County assessor resigning later this year

Quay County Assessor Janie Hoffman is stepping down later this year after a total of 14 years in the position.

Hoffman announced during a closed executive session with Quay County commissioners on Monday that she was resigning effective June 30.

“My husband and I are in the process of purchasing Western Plains Title,” Hoffman explained in a phone interview Monday.

She anticipated the transaction would close by the time she resigns.

“My interpretation (owning a title company) is a conflict of interest,” she added. “That’s why I’m resigning my position.”

Hoffman has been in the assessor’s office since 1991. As assessor, she filled the remaining two years of retiring Betty Bone’s term, then was elected to two terms. She sat out for four years due to term limits, then ran again.

Quay County Clerk Ellen White said the county will advertise for Hoffman’s position with the hope to appoint a replacement by late March.

Hoffman’s replacement will fill more than 3 1/2 years left on her term. She was re-elected in November after facing no opposition.

“I loved my job and I loved serving the taxpayers of Quay County,” she said. “If had known this (business) opportunity was available, I wouldn’t have run for office. I wasn’t aware of it until after the fact.”

In other county business:

— Quay County manager Daniel Zamora said Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is considering putting construction of a new Dr. Daniel C. Trigg Memorial Hospital on her capital outlay list.

The county is requesting between $25 million and $30 million for the Tucumcari hospital from the New Mexico Legislature during its 60-day session.

The county already has spent nearly $1 million for a design contract to replace Trigg Memorial Hospital, which was built nearly 60 years ago and no longer meets code.

Zamora said he is encouraging residents to contact the governor’s office and urge putting the project on her funding list.

“I think that’s the best path forward right now,” he said.

— Trigg Memorial Hospital experienced more than 30,000 patient encounters in 2022, according to an annual report presented by administrator Vickie Gutierrez. That included almost 5,000 in the emergency room.

Gutierrez said 10.5% of emergency patients were transferred to other hospitals because they needed specialized care.

Trigg provided about $1.28 million in charity care last year.

Gutierrez said the hospital is using several traveling healthcare workers to staff the facility. That includes two in radiology, one in nursing and three in the laboratory. She said the hospital is recruiting to fill those positions because traveling staff are expensive.

The hospital installed a new three-dimensional mammography machine in late November.

Trigg is pausing ultrasound service until mid- to late March until a new machine is delivered. Gutierrez said the current ultrasound is over 10 years old.

— Commissioners, in a routine matter, approved a third-quarter mill levy and gross-tax receipts of $250,000 to the hospital.

— New sheriff Dennis Garcia presented the department’s 2022 report. He said deputies investigated 2,140 incidents during the year. He said a total of 114 transports of prisoners last year totaled almost 23,000 miles. He said out-of-state transports rack up many miles and require two deputies to maintain proper security during bathroom breaks and other stops.

— Commissioners approved a new, two-year professional services contract with Dr. Ronald Carver as medical director of the county’s emergency medical services. County Fire Marshal Lucas Bugg said Carver’s contract had expired Dec. 31.

— Commissioners approved Agnes Marano’s appointment to the library board, as recommended Tucumcari Public Library director Linda Gonzales.

— Commissioners approved an updated resolution designating the three commissioners, county treasurer Patsy Gresham and the deputy treasurer as signatories on bank accounts.

— In public comments, Ina Little said her section of Quay Road 60 needed attention. She said road superintendent Larry Moore made some improvements on the roadway, then it was “trashed by mudders.”

“I can’t get out if I had an emergency,” she said. “I’m getting pretty desperate.”