Portales City Manager Sammy Standefer
Q. How long have you been City Manager?
A. It has been two years now.
A. It has been two years now.
Q. What did you do before?
A. I have been with the City of Portales for 25 years! I started out in the Parks department then to Cemetery. I then got a contractors license for the City and at that time we actually did some of our own construction projects and repair ourselves so I headed up that department, then onto building inspector and finally to planning and zoning director.
A. I have been with the City of Portales for 25 years! I started out in the Parks department then to Cemetery. I then got a contractors license for the City and at that time we actually did some of our own construction projects and repair ourselves so I headed up that department, then onto building inspector and finally to planning and zoning director.
Q. How long have you lived in Portales?
A. I moved here when I was 14 so 35 years as a resident of Portales.
Q. When you took over as City Mgr. what surprised you the most?
A. Honestly, what surprised me the most was the support and acceptance that I received from day one. The staff, the councilors, the community, I felt like they were all behind me. It was very nice to take over into very supportive and accepting atmospheres.
A. Honestly, what surprised me the most was the support and acceptance that I received from day one. The staff, the councilors, the community, I felt like they were all behind me. It was very nice to take over into very supportive and accepting atmospheres.
Q. What is your favorite part of the job?
A. The diversity. I am involved in so many different types of projects and activities every day. It is never boring.
A. The diversity. I am involved in so many different types of projects and activities every day. It is never boring.
Q. What is your least favorite?
A. The repeat problems. The things that come up time and time again with no resolve to the problem. There are some that there is no money for or no way to solve.
A. The repeat problems. The things that come up time and time again with no resolve to the problem. There are some that there is no money for or no way to solve.
Q. How many people work for the city?
A. It varies by season but 150 on the high end. There are 135 full time permanent positions.
Q. How many different depts.?
A. There are 18 functional departments.
Q. What do you see as the core services that the City has to offer?
A. That is hard to answer, but there of course are the Police, Fire, Paramedics, Garbage, Sewer and Water. But then there are so many others that are needed to support those.
A. That is hard to answer, but there of course are the Police, Fire, Paramedics, Garbage, Sewer and Water. But then there are so many others that are needed to support those.
Q. Which Dept. has the most people – costs the most – and why?
A. It is the Fire Department. But, that is due to the very nature of a Fire Department with Para-medics. It is a 24 hour work cycle.
A. It is the Fire Department. But, that is due to the very nature of a Fire Department with Para-medics. It is a 24 hour work cycle.
Q. What are the fluff programs? Are they needed and why?
A. I really would not consider anything we have now as fluff. All of them add to the quality of life here in Portales. For instance the Rec. Center serves 90 kids a day that is a much needed program in our town. As a matter of fact, I would like to have more quality of life programs for our town. That is what will make people want to stay here and live here.
A. I really would not consider anything we have now as fluff. All of them add to the quality of life here in Portales. For instance the Rec. Center serves 90 kids a day that is a much needed program in our town. As a matter of fact, I would like to have more quality of life programs for our town. That is what will make people want to stay here and live here.
Q. Where does the City get their $ to operate?
A. There are two funds. One is the gross receipt tax which is an 8.1% gross receipt tax when you make a purchase in Portales, the city receives 2.35% of that. And the other is things we charge for like water, sewer, sanitation, wastewater, etc. which supplements our general fund.
A. There are two funds. One is the gross receipt tax which is an 8.1% gross receipt tax when you make a purchase in Portales, the city receives 2.35% of that. And the other is things we charge for like water, sewer, sanitation, wastewater, etc. which supplements our general fund.
Q. Where have you seen cutbacks in funding?
A. There was a time when gross receipts were growing and that is no longer the case. As a matter of fact it is flat right now. Which makes the case for shopping local, a percentage of the dollars you spend stay here to support the quality of life in your community.
A. There was a time when gross receipts were growing and that is no longer the case. As a matter of fact it is flat right now. Which makes the case for shopping local, a percentage of the dollars you spend stay here to support the quality of life in your community.
Q. What shared services do you coordinate with the County on?
A. There are several; Emergency Management, Dispatch Center, Fire and EMS services and on some roads. I feel like we have a very good working relationship with County Manager and the Commissioners and would share resources wherever we could.
A. There are several; Emergency Management, Dispatch Center, Fire and EMS services and on some roads. I feel like we have a very good working relationship with County Manager and the Commissioners and would share resources wherever we could.
Q. Do you have a 5 year plan?
A. We have a 20 comprehensive plan. Which is up-dated every 5 years. We are required to have a 20 year plan in order to receive any state or federal grant $. The plan covers growth and expectations.
A. We have a 20 comprehensive plan. Which is up-dated every 5 years. We are required to have a 20 year plan in order to receive any state or federal grant $. The plan covers growth and expectations.
Q. What do you see as the biggest challenge for our City? And what is the council doing to meet this challenge?
A. There are a few challenges, there is always a lot more need than there is money. But, the biggest challenge we face and what takes up a lot of my time is trying to secure a water source for our future. You can be more informed by checking out our website, portalesnmgov.org, where there are links to our water plans, conservation plans, etc.
A. There are a few challenges, there is always a lot more need than there is money. But, the biggest challenge we face and what takes up a lot of my time is trying to secure a water source for our future. You can be more informed by checking out our website, portalesnmgov.org, where there are links to our water plans, conservation plans, etc.
Q. Which brings me to the next question – When we are trying to save water…,why do we see gallons of water running down the city streets at times?
A. As far as water running down the streets, it’s usually a couple of things. One thing we do get a lot of calls about is when we test our fire hydrants, they put a lot of water out there sometimes and we have to test every single hydrant every year and sometimes this is the culprit. sometimes it’s a drainage issue. And yes the rest of the time it is often that a pipe has ruptured, this is usually due to aged piping some of this stuff was installed in the 40s. sometimes when it’s a smaller leak, such as similar to a garden hose, sometimes we do have to let it leak until we can get to it, or get parts for it. We have done a better job at keeping up this year so far but we still have several that need attention. We fix a leak everyday, and usually have a new one pop up everyday. The answer is to replace the agreed pipe, which we are doing, we just don’t have the capability to replace it all at once. We have around 180 miles of pipe in the ground!
A. As far as water running down the streets, it’s usually a couple of things. One thing we do get a lot of calls about is when we test our fire hydrants, they put a lot of water out there sometimes and we have to test every single hydrant every year and sometimes this is the culprit. sometimes it’s a drainage issue. And yes the rest of the time it is often that a pipe has ruptured, this is usually due to aged piping some of this stuff was installed in the 40s. sometimes when it’s a smaller leak, such as similar to a garden hose, sometimes we do have to let it leak until we can get to it, or get parts for it. We have done a better job at keeping up this year so far but we still have several that need attention. We fix a leak everyday, and usually have a new one pop up everyday. The answer is to replace the agreed pipe, which we are doing, we just don’t have the capability to replace it all at once. We have around 180 miles of pipe in the ground!
Q. Why does it seem like communities around us are growing and we are standing still?
A. Well, first of all I feel like Orlando Ortega is making some progress in this area as our community Economic Development Director. The number of cold calls he makes a week is amazing and with each one, he is making a contact and planting a seed for the future. The work he is doing is putting us on the radar on a national scale. And second, the biggest challenge we face is our demographics. In order to even get a national big store or chain restaurant to look at us, we have to have a larger population base. And then finally for private business to invest the cost of building or re-model to comply with all the new regulations has gotten so expense that it is hard to re-cover your investment and get to a point where you see a profit.
A. Well, first of all I feel like Orlando Ortega is making some progress in this area as our community Economic Development Director. The number of cold calls he makes a week is amazing and with each one, he is making a contact and planting a seed for the future. The work he is doing is putting us on the radar on a national scale. And second, the biggest challenge we face is our demographics. In order to even get a national big store or chain restaurant to look at us, we have to have a larger population base. And then finally for private business to invest the cost of building or re-model to comply with all the new regulations has gotten so expense that it is hard to re-cover your investment and get to a point where you see a profit.
Q. What is your pet peeve?
A. It would have to be what I said I liked least about my job, no resolve to some problems.
A. It would have to be what I said I liked least about my job, no resolve to some problems.
Q. What is your favorite thing about Portales?
A. I love the people. Portales is a very warm and accepting place to live. It seems to me that it does not matter who you are there is a group or a place for you here. The school systems are excellent and again very inclusive of everyone. It all boils down to good people and we have a lot of them here.
A. I love the people. Portales is a very warm and accepting place to live. It seems to me that it does not matter who you are there is a group or a place for you here. The school systems are excellent and again very inclusive of everyone. It all boils down to good people and we have a lot of them here.
Q. What is your least favorite thing?
A. I wish we had more of the quality of life things; bowling alley, movie theatre, skating rink, more restaurant choices, things like that.
A. I wish we had more of the quality of life things; bowling alley, movie theatre, skating rink, more restaurant choices, things like that.
Q. If you have to finish the sentence – If we only had?????? What would that be?
A. That is a tough one. My first response wants to be money because if we had more money, we could solve a lot of problems. However, I think my answer would have to be knowledge…more knowledge!
A. That is a tough one. My first response wants to be money because if we had more money, we could solve a lot of problems. However, I think my answer would have to be knowledge…more knowledge!
Q. Finally, the question that everyone wants to know is – What about those dang potholes?
A. Portales was never in the road building business. Almost all of our roads were built by developers, when houses were built and neighborhoods and business went up, they did the streets for that division. And then the City took over fixing and maintaining the streets. Most of our streets have been here for 50 plus years. There is just not enough revenue stream to “build” new roads; the tax that is collected today for streets is the same % as it was in the 1960’s. This is a state wide problem and is being looked at on a State level as well. We are in the process of working on an asset management plan and streets are a very big part of that review. We are looking for solutions.
A. Portales was never in the road building business. Almost all of our roads were built by developers, when houses were built and neighborhoods and business went up, they did the streets for that division. And then the City took over fixing and maintaining the streets. Most of our streets have been here for 50 plus years. There is just not enough revenue stream to “build” new roads; the tax that is collected today for streets is the same % as it was in the 1960’s. This is a state wide problem and is being looked at on a State level as well. We are in the process of working on an asset management plan and streets are a very big part of that review. We are looking for solutions.
City Council:
Mayor: Sharon King
Councilor: Veronica Cordova representing Ward A.
Councilor: Antonio Salguero representing Ward A
Councilor: Oscar Robinson representing Ward B
Councilor: Jessica Smith representing Ward B
Councilor: Michael Miller representing Ward C
Councilor: Chadrick Heflin representing Ward C
Councilor: Jim Lucero representing Ward D
Councilor: Dianne Parker representing Ward D
Mayor: Sharon King
Councilor: Veronica Cordova representing Ward A.
Councilor: Antonio Salguero representing Ward A
Councilor: Oscar Robinson representing Ward B
Councilor: Jessica Smith representing Ward B
Councilor: Michael Miller representing Ward C
Councilor: Chadrick Heflin representing Ward C
Councilor: Jim Lucero representing Ward D
Councilor: Dianne Parker representing Ward D
