Hayoz resigns from position for assistant manager job

C. Renee Hayoz, District 4 commissioner of Tucumcari, resigned after she applied for — and won — the assistant city manager position.

Hayoz, who had been commissioner since November, submitted her letter of resignation on July 25 after the commission’s previous regular meeting.

The commission late last year appointed Hayoz to fill the rest of Christopher Arias’ term through 2025. Arias was elected to a four-year term in 2021, but he resigned for personal reasons in September 2023.

In a phone interview, Hayoz said she stepped down as commissioner because she intended to apply for the assistant city manager position.

“I didn’t want there to be any conflicts or perceptions that I was having firsthand knowledge as to what was going on,” she said. “I wanted to have that separation from commissioner to potential employee.”

Hayoz, who sat in in the commission chambers during its most recent meeting on Thursday, said she was interviewed for the position on Aug. 2 and offered the job last Tuesday.

She said she will be paid $71,000 a year as assistant city manager.

The commission decided to hire an assistant city manager after city manager Paula Chacon announced she would retire at the end of the 2024. The commission may promote Hayoz to city manager after Chacon steps down.

Hayoz will become assistant city manager on Sept. 17. She said she gave a four-week notice to leave her current position as administrator of the Quay County Family Health Center since 2017.

“I’m excited,” Hayoz said. “I’m ready to get my feet wet and my hands dirty.”

Chacon said during Thursday’s meeting of hiring Hayoz: “I look forward to working with her in that capacity.”

Hayoz previously was clerk for the village of Roy and Mosquero in neighboring Harding County.

She also was a human resources recruiter and licensing technician at the Pueblo of Sandia for 3 1/2 years, an administrative officer for Bernalillo County’s Department of Substance Abuse Programs for 3 1/2 years and a human resources administrative assistant for New Mexico State Police for a year.

Commissioners instructed staff to advertise the opening for District 4 commissioner. Applicants must submit a letter of interest to the city clerk. The window for accepting those letters will close at noon on Sept. 6.

Commissioners set a tentative date of Sept. 12 for interviews, with the hope to appointing a new representative to that seat by its Sept. 24 meeting.

One person already has expressed interest in filling the District 4 position — Hayoz’s predecessor, Arias.

“I now find myself in a position where I am fully ready and eager to once again serve my community,” Arias wrote in a letter posted on Facebook. “My dedication to the City of Tucumcari and the residents of District 4 has never wavered, and I am enthusiastic about the opportunity to contribute to the continued growth and prosperity of our city.”

Tucumcari District 4 sits in the southeast side of the city, with boundaries generally along South Third Street and Tucumcari Boulevard.

Hayoz said during her nine months on the commission, addressing problems with streets and finances came to the forefront.

“We do understand the issues with the streets; that’s an ongoing thing,” she said. “Myself, I had a blowout on my car and then one on my truck because the roads were bad. It’s not that we don’t want the streets fixed; it’s that it’s so expensive.”

Ongoing uncertainty about city finances is handicapping the commission, she said.

“The finance reports haven’t been done for well over a year. Why? I don’t know,” Hayoz said. “They hired a new finance director in January, and nothing was done until (the new commission) started. The commission started pushing the issue, and finally in March, things started to get going. So there’s a lot of concerns there. Our hands are tied. We don’t know what our budget is.”