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Wednesday, May 8, 2013
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City manager to retire at month’s end Romero’s announcement comes on heels of mayor’s decision to give up office By Julie Ann Grimm The New Mexican
Santa Fe City Manager Robert Romero announced Tuesday that he will retire at the end of May. The announcement comes on the heels of news from Mayor David Coss
that he will not seek a third term at the head of the City Council. Under the city charter, the mayor selects a manager with the council’s consent. Romero said he had planned to make a formal announcement Thursday, after councilors were expected to approve the city budget for the next fiscal year, but he decided to make his plans public Tuesday after he broke the news to city councilors. “I’m thankful for the opportunity and for the confidence that the council
has shown me,” Romero said. “I want to thank the mayor for his loyalty and competence and wisdom. And I’d like to thank all the city employees, who I would really put up against anybody in the private sector.” In an interview Tuesday evening, Coss said of Romero, “He was one of the best city managers I’ve ever known. I really thank him for his 12 years of great work for city. He brought in an elevated level of accountability and professionalism
Santa Fe City Manager Robert Romero said on Tuesday that he will retire at the end of May.
Please see MANAgeR, Page A-4
NEW MEXICAN FILE PHOTO
BALANCING THE BUDGET: LAFARGE LIBRARY
Branch spared reduced hours
District plans new charter compacts By Robert Nott The New Mexican
Santa Fe Public Schools is moving forward with a plan to set up performance compacts with the district’s four charter schools in an effort to provide greater transparency and set clear goals for the schools. The compacts would be specific to each of the schools — the Academy for Technology and the Classics, Monte del Sol Charter School, Tierra Encantada Charter School at Alvord, all 7-12 schools, and Turquoise Trail Charter School, an elementary. The agreements would help prepare the schools and the district for charter renewals, coming up in 2015. Though the individual compacts are not final, the district presented a brief report on them during Tuesday’s board meeting. The goal, according to Superintendent Joel Boyd, is to hold the schools accountable, set performance targets and track renewal-application plans. “The compacts, overall, are clearer and more transparent than the state report cards,” Boyd said. He said the charter schools are “an integral component of creating a system of
Please see SFPS, Page A-4 Librarian Walter Cook helps Kate Marks and Kenneth Solan find books at LaFarge Branch Library on Tuesday. While earlier proposals for the upcoming fiscal year included closing LaFarge Branch Library one day a week, that idea has been scrapped, Libraries Director Pat Hodapp said Tuesday. JANE PHILLIPS/THE NEW MEXICAN
Revised budget proposal scraps plan to close branch one day a week By Julie Ann Grimm The New Mexican
C
ity libraries would be spared from cuts in their hours of operation under a budget scheduled for consideration Wednesday by the Santa Fe City Council. While earlier proposals for the upcoming fiscal year included closing LaFarge Branch Library one day a week, that idea has been scrapped, Libraries Director Pat Hodapp said Tuesday.
“This was something we never wanted to do,” she said. “We understand how important LaFarge is. We don’t want to close any branch for any amount of time.” Last year, LaFarge, 1730 Llano St., was closed on Saturdays from February to May after several library workers retired simultaneously. It took some time to restore staffing levels, but Hodapp said those problems have been solved. Staff positions that were threatened with defunding now
appear to be safe, she said. The city’s three libraries had 819,000 visitors come through their doors during the last fiscal year, including 139,000 computer users, and adult and child patrons who checked out more than 730,000 items. That kind of service is important to the community, Hodapp argues, especially for youth and those seeking work. “We are the front line,” she said. “We are the
Please see LAFARge, Page A-4
OHIO
Police face questions following rescue SpaceX signs on at N.M. spaceport Space Exploration Technologies Corp. agrees to a threeyear lease to test its reusable rocket in Southern New Mexico. PAge A-4
Index
Calendar A-2
Classifieds D-4
Neighbors say officers took no action during previous visits to house where women were held By John Coyne and Thomas J. Sheeran The Associated Press
CLEVELAND — One neighbor says a naked woman was seen crawling on her hands and knees in the backyard of the house a few years ago. Another heard pounding on the
Comics B-8
Lotteries A-2
home’s doors and noticed plastic bags over the windows. Both times, police showed up but never went inside, neighbors say. Police also paid a visit to the house in 2004, but no one answered the door. Now, after three women who vanished a decade ago were found captive Monday at the peeling, rundown house, Cleveland police are facing questions for the second time in four years about their handling of missing-person cases and are conducting an internal review to see if they overlooked anything.
Opinions A-5
Police notes C-2
Editor: Rob Dean, 986-3033, rdean@sfnewmexican.com Design and headlines: Kristina Dunham, kdunham@sfnewmexican.com
Sports B-1
INSIDe u Home’s owner was no stranger to community. PAge A-6
City Safety Director Martin Flask said Tuesday that investigators had no record of anyone calling about criminal activity at the house but were still checking police, fire and emergency databases. The three women were rescued after one of them kicked out the bottom portion of a locked screen door
Please see ReSCUe, Page A-6
Taste D-1
Time Out B-7
Travel C-6
Main office: 983-3303 Late paper: 986-3010
Pasapick www.pasatiempomagazine.com
‘Humble Boy’ Fusion Theatre presents Charlotte Jones’ comedy, 8 p.m., Lensic Performing Arts Center, 211 W. San Francisco St., $20-$40, students $10, ticketssantafe.org, 988-1234. More events in Calendar, A-2 and Fridays in Pasatiempo
Obituaries Kelly Louise Loy, 51, May 5 Anthony Lujan, 6 months, May 4 Ida R. Montoya, 87, May 3 Roy Niles, 59, Santa Fe, May 1 Bessie P. Smith Jimmy Reynaldo Vigil, 72, Santa Fe, April 22 PAge C-2
Today Sunshine mixing with clouds. High 68, low 38. PAge C-5
Four sections, 28 pages 164th year, No. 128 Publication No. 596-440