Mystery money funded State Fair center

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - The origin of a massive taxpayer-funded appropriation for an Albuquerque theater is as mysterious as the way the money was spent.

A News 13 investigation found that more than a $1 million in state money was spent with no oversight, no rules and few receipts to show where the cash went.

“There’s no accountability,” said Keith Gardner, Gov. Susana Martinez’s chief of staff. “It was simply here’s the money – now go run a program.”

Four years ago, New Mexico legislators spent millions building the 27,000-square-foot African American Performing Arts Center on the state fairgrounds in Albuquerque. The complex, which includes plush office space, a conference room, an exhibit hall and a theater, was created to promote New Mexico’s African American culture and history.

Then, three years ago, the Legislature began providing hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to operate the center. While the money initially went to the State Fair during the Richardson administration, the funds were then mysteriously transferred to private foundations that lease space in the complex.

And while it’s unclear exactly how that money was spent, another mystery lurks behind the cash.

Most legislative appropriations are analyzed through public debate. However, the performing arts center’s appropriation was different.

An unknown legislator appears to have slipped a couple of sentences into New Mexico’s $2 billion budget bill in 2008 that authorized the center to receive $349,000 a year through the State Fair.

“A special appropriation that was put on the backside of legislation slid into a large piece in order to benefit a particular group,” Gardner said. “And that’s not how we legislate. That’s not how we appropriate dollars in New Mexico.”

News 13 was unable to determine the identity of the mystery lawmaker as the culprit left few clues and no fingerprints.

Unlike most state entities, the State Fair doesn’t receive operating money from the Legislature. Instead, the fair must rely on revenue from such things as parking, concerts and food court rentals for funding.

Dan Mourning, the new manager at the State Fair, said the legislative money was earmarked only for the performing arts center and did not benefit the State Fair at all.

“It was supposedly part of the State Fair operation,” Mourning said. “It is a building on the state fairgrounds, yes. It was not a building that was part of the State Fair per se.”

New Mexico Attorney General Gary King has issued a nonbinding opinion saying the appropriation for the performing arts center was legal. The governor’s office disagrees.

So when this year’s massive legislative appropriations bill landed on Martinez’s desk in March, she line-item vetoed the entire $349,000 earmark.

“The governor looked at (the bill) line by line, and when she came to this line, a red flag went up,” Gardner said.

Members of the African American community expressed their outrage at a protest rally. However, Gardner said that handing over taxpayer money with no rules on how it can be spent was simply unacceptable.

“The moment those dollars were given to that group, there was no control from the state,” Gardner said. “There was no accountability to the state, and so it was felt very strongly that had to stop.

"Expenditure of dollars without accountability, no matter where they are expended, is not good government.”

Rep. Conrad James, R-Albuquerque, serves on the House Appropriations Committee and said he believes that while the center is a valuable state asset, the Legislature didn’t fund it the right way.

“I believe that we as legislators need to be more cognizant of our responsibility to the public to make sure their tax dollars are being used for the public good and not for a private entity,” James said. “And it doesn’t matter what that private entity is, a foundation, a company or anything else.”

Now, the mysterious appropriation has led to changes. State Fair officials will oversee the management of the performing arts center from now on.

“Business as usual the old way is over,” said Mourning. “It’s a new administration. There’s a new sheriff in town, if you will. We are going to try and do things the right way. We’re going to do things that make sense for the taxpayer.”