Saturday, August 23, 2008

Decision in writ case is pending

Nat Holland El Defensor Chieftain Reporter, nholland@dchieftain.com

Judge Edmund "Ted" Kase III took final comments in the hearing for Socorro County Treasurer Genevie Baca's writ of mandamus against the Socorro County Commission on Friday.

A final decision is expected next week. Kase requested that the two parties submit their findings and conclusions to before 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 27.

Ben Pratt, a representative of DataNow, testified Friday morning (Aug. 22) about what solutions his company would be able to provide for the Treasurer, the cost and the time frame involved.

His testimony was followed by further brief questioning of Baca and Information Technology contractor Joe Franklin.

According to Pratt, DataNow should be able to upgrade the systems in 20 days or less, at the cost of $40,000. There would be an additional cost if DataNow were to build a bridge program to import files generated by Applogix software used in the County Assessor's Office.

In closing arguments for the plaintiff, attorney Stephen Kortemeier said that Applogix failed in its attempt to create a software package for the Treasurer and that upgrading the DataNow software is the only solution that will let Baca do her job in the short timeline left before tax bills are supposed to be printed. Kortemeier accused the commission of using the argument of not being able to give employees bonuses as a political ploy to look good in front of the electorate.

In closing arguments for the defense, county attorney Adren Nance once again argued that in a writ of mandamus, only the writ and a written response to the writ should be considered. Testimony and hearings should not be allowed.

Nance stated that the presented writ does not address ministerial duties or specific statutes, but rather discretionary duties, which is outside the scope of what writs are meant to address. Nance also argued that if the court decides in favor of Baca, it could put the county in an untenable situation and also set a bad precedent for future actions.

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