Many families are still waiting for the rebate checks that every eligible New Mexican were promised in April to help offset the rising costs of everyday living. Nearly 800,000 people have received the rebate through checks or direct deposit. Others haven’t been as fortunate.
“My husband’s a firefighter for Bernalillo County and he’s been busting his butt and I do work with foster kids here,” Sarah Owensby, who lives in Los Lunas, told KOB 4. “And we could really use the money right now.”
She has had trouble contacting the Taxation and Revenue Department to find out information on when her check might arrive. She hasn’t gotten any answers. “Each time you call, the automated message pushes it back another week and there just isn’t a reference to like ‘Hey this is the next step to contact to speak to a human,’” Owensby said.
The Taxation and Revenue Department told KOB 4 it has until the end of June to get payments out to taxpayers. An estimated 14,000 checks are printed and distributed each day in the same order as people filed their taxes. “I know it’s hard to wait when you know your friends or your family member got theirs and you’re still waiting, but please do be patient,” Secretary Stephanie Schardin Clarke told KOB.
Schardin Clarke admitted the call center is problematic. “Frankly, the call center time is not where we want it to be right now because we’re receiving so many questions from people calling about their rebate and all we can really do is say the same thing,” she said.
The second round of payments is supposed to go out in August. According to KOB 4, the department plans to outsource printing those checks to the state’s bank, allowing them to print up to 50,000 a day.