Judge sues after city eliminates vacant position

Española Municipal Judge Stephen Salazar is asking a state court to stop the mayor and City Council from eliminating a court clerk position.

In his complaint filed this week in the First Judicial District Court, which seeks a temporary restraining order, Salazar says Mayor Javier Sánchez, City Manager Xavier Martinez, the Española City Council and administrative staff eliminated the Municipal Court position during a budget hearing July 21. Salazar had been using money from the position to provide his employees with additional compensation for extra duties imposed on them due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the complaint says.

“Removal of the resources and/or clerk position from the budget of the municipal court interferes with the court’s ability to safely operate and implement safety protocols during the health crisis,” the complaint says.

Salazar did not return a message Wednesday seeking comment on the case.

Sánchez said in an interview the position had been vacant since earlier this year.

In an effort to balance a city budget that is expected to take a hit due to the economic effects of the pandemic, he said, the city’s finance department recommended a freeze on all vacant positions, and departments were asked to decrease their budgets by 5 percent to 10 percent.

The city has a budget shortfall of $1.5 million, according to court documents city officials filed in response to the complaint.

Sánchez said the court’s budget is about $600,000 a year. According to a letter from Salazar to Martinez dated July 20, the clerk position became open March 1 following a resignation.

Sánchez said, “To have one position that has been frozen already for [months] and then be told it is vital and crucial — all of our jobs are crucial and all of our jobs are vital.

“But we all have to recognize there are changes that have to be made in order to balance the budget,” he added.