Sandoval County junior treasurers present mock Board of Finance report on taxes, auction and investments

Treasurer Jenny Taylor hosted a mock Board of Finance presentation in which two student junior county treasurers reviewed recent county tax activity, outreach efforts, delinquent tax-auction results and the status of county investments.

The presentation, delivered by Giovanna Almanzar and Mario Templeton, covered the October 2024 delinquent tax auction, outreach collections, changes to the 2024 tax roll, and the county’s investment portfolio and bank balances. Taylor said the event is the “fifth and final program requirement for the junior county treasurers” and that attendees should treat the data as a snapshot: “the data that they'll be sharing is from our November 2024 Board of Finance. So it is a little bit outdated,” she said.

The students reported that the county’s Taxation and Revenue Department auction list initially showed 72 accounts; by the date of the auction sellers reported, the office sold 101 properties and collected $600,400. According to the treasurer’s presentation materials, 71 accounts from the initial list were removed before the sale after payments or installment agreements were recorded. The treasurer’s office said the state collects late fees and penalties when payments occur after the auction and the county receives only the base tax for those accounts.

The presentation described local outreach changes designed to make tax-payment assistance more accessible. The outreach coordinator moved community collection sites from senior centers to public libraries; the treasurer’s office said the change produced a “slight increase” in outreach collections. The office mailed tax bills on Oct. 30 after producing a print file for about 21,795 accounts and reported a 2024 parcel count of 150,584 — an increase of 739 parcels from the prior year. The treasurer’s staff attributed a roughly $22.5 million increase in the tax roll to multiple factors, including mill-rate changes, higher property values, new parcels and the addition of public improvement districts.

On community drives, staff reported the Thanksgiving food drive delivered “hundreds” of nonperishable items to the county fairgrounds in cooperation with the Checkerboard Food Pantry and the Nascimento Community Foundation; the annual toy drive ran Nov. 25–Dec. 20 and yielded about 1,700 toys, the presentation said. The treasurer thanked Public Works Director Hatzenbuehler and the sheriff’s office for help delivering donations and co-hosting the toy drive.

On investments, Templeton told commissioners the county recorded more than $2.2 million in interest from January through October 2024 across interest-bearing accounts. He said the county had been receiving about 4.5% interest earlier in 2024, but after Federal Reserve rate cuts the county’s bank trimmed rates to about 4.1%; a recently matured certificate of deposit (CD) that had earned 3.47% was rolled into a six-month CD at about 4.25%. Templeton said the county will monitor rates and revisit reinvestment options after the CD matures.

The treasurer’s presentation listed bank balances across institutions: New Mexico Bank & Trust (general fund about $33 million; tax payment account about $12.6 million; total balances roughly $51.7 million), a Wells Fargo account “a little over $41,000,” a Hemmis Valley Credit Union account under $48,400 and Century Bank balances totaling about $6.8 million. The presentation said roughly $3.2 million is invested in LGIPs and referenced holdings at Zions Bank and other pooled funds; a slide summarized asset allocation across bank deposits, U.S. Treasury, U.S. agency securities, money-market funds and other pooled investments.

Commissioners asked the students and treasury staff several follow-up questions. They confirmed the second half of property taxes is due May 10 and becomes delinquent June 11 (one speaker briefly corrected the date to May 11). Staff said the first-half billing period begins in November and becomes delinquent Dec. 11, and that payers may submit a full bill or split payments.

Commissioners praised the junior-treasurer program as a training and recruitment tool. Commissioner Jones and Vice Chair Juarez encouraged continuation of the program; Taylor said she believes she is the first elected county official in New Mexico to run this kind of junior treasurer program and expressed a desire to continue it.

The treasurer’s office said it will resume recruitment for a previously vacant tax researcher position after the busy tax season. Staff also said they are “constantly looking for new and creative ways to collect on delinquent accounts” before accounts are transferred to state collections, and that the county seeks to minimize losses when properties move to state-managed sales.

The commission plans a formal recognition of the junior treasurers at a future meeting and indicated the presentation would be considered for placement on a coming commission agenda so students can invite friends and family.