The village of Columbus submitted a preliminary budget to New Mexico’s Department of Finance and Administration, but has struggled into August to close deficits and establish mandatory cash reserves for a final budget, more than a month after the July 1 start to the fiscal year. And in two consecutive meetings, the prospect of voting to disincorporate the village a move that would make Columbus an unincorporated community within …
This story has been updated to report the authors of the complaints cited in this story have been belatedly disclosed. The first meeting of Columbus’ elected trustees of 2023 ran off the rails Wednesday night, descending into angry crosstalk and shouts across the room until fire chief Andres Ramos intervened to calm the meeting down and Trustee Paulino “Sonny” Villegas called for a mediator to take control of subsequent meetings. …