Valentine’s Day wedding bells ring for McKinley County couples COMMUNITY, A4
Gallup Sun VOL 10 | ISSUE 464
www.gallupsun.com
February 16, 2024
City moves forward with new animal shelter design phase
New Mexico Legislative Session 2024
Paid family, medical leave proposal dies on House floor
COUNCIL APPROVES PROPOSAL FOR NEARLY $600,000
LOCAL LEADERS UNSATISFIED WITH BILL
Staff Reports
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A N TA F E — The New Mexico Democrat-led House of Representatives rejected a bill that would have guaranteed paid time off for workers to cope with serious illnesses or care for newborns and loved ones on Feb. 14. Eleven Democrats sided with Republicans, making the vote 34-36. The failed proposal for paid leave would have eventually provided workers with up to 12 weeks of medical and family leave. The bill also included paid leave guarantee for workers who are victims of stalking, domestic violence, sexual assault, and abuse as they pursue a protection order, counseling, or flee their home. Employers and employees would have both paid into the fund. Employees would have paid $5 for every $1,000 they earn; employers would have paid a matching $4 per $1,000. Federal employees working in the state would’ve been excluded. Only employers with more than five employees would have been required to pay into the fund, exempting about two-thirds of New Mexico businesses. Rep. Patty Lundstrom voted against the bill. In an interview with the Sun, she explained that she thought it would end up costing employers too much money. “The questions that I had, and the reason I didn’t vote for it, is because I don’t believe the fund, the way they had it designed, would remain solvent. When that happens it means you’re increasing the amount of money that the business would pay as well as what the employee would pay,” she said. She also noted that the employees who took time off would have to be replaced. “I think that’s very hard on employers. Because the thing is you have to find
someone who’s going to replace that person who’s off. So you’re not only paying the person who’s off but then a a new person if you can find them to cover,” she said. In a job that requires more technical and specific skills, such as a nursing home or hospital, that can be difficult to do. At a Sept. 6 meeting of local businesses held by the Southwest Women’s Law Center, a group who heavily supported the bill, many Gallup small business owners voiced their concerns. Gallup-McKinley County Chamber of Commerce CEO Bill Lee attended the meeting. “All of them talked about what a tremendous hardship this would put on the business and their employees and the costs they would have to incur to do this,” he said. “This bill would put another half a billion in payroll taxes into the state coffers because everybody would have to put into it whether or not they will use it.” While it doesn’t say so, the bill would require employers to get new payroll software that supports the deductions, Lee said, and might force other process changes. He’s also concerned that the fund would run out of money within two years, potentially creating an unfunded mandate. The bill was introduced last year, but a House committee stopped it in its tracks. Lundstrom said one of her main problems with the bill was that it covered too many categories of beneficiaries. She hopes that the bill comes back next year, and that it’s more manageable. “It just didn’t seem like [this bill] was ‘cooked enough’ I would say. I hope they go back this interim and work on it again. I hope they come back with another version, and it’s a more slimmed down version so we can build it in increments,” she said.
By Molly Ann Howell Managing Editor
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f ter receiving multiple grants that helped increase funding, the City of Gallup is finally ready to take the next step on the road to building a new animal shelter. During the city council meeting on Feb. 13, Planning and Development Director C.B. Strain reminded the council that the city received multiple grant agreements in the past three years, coming out to a total of about $811,000. Strain noted that 1% of that total, which comes out to about $8,000, has to go to the Art in Public Places program, which commissions visual artists who work across all media to create site-specific installations and unique public art. DESIGNING THE SHELTER With that 1% still in mind, the city is now ready to start the design phase of the project. Strain asked the council to approve a professional service proposal from Huitt-Zollers, Inc.
Gypsy called the Gallup-McKinley County Humane Society home in July. The humane society has been operating out of the same building since October 1988. Photos Credit: Kim Helfenbein for schematic, design development, and construction documents for the shelter. Huitt-Zollers, Inc. did not place a bid for the contract, the city already has a contract with them. The Albuquerque-based architect firm put a price tag of just under $600,000 for the design phase of the animal shelter. Strain estimated that the phase would take about a year, and then the city would need to go the state legislators to seek out more funding for the construction. Councilor Sarah Piano, Dist. 3, expressed her excitement for the project.
“We desperately need a new animal shelter. I know we need a lot of things, but I’m an animal lover and I’m constantly trying to get dogs and cats adopted,” she said. While she is excited for the new shelter, Piano did acknowledge the negative feedback the city received when they initially evaluated how much a new shelter would cost. “[…] I know we’ve run into some pushback about the cost of an animal shelter. … But this [design phase] should give us a more concrete idea of ‘well, this is what it will be like and this is why we need this much
See ANIMAL SHELTER, Page A5
City of Gallup begins search for new city manager Staff Reports The City of Gallup is on the lookout for a new city manager. Du r i ng a closed session right before the Feb. 13 city council meeting, the council discussed how they should begin looking for a new city manager. Former Gallup City Ma nager Ma r ya n n Ustick retired in June. Ever since then, her Assistant City Manager
Keller Williams Realty J.M. DeYoung has overseen the position as Interim City Manager. Over six months later, the city is now trying to find someone from the Four Corners region to fill
See CIITY MANAGER, Page A5
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