Sandoval County switches lockbox to Bank of Albuquerque after bank acquisition; treasurer details collections and balances
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Summary
Treasurer Taylor told the Board of Finance the county will use Bank of Albuquerque for first-half 2025 lockbox services after UMB's acquisition of New Mexico Bank & Trust would have moved processing out of state; the county presented bank balances, collections totals and assessed delinquent-account fees.
Sandoval County Treasurer Taylor told the Board of Finance the county will move its tax-payment lockbox for the 2025 first-half tax season to Bank of Albuquerque after New Mexico Bank & Trust's acquisition by UMB required moving the former lockbox facility to Kansas City, Missouri. Taylor said county staff were concerned that an out-of-state lockbox and a Missouri checking account could conflict with state statute.
Taylor cited New Mexico statute 6-10-36 as the relevant provision when explaining concerns that county funds should remain deposited within the county or government unit boundaries. She said county staff researched in-state lockbox providers and, through the procurement process, secured a professional services agreement with Bank of Albuquerque for $13,497.02 to provide lockbox services for the first-half 2025 tax season.
"We were notified back in May that our Albuquerque lockbox facility was going to be shut down," Taylor said, describing staff concerns about checks leaving the state and mail being permanently forwarded out of New Mexico. She said the county requested and obtained an alternative in-state vendor to avoid those issues.
Chief Deputy Treasurer Jessica McPartland presented collections data for the 2024 tax season as of May 31. In-office processing by county tax researchers totaled $53.6 million; web payments totaled $20.2 million; point-of-sale collections were $1.1 million; and outreach-collected payments were $160,800.
Treasury operations manager Holly Aguilar gave tax-roll and distribution figures: the county reported 97.27% collected on the 2024 second-half roll and 99.25% collection across a 10-year roll, with $188.8 million collected of $194 million charged to the treasurer. Aguilar also reported the county assessed the state "cost to state" fee of $125 for tax year 2022 on 731 accounts, totaling $91,003.75; she said a balance of approximately $89,001.52 remained outstanding on those accounts.
Taylor also listed the county's bank balances at the time: New Mexico Bank & Trust (general fund $50.9 million; tax payment account $1.6 million; total $62.1 million), Wells Fargo ($58,100), Jemez Valley Credit Union ($152,500) and Century Bank ($4.4 million). Taylor said the county will use Bank of Albuquerque as the lockbox provider for the upcoming tax season under the approved PSA.
