Watch the money

It is not surprising the Richards Avenue extension project has come to a screeching halt when seen against the backdrop of the abysmal record the city has in managing its finances and fiscal responsibility (“State rejects city’s $2.1M offer for land purchase,” Jan. 28). Then-State Auditor Brian Colón said in an interview with KRQE in October of last year, “We still have risk; we still have uncertainty as to what has taken place with the finances over the course of the last couple of years and whether or not the public should be concerned . ... They have a right to know if the office of the state auditor is still concerned, and the answer to that is a resounding, yes.”

Rather than sticking to the original agreement of $3 million for the purchase of the land for the

Richards Avenue extension, the city did another appraisal that put the land value at less than half that. The end result is no agreement between the city and the State Game Commission, and this important project to improve traffic flow is delayed until who knows when. How is it that the mayor, City Council and those responsible for managing city finances and subsequent funding for infrastructure improvements can’t get it together? How is the city managing our money? We as taxpayers should be concerned.

Tim Touchstone Santa Fe