August 03, 2010
Belen’s mayor and city councilors failed to take action last night to fully satisfy an order from the Office of New Mexico’s Attorney General directing the city to correct five violations of state law related to a land purchase. In January 2009, the city paid more than $619,000 to purchase approximately 14 acres of land [...]
July 29, 2010
Belen Consolidated Schools Board President Jamie Goldberg announced a new measure he and the board are taking to ensure the public is informed about what the school district is doing. According to Goldberg, the board and public will now get regular updates during board meetings about the discussions and decisions made by the district’s various [...]
July 23, 2010
Valencia County Sheriff’s Department Captain Don Donges told county commissioners on Wednesday night that problems with “missed calls” at the county’s emergency dispatch center mean officers aren’t being dispatched to address crime. “This is ridiculous,” he told the commissioners. Donges has been defending his department against accusations that it failed to respond to calls about [...]
July 15, 2010
The Office of New Mexico’s Attorney General this week determined the City of Belen violated the New Mexico Open Meetings Act (OMA) when the Belen City Council met behind closed doors and directed former Mayor Ronnie Torres to negotiate to purchase $619,000 worth of land. “The Council in essence gave its approval to purchase the [...]
June 06, 2010
The Valencia County Commission last week banned county elected officials from putting their names on county vehicles, a response to Sheriff Rene Rivera placing his name on patrol cars. According to the county, the new rule, approved unanimously by resolution, won’t mean Rivera will need to remove his name from the patrol cars. “It will [...]
May 19, 2010
The New Mexico Whistleblower Protection Act, which safeguards government employees who report illegal or improper actions from retaliation by supervisors, goes into effect today. The law was passed by the state legislature earlier this year. According to the New Mexico Municipal League, the act prohibits a public employer from taking any retaliatory action against a [...]
April 11, 2010
The Belen Police Department’s Chief Mike Chavez has provided the Belen City Council with his department’s goals for 2010, a part of city councilors’ request for accountability. At the March 22 council meeting, Mayor Rudy Jaramillo and city councilors announced they were establishing an improvement plan and evaluation process for each of the city’s appointed [...]
April 03, 2010
The Valencia County News-Bulletin has filed a New Mexico Open Meetings Act complaint against the City of Belen, alleging the previous administration expended $619,000 on a land purchase without a public vote. “Under no circumstances should such substantial amounts of public funds be expended by a governing entity without a vote before the public that [...]
March 31, 2010
Councilor Jerah R. Cordova this week called for a public dialogue on the position of city manager, proposing revisions to the city’s existing ordinance that defines the city manager’s duties and responsibilities. State law already defines the duties and responsibilities of the city manager, but the city’s existing ordinance gives additional authority to the city [...]
March 31, 2010
Councilor Jerah R. Cordova yesterday submitted to the acting city manager an ordinance for consideration by the council that will guarantee certain rights for councilors and citizens, an effort to make the City of Belen a more open government. State law requires the city council to set rules for its meetings, which the proposed ordinance [...]