Governor Richardson has enjoyed a healthy budget surplus, year in and year out. So, you would think that government agencies would be performing better than ever. Well, nothing could be further from the truth. First, we had snowfall that shut down the state and crippled our highways – in some counties for a second time in just two years.
Now the Journal publishes this (subscription):
The state’s Web site for filing new unemployment insurance claims doesn’t work, and the only phone number for registering is inundated.
Applying in person? Well, no. There’s no way to do that with the New Mexico Department of Labor.
How tough has it been to try to file by phone or computer?
After receiving a letter from a frustrated Sandia Park resident, the Journal did some spot checks.
A reporter’s efforts to call up the unemployment claim link on the Labor Department Web site consistently failed during a 10-day period.
A new message appeared on the site last week stating, “Currently the file claim option is not available on-line. At this time please call 841-4000 to file a claim.”
By that time, the Journal had already phoned the number dozens of times.
Last Thursday, a Journal reporter finally got more than just a busy signal.
The computer operator answered: There were 106 other calls ahead, with an estimated wait time of 92 minutes. On Friday, 70 callers were on hold, with a wait time of 23 minutes.
But hey, at least we got a train to nowhere and a spaceport.