Old Man Gloom Owes a Lot of Money to the City
SANTA FE, N.M. - Santa Fe police department reveal Tuesday that organizations that hold some of New Mexico’s most popular and important events, like Zozobra and Fiesta de Santa Fe owe the city over $100,000 in service expenses.
The city used to provide services like police protection to community events free of charge. However, with the mayor and city councilors grappling with a $15 million dollar budget deficit in 2015. A new policy came into effect for the 2015-2016 fiscal year; requiring organizations to cover half the cost of the services provided in hopes of not having to raise taxes for individuals.
According to the police department, the cost of police protection for this year’s Fiesta de Santa Fe was more $87,000. This was a 32 percent increase over the past years due to worries of protesting over the dramatization of the controversial Spanish Entrada increasing into violence. These worries caused the department to dispatch a small army of lawmen which drove the price up.
The cost for Zozobra was a lot less with this year’s festival coming in about $33,500. However, even this year was a $2,500 increase compared to last year’s $31,000 charge. The city of Santa Fe claims that the Kiwanis club, the club that organizes Zozobra every year, owes the city tens of thousands of dollars. The committee chairman, Ray Sandoval said. "We had a letter from the Santa Fe Police Department," he said. "And when we opened it, it was Santa Fe Police Department letterhead and it said the Kiwanis Club owed $20,000 to the Santa Fe Police." Sandoval said that the club will pay what it owes to the city but wants to have a meeting with the city to clarify any questions and concerns.
One of Sandoval’s main concerns is some inconsistency in the way organizations are being treated in terms of being charged for services. "The conversation is not about shrinking away from our responsibility," he said. "And we need to be responsible, but it needs to be done in a way that is fair and gives us notice to know exactly what we're going to be charged with.” City Spokesman, Matt Ross talked over how the policy works. “It applies to every event that requires police presence and overtime, and it’s a 50 percent across-the-board policy,” he said.
Dean Milligan, president of the Fiesta de Santa Fe left no comment with the Santa Fe New Mexican but has said in the past to reach an agreement with city hall to waive nearly all service fees. Ross said “I don't have any updates as of today, but I know that there are communications happening between the city and the Fiesta Council.”
Ross explained, “We’re not asking these organizations to cover the entire cost. But for years, the city has been subsidizing these organizations using taxpayer money because somebody's has to pay.” When asked if the city will continue to issue permits to these organizations if they still owe money; Ross said “The policy is to continue working with these groups and trying to find a way to work together and move forward because these events are really important to the community.”
