By Miguel Navrot
Journal Staff Writer
Santa Fe's faltering water utility, slated for full City Hall takeover in July, took another hit Thursday with the resignation of its director, Bill Landin.
It was the second departure from Sangre de Cristo Water Co. this week. Landin's supervisor, Utilities Director Dennis Gee, put in his resignation Monday.
Landin, a five-year veteran of Santa Fe's city government who previously worked in the sewage division, called his departure "a difficult decision" he had agonized over for some time.
"It's been a difficult year," said Landin, who witnessed the ongoing billing, meter reading and water shortage problems chipping away at public confidence in the utility. "I didn't expect it to be easy. I knew we were going to face a lot of tough issues."
The billing fiasco, which has affected as much as a tenth of the utility's 26,000 residential customers, was a prelude to news in October that the system could have a two-year deficit exceeding $7 million.
Nonetheless, Landin maintained Thursday that Santa Fe's decision five years ago to buy the water utility from Public Service Company of New Mexico "was a good one, in the long run."
The water utility has been jointly run by the city and PNM since the city purchase, but the city will assume full control later this year.
Landin and Gee will stay on with the city until Feb. 16. Their departures come on the cusp of inter-government negotiations dealing with how Santa Fe is going to draw thousands of acre feet of water from the Rio Grande in the coming years.
Mayor Larry Delgado, who has solicited help from State Engineer Tom Turney to remedy Santa Fe's water crisis, had pointed to Landin to fix the billing problems. "I'm going eyeball-to-eyeball with you," Delgado told Landin publicly in July.
Landin promised a fix by September, but customers continue to receive incorrect water bills or no bill at all.
City Manager Frank DiLuzio, whose announcement of Gee's resignation coincided Monday with a slew of other organizational changes, acknowledged the challenge now placed before the administration. Not only must two qualified replacements be found, but the utility's finances still show a multimillion dollar shortfall while the billing problems linger.
"It's a big challenge," DiLuzio said, "but it's also a big opportunity."
As full takeover of Sangre de Cristo looms, DiLuzio noted Thursday the work that's already been done by the city. Existing computer systems have been looked over, and plans are under way to bring in current PNM employees working in the utility to become city employees.
"We're a long ways from being done, but we've done a lot already," DiLuzio said. "I'm still confident we will be as successful as we hoped we would have been."
Lawmakers greeted the news with admiration for Landin but concern with the city's position in water management.
Councilor Jimmie Martinez, noting Landin's engineering background, said the water directorship involves a lot. "He had more responsibilities than just engineering," Martinez said.
Patti Bushee, a seven-year councilor and chairwoman of the Pubic Works Committee, noted Landin and Gee both inherited problems with the city's purchase of Sangre de Cristo.
"I sure hope that the council and the central management ... will show some real support for whoever comes in to fill those shoes," Bushee said.
The city's water system has seen several cases of job turnover during the Delgado administration. Gee's predecessor, Patricio Guerrerortiz was fired in May 1999, while utility attorney Sherry Tippett was let go in January 2000. Landin succeeded Mike Hamman, who also worked in overseeing the utilities department, in March 2000.
Landin was paid $72,196.80 annually; Gee's salary was $78,083.20.

Albequerque Journal

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