Poopy vandal fouls city payment box

LAS CRUCES (KRQE) - The defecator escaped, but the mess he plopped behind may spell the end for a city's drop-off utility payments.

The box, located about 100 yards from City Hall in Las Cruces, is now wrapped in black plastic secured with yellow caution tape, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported.

Because of the potential biohazard, payments made--typically 50 to 100 a day--won't be processed and will be considered as voided.

"City staff can't open it," City Treasurer Robert Scaling told the Sun-News.  Utility customers will have to make second payments, he added.

The vandalism occurred during the Thanksgiving holiday and was discovered Monday.

"I saw it was all covered up, and it smells pretty bad," said Apolonia Holguin, who stops by the last week of each month to make her utility payments.  "I guess if I have to go inside City Hall to pay my bill I will."

With no security camera trained on the drop box, investigators couldn't determine whether the vandal actually defecated in the box or found some other way to make the disturbing deposit.

For now the box is out of service until it is cleaned and sanitized.  Then city officials must decide whether to restore the convenience to its location, end the service or move the box closer to city hall under the scrutiny of security cameras.