimously approved;
• Action on hiring a police officer: no action taken;
• Action on transitioning the town clerk from probation to full performance status: unanimously approved;
• Action on approval to charge credit card fees to customers: unanimously approved; and,
• Action on Resolution 2025-08, a resolution adopting the FY 2027-2031 infrastructure capital improvement plan (ICIP): unanimously approved, with modifications.

Discussion

Following department head reports, the mayor and town council entered into executive session. In executive session they interviewed and unanimously agreed to hire a new public works employee. The Mountainair Town Council brought on the new employee because one pre-existing employee had tendered their resignation and one candidate had withdrawn their application. While the agenda for the July 1, 2025, meeting included discussion of the hiring of a police officer, Mayor Peter Nieto explained that the candidate had withdrawn their application.

Treasurer/Clerk Roy Hubbard raised the issue that he had determined that the town had absorbed $39,435.60 in credit card processing fees. Hubbard recommended making residents pay the processing fees for credit card transactions because the residents could also use checks or cash to avoid those processing fees. Mayor Nieto noted that the town’s solid waste fund was currently $32,000 “in the hole,” which would mean that charging the credit card processing fees to residents would leave approximately $7,000 in savings (during the meeting, Nieto described it as $6,000 in savings, which indicates that the figures used are not exact). The town council unanimously approved charging the credit card fees to those customers using credit cards to pay bills. The credit card fee would be equal to 3% of a customer’s bill.

Hubbard stated that Universal Waste, the town’s solid waste disposal provider, was charging the town for 476 residences while the town was tracking only 368 residences needing solid waste service. Hubbard said that he would be investigating whether Universal Waste was overcharging the town.

During the town council’s discussion of Mountainair’s infrastructure capital improvement plan (ICIP) for fiscal years 2027 through 2031, the mayor advised the town council that two of the projects had different amounts projected for them than what was listed on the ICIP document. Specifically, the funding sought for the Dr. Saul Recreation Center was $1.5 million, not $12,500, and the funding for the Police Department building upgrade was $250,000 rather than $2,500.

Funding for projects under the Clean Water State Revolving Fund has been slashed by 89% by the current federal administration. Mayor Peter Nieto stated in an email to the Mountainair Dispatch that he believed this earmark was protected as part of a previous budget allocation.