Pet Adoptions 2 New to the Team 2 Purchasing 2 Rifle Range 2 Probate Judge NM Edge Graduates 3 3 Otero County DWI Program Assessor’s Office Detention Center 4 5 6 March / April Calendar May Calendar & Directory 7 8 Inside this issue: Otero County Otero March 2012 Volume 1, Issue 1 Convenience Center @ 33 Gravel Pit Road, La Luz NM Monday—Wednesday and Friday & Saturday 7:30am to 4:30pm Plastic #1 Anything with a neck and lid Clear and green soda bottles Cooking oil bottles, peanut butter jars Salad dressing bottles and other food and drink containers Plastic #2 Usually milky or solid colors and rigid containers Detergent bottles, shampoo bottles, and other containers Corrugated cardboard sheets consist of a fluted piece of paper between two flat liner boards and it is made from paper.
Transcript
Pet Adoptions 2
New to the Team 2
Purchasing 2
Rifle Range 2
Probate Judge NM Edge Graduates
3 3
Otero County DWI Program Assessor’s Office Detention Center
4 5 6
March / April Calendar May Calendar & Directory
7 8
Inside this issue: Otero County Otero
March 2012 Volume 1, Issue 1
Convenience Center @ 33 Gravel Pit Road, La Luz NM
Monday—Wednesday and Friday & Saturday
7:30am to 4:30pm
Plastic #1
Anything with a neck and lid
Clear and green soda bottles
Cooking oil bottles, peanut butter jars
Salad dressing bottles and other food and drink containers
Plastic #2 Usually milky or solid colors
and rigid containers
Detergent bottles, shampoo bottles, and other containers
Corrugated cardboard sheets consist of a
fluted piece of paper between two flat
liner boards and it is made from paper.
Page 2 Otero County Otero Volume 1, I ssue 1
Pet Adoptions & Lost Pets in Otero County
Button Brand Veterinary Clinic is contracted with
Otero County to take in stray and lost pets found
in the County by the Sheriff’s Department. If
your pet is lost outside of the City of Alamogordo
and picked up, it will be taken to Button Brand.
They also have pets that are looking for good
homes. If you are interested in adopting one of
these lovely pets or trying to find your lost pet,
please contact:
Button Brand Veterinary Clinic
3520 N. White Sands Blvd.
Alamogordo, NM 88310
(575) 434-6622
www.buttonspawsofhope.org
Business Hours:
Monday—Friday
9:00 am—12:00 pm & 2:00 pm—5:00 pm
Saturday
9:00 am—1:00 pm
BIDS/PROPOSALS 6
AWARDED 5
NO. CONTRACTS RENEWED 1
NO. PURCHASE ORD. ISSUED 135
NO. SMALL PURCHASES PROCESSED 602 (under the 799.99 amount)
PROJECTS
Recycle Hub/Asphalt paving
Mesa Verde Contractor
**Paving in progress**
Income for January totaled $6,373.04 with expenditures totaling $2,331.35. Income
for February totaled $5,051.49 with expenditures totaling $2,347.27. Income for
March totaled $5,391.12 with expenditures totaling $2,038.24.
The range safely entertained 1330 customers in the month of January; 1158 for the
month of February and 1122 for the month of March. This included 117 Competi-
tors in 12 competitions sponsored by the Otero Practical Shooting Association and
68 Competitors in 3D Archery competitions sponsored by the Tularosa 4H Club.
Twenty eight customers in January; fifteen customers in February and thirty five
customers used a free one day pass given to them when they purchased a firearm
from one of the local Gun Shops.
Five Individual, twenty-five Military Discount Individual, five Senior Discount In-
dividual, six Family, forty-eight Military Discount Family, nine Senior Discount
Family, and thirteen Law Enforcement Family Passes were sold between January
and March
Jay N. Frost, Range Master
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK 8:00 AM TO SUNSET
Rifle Range
New to the Team
Please welcome Stephanie Groves as the new
Receptionist for the County of Otero-
Administration.
Purchasing
Page 3 Otero County Otero Volume 1, I ssue 1
Probate Judge
January 2012 NM EDGE Graduates Grace M. Gonzalez, NMCTO Grace M. Gonzalez, Otero County Treasurer, is currently serving her seventh year as Treasurer and has worked in that office for over 21 years as an elected official and as an employee. Ms. Gonzalez has served on the Treasurers' Curriculum Committee.
Pamela S. Heltner, CPO Pamela S. Heltner, Otero County Manager, has worked at the county for over five years. “The wide range of informative topics, has allowed me to incorporate many of the ideas into our county's daily operations, which, in the end, benefits the
employees and the public as well.”
Robyn Holmes, NMCCCL Robyn Holmes, Otero County Clerk, is currently serving her second term as Clerk and has worked in that office since 1985. Ms. Holmes has previously earned her CPO and CPS.
Cathe Prather, NMCTO Catherine (Cathe) Prather, Otero County Chief Deputy Treasurer, has worked in the Treasurer's office for almost 21 years including two two-year terms as the elected official. Ms. Prather has served on the Treasurers' Curriculum Committee.
Chris Tenski, CPO Christine A. Tenski, Otero County Probate Judge, has worked at the county for over 10 years and served as an elected
official since 2010. "The instructors have been very informative, plus we get the opportunity to network with
government employees from all across this great state."
Probate Judge’s training for the whole state was held in Albuquerque, the first of March. One of the many things we learned was the 26 new Probate Code changes, which became effective January 1, 2012. I will not list them all here, but will touch on the two most commonly used.
NMSA 1978, Section 45-3-1201 Collection of Personal Property by Affidavit
The value of the entire estate of the decedent went from $30,000 maximum to $50,000 maximum.
Thirty days have to elapse from the date of death of the decedent and no Probate can be pending or
granted in any Court.
NMSA 1978, Section 45-3-1205 Transfer of Homestead to Surviving Spouse
If there is no Probate needed or filed the surviving spouse after six months has elapsed since the death of the spouse may fi le an Affidavit of Transfer of the Homestead property. The change is in the residence full-value assessment that went from $100,000 to $500.000.
If anyone is interested in knowing any of the other changes please contact me anytime. I would be happy to discuss them with you.
Christine Tenski Probate Judge
Page 4 Otero County Otero Volume 1, I ssue 1
The Otero County DWI Program remains intent and diligent in reducing the incidence of drinking and
driving in Otero County. We seek to achieve this by funding and supporting several different components
within Alamogordo and Otero County.
We continue to maintain a very strong compliance and tracking pro-gram. We provide a support service for all courts in Otero County. All courts and law enforcement in Otero County continue to support us as we support them.. Our Compliance Officers, CJ Yousif and Daniel Caywood, for DWI and Maria Garcia-Olayo for Misdemeanor, contin-
ue to support Tularosa Municipal Court anytime a DWI or Misdemeanor offender is arraigned or sentenced. Judge Gene Galassini, from Magistrate Court Division I, Judge Scott Newton from Magistrate Court Division II are very enthusiastic for the assistance provided by our pro-gram. Chief Judge Jerry Ritter, Dis- trict Judge Division I, recognizes our professionalism and continues to use our program as does Judge Counts and Judge Brogan. Judges in all courts in the county rely on us to be present in the court room any- time a DWI defendant is being sentenced. Without this support ser- vice, it would be difficult for the courts to track all DWI Offenders.
We are proud to announce our new
Teen Court Coordinator, Joy Ara-
na. As the Teen Court Coordina-
tor, she is charged with the overall
operation of Teen Court. Teen
Court gives the first time offender a second chance and an
opportunity to keep their record clean as well as educate
teens through participation in the legal system. Our Teen
Court Program cannot run very efficiently without very
dedicated volunteers from The DA’s office, our communi-
ty and Holloman Air Force Base. These volunteers show
up every session and volunteer as judges, bailiffs, clerks
and attorneys. We average 60 (sixty) children per quarter
that go through the Teen Court system. This does not
count the teens showing up for jury
duty and volunteer work. Referrals are
mainly from JPPO and Municipal
Court, but we do from time to time get
referrals from parents, school and
other courts throughout Otero County.
We are always seeking volunteers to
assist.
We are also proud to
announce Paige Viscarra
to our Prevention Com-
ponent. We continue to
wage an aggressive anti-
drunk driving campaign and to aggressive-
ly reduce the incidence of underage drink-
ing in Otero County. Paige participates in
underage drinking presentation in different
events and communities including Tula-
rosa, Cloudcroft and Mescalero. The
Otero County DWI program continues to
support SADD (Students Against Destruc-
tive Decisions). The SADD Chapter in
the high school includes a board of stu-
dents as voting officers.
Page 5 Otero County Otero Volume 1, I ssue 1
Everyone is aware of the housing
bubble burst affecting many parts of
the United States, from coast to
coast. While we agree there has
been a substantial decline in the real
estate market in many parts of the
nation, Otero County, New Mexico
has managed to hold its value during
this downturn.
In 2001, New Mexico legislators passed a 1law that
placed a 3% increase cap on the assessed values
of residential properties. The following chart will
display where your current assessed value would
relate to actual market value when subject to the
3% limitation. As you can see, if you are subject to
the 3% cap, your assessed value is most likely to
be at approximately 75% of its actual market
value. Therefore, under current law, you will
continue to see a 3% increase per year until
assessed values reach actual market value, or until
new laws are implemented.
If your assessed value increased more than the 3% limitation
The 2001 law also included a provision for an exemption of the 3% cap to all residential
properties that have changed ownership, properties that are placed on the tax rolls for
the first time (ex. new home), any new improvements to a property, and properties that
have changed use or zoning. These properties are required to be reappraised at their
current market level. This means that if you purchased a residential property in 2011, your
2012 assessed value may increase by 30% or more. This law, known as “Tax Lightning”,
has caused a substantial inequity in property tax liabilities for similar properties with the
same market value. Attempts to correct this problem were made in the 2011 and 2012
legislative sessions, only to fail.
Real Estate Market Conditions in Otero County
Otero County Warrant Roundup On February 17, 2012, agencies from
across the state joined together with the
local Otero county law enforcement
agencies to apprehend and detain a list of
approximately one hundred persons with
active warrants. The “roundup” began at
approximately six o’clock in the morning
and continued throughout the day, result-
ing in over eighty arrest.
Otero County Detention officers saw
more than their share of the action and
even with additional staff on hand to han-
dle the volume, officers were exhausted
by the end of the day. New inmates
were arriving at a much faster rate than
they could be processed for intake, classi-
fication, or release. The detention staff
met the challenge and a facility record
was set for the highest volume of new
intakes, transfers, and releases in a single
day. The booking process and follow up
continued throughout the night and into
the next several
days. Law enforcement agencies contin-
ued to locate persons that remained on
the warrant list throughout the coming
week.
Otero County Detention recognizes
it’s skilled and dedicated staff and we
were proud of the part we played in this
successful interagency operation.
Otero County Fat Busters Most OCDC participants enrolled in the Fat
Busters program are off to a slow but steady
start for the first two months of the weight loss
encouragement program. Congratulations go
out to Officer Brenda Crouch who is an inspi-
ration and motivator for all of us.
Community Awareness On February 16, 2012, Officers
