Legislative updates and domestic violence were the focus of the Feb. 20 Eddy County Commission meeting.
Matt Thompson of Cambiar Consulting, LLC, registered lobbyist for Eddy County, reported the New Mexico Legislature passed a $10-plus-billion budget, which is a 10-percent increase over last year.
“That’s the fourth year in a row that we’ve had astronomical budget increases thanks to the resources that are derived from Eddy County and Southeast New Mexico,” said Thompson. “You don’t hear it enough, but thank you from some of the beneficiaries of that large amount that Eddy County sent to the rest of the state.”
Thompson also reported a capital outlay package passed where every member got about $4 million to distribute. Eddy County also got 20 projects funded for a total of $79.225 million. A large chunk of that $80 million is the Highway 180 refurbishment and a portion of that will also go to Highway 128 work, said Thompson.
“There was a bill by representative Cathrynn Brown that had asked for $300 million for that specifically,” he said. “Those type of earmarked road projects almost never are successful. However, the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) and the Secretary were able to work with the Chairman of Senate Finance and put together a $750-million road package. Of that, Eddy County and parts of Lea County were the largest recipients.
“There was another $70 million for a series of road projects and that includes the intersection of highways 31 and 128. Mr. [Jason] Burns and Eddy County Manager [Roberta] Gonzales worked very hard to get that done and we are very proud that it was in the final budget. They were looking for projects that were ready to go and Eddy County was the top of the list.”
The state appropriated $25 million for detention center recruiting and another $5 million for reimbursement for county workers, he continue, with $25 million allocated for firefighters and EMT recruitment. For the first time ever, EMS was appropriated $11 million that will be distributed amongst the state.
“Courthouse funding received another $10 million for everybody but Bernalillo County, who got $15 million,” Thompson said. “We got $2.5 million statewide for radios and the Return to Work bill passed so we can recruit retired county employees to come back to work. There will be $1.7 million for Eddy County with the removal of New Mexico’s Taxation and Revenue Department (NMTRD) fees to administer the Gross Receipts Tax (GRT).
“They were keeping a 3-percent fee to administer the GRT collections that was going to the general fund. The NMTRD agreed with counties and municipalities that they could live without that fee. So, for Eddy County alone that is about $1.7 million annually.”
Last, there was also a lot of work done on rural health care. Two bills passed that will allow hospitals in Eddy County to receive funds back to help maintain rural health care deliverability and accessibility.
According to Gonzales the family medical leave act did not pass, along with House Bills 31, 31, 32, 40, 42 and 54.
“There was a total of 661 bills introduced in this session and only 72 made it to the governor’s desk,” she said.
Eddy County Sherriff Mark Cage announced New Mexico is the recipient of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area of the Year award given by the Office of the National Drug Control Policy in the White House. Cage said the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force helped bump up the numbers for New Mexico to receive the award. Cage also shared that high numbers of Chinese nationals are coming up across south and north borders right now.
Damian Capelo, owner of Red Rocket Media, gave an update on the “Brighter Future Today New Mexico” informational campaign implemented during New Mexico’s legislative session.
“The website and social media campaign started at the start of the session for about 30 days and targeted the Roundhouse,” he said.
The campaign included two billboards between Santa Fe and Albuquerque.
“We reached 37,829 individuals in the Roundhouse building who saw the ad 78,000 times,” he continued. “Based on cell phone usage 49,000 individuals went into the Roundhouse building during the session. The only two places that people were able to find out that the website even existed were the billboards and the social media ads. Forty-nine percent of visitors were on mobile device.
“But what’s interesting is 46 percent of the traffic came from desktops. The four cities that visited the site the most: Carlsbad, Phoenix, Santa Fe and Albuquerque.”
Cage was also excited to announce a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Affirming Heart Victim Services and the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office. The partnership will enhance services provided to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking in the community.
“This is a great partnership,” said Cage. “This will have a significant impact on victims.”
During his presentation on the new partnership, ECSO Chief Detective and renowned expert on domestic violence Eric Threlkeld said area residents may not recognize the name Affirming Heart Victim Services because they recently changed their name from Cavern City Child Advocacy Center.
“Affirming Heart Victim Services will offer a plethora of resources to our community,” said Threlkeld. “One thing particularly helpful to the Eddy County Sherriff’s Office and Carlsbad Police is the forensic interviewing of children. It’s so important to be able to talk to these kids in an environment where they feel safe and protected.”
Zelma Lopez, executive director of Affirming Heart Victim Services said, “This MOU means so much to us because it means that from this point on domestic violence victims can go to one place to get the best of two places. At our place we believe that if you can care for the body, the mind, and the spirit of someone, then when the justice system gets tough, they can hang in there and that’s what we need to provide justice to victims. This collaboration between law enforcement and the victim services is going to give victims and their loved one and their children the ability to go from victim of domestic violence to survival of domestic violence. That’s what we all want to see. Now the possibilities seem endless.”
Threlkeld continued, “We’re the only agency in the state that has something like this,” he said. “We are the only one that is co-housing a deputy sheriff and a victim assistance program. It’s a paradigm shift in thinking for our community.”
Threlkeld said Eddy County had 100 deep domestic violence calls in 2023.
“Our detective division follows up on all felony domestic violence calls, domestic violence investigations, and many misdemeanor DV cases that have a high risk of lethality,” he said. “We follow up on all strangulation cases and we have a very comprehensive domestic violence policy.”
To note Eddy County is ranked 12th in the state for domestic violence; Chaves County ranks sixth and Bernalillo County ranks third in the state.
Eddy County Emergency Manager Jennifer Armendariz reported that Eddy County has a team of 55 employees and family members participating in Riverblitz 2024 on Saturday, March 2. Riverblitz is an annual volunteer event and competition to pick up trash along the Pecos River from Brantley Lake to Higby Hole in Loving. The City of Carlsbad is working with Eddy County on the event this year that is being run out of the Carlsbad Foundation.
In other business, the commission approved reclassifying the Administrative and Records Secretary position to a Crime Scene Investigator position.
“We don’t have a true crime scene investigator; deputies and detectives have been doing it,” said Cage. “This position will be responsible for documentation, collection, and preservation of evidence as crucial steps in criminal investigation and often provide the basis for identification, prosecution, and conviction of perpetrators.”
The following Eddy County employees received awards during the meeting:
• Amy Dugas, Sheriff’s Department – 10 years.
• Bart Gardner, Facilities – 10 years.
• Bruce Lopez, Public Works – 5 years.
• Jonathan Edwards, Sheriff’s Department – 5 years.
The commission also approved the following:
RESOLUTIONS
• R-24-14; Revision of R-24-06 Eddy County travel policy to include changes made to the regulations governing the per diem and Mileage Act 2.42.2 of the New Mexico Administrative Code
• R-24-15; Donation of fire apparatus to Washington Township Fire Department
• R-24-16; Donation of fire apparatus to Mount Pleasant Township Fire Department
• R-24-17; Disposal, removal, or revise items in the Eddy County Inventory/Assets
AGREEMENTS
• A-23-12; Renewal No. 1; HVAC Services with Advantage Heating and Cooling
• A-23-13; Renewal No. 1; HVAC Services with Donner Plumbing & Heating
• A-23-14; Renewal No. 1; General Construction Services with Waide Construction
• A-23-15; Renewal No. 1; General Construction Services with Holloway Construction
• A-23-16; Renewal No. 1; General Construction Services with Greer Construction
• A-23-18; Renewal No. 1; On Call Electrician Services with J&G Electric
• A-23-19; Renewal No. 1; On Call Electrician Services with BNX Electric
• A-23-20; Renewal No. 1; On Call Electrician Services with Alpha Energy Solutions
• A-23-24; Renewal No. 1; HVAC Services with Trane U.S. Inc. dba Trane
• A-23-30; Renewal No. 1; General Construction Services with Pecos Valley Construction, LLC
• A-23-31; Renewal No. 1; On Call Electrician Services with Murrill Electric
• A-24-14; REDA DFA Local Government Division Enhanced 911 Act Grant Program – Grant Amendment 1 – Project No. 24-E-46 – Acceptance of Additional Funds
• A-24-18; Memorandum of Understanding between Affirming Heart Victim Services (AHVS) and Eddy County Sheriff’s Office (ECSO)
• A-24-19; Ratification of Law Enforcement Retention Disbursement – LERF Year 2 Notice
• A-24-20; Sparks Equipment Service Contract
• A-24-21; Terralogic Service Agreement
• A-24-23; Approval of the execution of an oil and gas lease with Alpha Energy Partners II for .931 acres of minerals owned by Eddy County – Cas Tabor, County Attorney.
• A-24-24; Approval of the execution of an easement with Targa Northern Delaware, LLC, for the placement of a single pipeline across lands owned by Eddy County – Cas Tabor, County Attorney.
TRAVEL REQUESTS
• Levi Cordova and Buddy Nutt attended the BME Final Inspection in Boise, ID from January 22, 2024, through January 24, 2024.
• Eric Threlkeld attended the National Sheriff’s Association Conference in Washington, D.C. from February 2, 2024, through February 7, 2024.
• Jonathan Edwards to attend K9 Handlers Course in Cincinnati, OH from February 10, 2024, through February 25, 2024.
• Levi Cordova and Steven Marquez to attend National Fire Academy: Leadership Supervision (R0645) in Emmitsburg, MD from March 2, 2024, through March 9, 2024.
• Levi Cordova to attend FDIC International Firefighter Conference in Indianapolis, IN from April 14, 2024, through April 21, 2024.