Business as usual in Torrance County - This meeting is very representative of the business practices of the Torrance County Commission. In this writers opinion, another epic failure in the following areas: Failure of Commission members to review the loan request was very apparent and I would go so far as to say that they failed to perform their fiduciary duties on behalf of the public. Historically and to date, the County Commission continually relys on unsupported recollections of the County Manager, County Attorney, and other elected or appointed officials to process decisions - partially to uninformed decisions continue to be made on our behalf. Two of the three Commissioners had no questions, the only discussion offered by Commissioners Candelaria and Frost were to ask the County Attorney if the matter at hand was legal. Lack of Commission member review of loan documents and supporting documents clearly indicates that our county continues to run on auto pilot with finances processed without adequate factual information and being granted automatic approval. I fully support Commissioner DuCharmes assertion that this is a new commission and as such all members should have been provided not only the loan document for review but all referenced data to allow this commission to render an supportable decision. The prior commission is not making current decisions and to rely on past incomplete actions of prior Commissions leaves our Commission members as well as the citizens of this county open for loads of liability. Failure of the Commission to allow due process and public inclusion by pushing a Special Meeting on Martin Luther King day when county officers were closed. I would agree with Commissioner DuCharme who questioned the legality of this meeting - even though properly noticed, did the EVSWA loan request meet the criteria for a semi-emergency meeting? This loan request was tabled because EVSWA was not prepared for the regular meeting of January 14th. It was clearly and repeatedly stated at the January 14th regular meeting of the Commission that the loan documents deadline was late in February - there was no reason that this matter couldnt have been included at the next regular meeting. Even down to how the Commission members were dressed - this was to be a formality only meeting to push the agenda of EVSWA. Moving forward without benefit of adequate information especially when being scrutinized by state authorities is reckless in this writers opinion. (https://youtube/watch?v=EThktySjLHs&list=PLhZZTXe0c_KHTDNqy_4AM3duuyEX4rMOK&index=24) Failure of the County Manager to be prepared in presentation of documents as well as proper meeting room preparation. The Commissioners were not provided copies of the loan document, supporting data, prior meeting minutes etc. A primary duty of the County Manager is to make sure the Commission members have the information they need in order to make informed decisions. Statements that the documents were reviewed at prior meetings by another commission were inadequate in this writers opinion. Lack of audio and recording of this meeting limits the record leaving the official version of what happened at this meeting in the hands of the County Manger who was laboriously taking notes for meeting minuets while participating in the meeting itself. Her statement that there is no requirement to record the meetings may be correct, but, the county has recorded for many years and a reversal of that practice should ring alarm bells. It seems very convenient that the audio and microphone systems were locked up and unavailable. Lack of preparation on the County Managers part on something as simple as readiness for a public meeting should raise red flags all over the place. Given the serious nature the County and the County manager face, her continued employment not only limits the progress of this county, but also causes additional areas of liability for the County and the Manager. As much as I loath a take over of our County by the DFA - My years of filming and observation shows me that nothing has changed and nothing will ever change without a direct intervention from DFA. My plea to New Mexico State Auditor Tim Keller, New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas, the New Mexico Department of Finance, and Governor Susana Martinez is that intervention take place as soon as possible.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 12:31:47 +0000
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