Small Town News

County okays tentative JPA proposal

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Agreement would rejoin Village and County law enforcement under Sheriff

The De Baca County Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to re-enter into a joint powers agreement for law enforcement with the Village of Fort Sumner.

Based on a draft agreement presented by Fort Sumner Mayor Juan Chavez, the Commissioners voted in principal to support a return to the combined form of law enforcemenl that was prevelent in De Baca County for 27 years before it was terminated June 30, 2003.

Chavez said the draft agreement must be presented to the Village Council before further progress can be made.

"It's just a proposal right now," Chavez said. "If the County okays it, then I'll take it to the Council."

If the Village Council concurs, the agreement will be sent to the Department of Finance and Administration for a final draft and the County and Village will meet to work out the minor details of the agreement.

The agreement will also require the approval of Sheriff Dennis Cleaver, who would oversee the combined law enforcement agency. As an elected official, Cleaver retains significant independence in running the Sheriff's Department, while relying on the decisons of the County Commission

; for funding.

The Village and

: the County combined resources for law enforcement in 1976 and the agreement remained in place through June, 2003. The Village Council terminated the agreement after the County Commission voted to override a decision by the Joint Powers Committee to use law enforcement protection funds for the purchase a car for use as a patrol unit under the administration of former Sheriff Gary Graves.

Graves had insisted on the purchase of a 3/4 ton, four-wheel drive pickup.

The Joint Powers Committee, which included three representatives from the Village and all three Commissioners, had voted 4-2 not to approve the purchase of the pickup, but to support the purchase of a car.

But when the County Commissioners soon after voted 2-1 to approve the pickup purchase, the Village Council voted to terminate the JPA and created a police department. The decision was also motivated by other incidents involving Graves and city personnel.

Graves was eventually recalled and removed from office by De Baca County voters in November, 2005, after almost three tumultous, contentious years.

Three persons have served as sheriff since Graves was recalled. Cleaver was elected in November, 2008 to fill out the unexpired term of Mike Chavez, who resigned less than a year into his first elected term to take a job in Cibola County. Chavez was eventually convicted of misuse of state funds and is now serving probation under a plea agreement which dismissed more than 20 other charges against him.

The Village had approached the County last March about reestablishing the JPA, but a proposed budget provided by Cleaver was heartily criticized as too expensive by Village Councillors. Cleaver also said he opposed a return to the agreement at that time.

An effort by Cleaver and Fort Sumner Police Chief Wayne Atchley for cross-commissioning of officers was also rejected by Village officials due to liability concerns.

The County's budget for the current (2009-10) fiscal year includes $238,000 for operation of the Sheriff's Department. The Village budget for the current fiscal year includes $171,000 for law enforcement.

Under terms of the draft agreement presented by Chavez Tuesday, the Village would

Pay the County a yearly sum of $90,000 for law enforcement. The amount basically represents the cost of two full-time deputies, which Cleaver estimated at $91,070.

Provide three patrol units now in use by the FSPD, and furnish insurance for those vehicles. They include a 2008 Dodge Charger, and two 2009 Dodge Chargers.

Provide the annual appropriation from the Law Enforcement Protection Fund for use by the Sheriff's Department. Those funds total $21,800 for the current fiscal year.

Provide about $3,000 in law enforcement liability insurance for two deputies.

Provide to the County, on a quarterly basis, 50 percent of the fines generated through the Village's Municipal Court system. This would require the County to adopt the Village's traffic ordinances and to write citations into Municipal Court. Those fines totaled $22,000 in fiscal year 2008-09, when the Police Department was not fully staffed, Chavez said. In fiscal year 2007-08, the Village generated $51,000 in traffic fines.

Under the previous JPA, two of four Sheriff's deputies were actually employed by the Village. Under the draft presented Tuesday, the Village would pay the county a set fee each year and not employ any officers.

And, Chavez said, there would be no Joint Powers Committee. The Sheriff would present budget proposals to the Village Council and County Commission each year for fundings considerations.

Saying several issues need to be worked out before an agreement is put into place, Cleaver said he felt "things could be hammered out" to make the agreement "viable for everyone."

Asked by Commissioner Tommy Roybal if the Sheriff's Department, which currently employs three deputies in addition to Cleaver, could provide 24-hour law enforcement coverage in De Baca County with the addition of two additional deputies.

"There would still be holes in (the coverage), but not as big as there are now," Cleaver said, adding that he would actually need six deputies to provide 24-hour coverage, due to vacation days, sick days, etc.

Cleaver also expressed concerns that the agreement did not provide operating costs, such as fuel.

"It needs some changes, but for now, it looks pretty good," said Commission Chairman Joe Steele.

"I think the people of the Village and the County will be better served," Chavez said.

Chavez said the Village is currently down to one full-time officer - Police Chief Wayne Atchley - and one part-time officer. He said he felt the effort should be made to put the joint powers agreement back together before the Village began attempting to recruit new officers.

In other business Tuesday, the Commissioners:

Heard County Manager John Nuttall report that De Baca County has been advised not to enter into an agreement with the Village for a railroad quiet zone at the 17th Street crossing due to liability concerns.

Nuttall said Association of Counties risk manager Steve Kopelman had "encouraged us not to bite off on this; that the cost would be prohibitive," Nuttall said.

Commissioner Steele said he remains willing to dedicate a portion or all of 17th Street north of the railroad crossing to the Village so that only one entity would be exposed to potential liability if an accident occurs in the crossing. Steele said he also supports utilizing County road crews to help build the roadway infrastructure required for the quiet zone.

Mayor Chavez, who had appeared at the previous meeting of the Commission to move the project forward, asked if an appraisal had been conducted for a possible transfer of the road ownership. Told no progress had been made on the appraisal, Chavez said the Village would look at the transfer of the roadway when the appraisal is completed.

Heard Jail Supervisor Lynita Finney report that two toilets in the jail are not working and are of an age that parts are no longer available.

Two other toilets in the area have been replaced and she said she will probably have to seek bids to replace these two.

Funds for the replacements are available from the remainder of a $20,000 legislative appropriation for Courthouse repairs which had been planned for use in replacement of flooring in the hallway on the main floor of the building.

"There goes our tile," said County Clerk Laurie Pettigrew, who had earlier reported about $11,496 remained in the appropriation.

Unanimously approved a joint powers agreement with the State Forestry office for reimbursement of costs for fighting wildfires in De Baca County.



Copyright 2009 De Baca County News, Fort Sumner, New Mexico. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from SmallTownPapers, Inc.

© 2010 De Baca County News Fort Sumner, New Mexico. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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