Director’s contract renewal in limbo
Expenditures put little-known government agency under scrutiny
POJOAQUE — The board of the Regional Coalition of LANL Communities postponed action Monday on a proposed contract renewal with its embattled executive director amid revelations that it might not have the legal authority to enter into such agreements — a stunning development that leaves the mysterious public agency and its chief executive in limbo.
“My contract does end in two days, so until we reconvene, I’m really uncertain as to what my role is,” Andrea Romero, who has been working as the coalition’s executive director since 2015, told the board, her voice cracking with emotion.
The board’s decision to delay action for a week pending a legal review came after Santa Fe County Manager Katherine Miller told the group the joint powers agreement that created the coalition in 2012 does not give the board express authority to enter into contracts as required under the Joint Powers Agreement Act. The law, which governs multi-public agency coalitions, calls for every agreement to clearly specify “any power which is to be exercised.”
“If you look at the coalition’s actual joint
powers agreement, it talks about promoting economic development, reviewing plans, making recommendations on external policies that are developed at the [Los Alamos National Laboratory] and in the local area,” Miller said. “It talks all about that, and those are the express powers given to this board. There is nothing in the joint powers agreement that expressly gives authority to the coalition to enter into contracts, to make policies.”
The coalition, a relatively unknown government agency that has received little public scrutiny since it was established, is now under the microscope and facing stinging criticism after an audit by Los Alamos County, the agency’s fiscal agent.
The audit found multiple reimbursement payments that violated the agency’s travel policies, including the purchase of expensive wines and liquor and Major League Baseball tickets for coalition-sponsored events, as well as a lack of itemized receipts that made it impossible to determine “whether they were direct violations or not.”
The audit also found questionable reports for mileage reimbursement in the use of personal vehicles.
As part of its review, Los Alamos County also looked into an airline ticket that was upgraded to first class for Santa Fe Mayor Javier Gonzales, currently the coalition’s chairman. The agency’s travel policy states “any upgrades and enhancements are personal expenditures and will not be paid by the Regional Coalition.” But the audit found no violation because, according to the Mayor’s Office, that was “the only option” for Gonzales to catch a flight to Washington, D.C.
Romero, who declined to comment after Monday’s two-hour meeting, told
The New Mexican last week that she relied on Los Alamos County “to be the check and balance of all of the submissions of requests for reimbursements.” But the county, whose duties are not clearly specified in the joint powers agreement, was simply signing off on the requests.
“My deputy … took full responsibility for the problems that had occurred and made some statements that we must’ve been following our own policies instead of the coalition’s. Upon this review, I don’t think that’s actually what we’ve been doing,” Los Alamos County Manager Harry Burgess told the board. “Instead, it appears that upon submission of reimbursement requests … typically signed by the executive director and the treasurer, we would then pay those requests without reviewing any particular policy.”
Romero, who works for the coalition under a $140,000-a-year contract that includes salary and other operational costs, contends the issue is being politicized. She is running against incumbent state Rep. Carl Trujillo in the Democratic primary election in June and asserts a nonprofit known as NNMProtects, which is closely connected with Trujillo, is behind what she calls “spurious political attacks.”
“I think the overarching dialogue that is being had is political and not about the coalition’s actual expenditures,” she told the board. “Me as the executive director tried to save the coalition money as best as possible. We can go through each of the different allegations and questions that were posed by the Northern New Mexico Protects if that’s what the board wants.”
In a letter to the board last week, Romero requested the ability to lodge a formal request for Los Alamos National Laboratory to investigate whether two members of NNMProtects’ board who are employees of the lab filed the proper paperwork and followed “other relevant procedures” disclosing their membership with an outside organization.
Romero’s request to investigate Beverly Duran-Cash and Heather Nordquist was shot down Monday by two coalition board members.
“As a public official, which we all are, I think it really sends a bad message when we receive a complaint about expenditure of funds and other issues and our reaction is to request that the individuals making the complaint be investigated,” Los Alamos County Councilor Chris Chandler said. “It concerned me when I read in [The New Mexican] yesterday that we were questioning the motives and intent of people who lodge complaints or concerns, and I just want to make sure that it’s understood that I don’t share that, and my suspicion is most other members of this board do not share that point of view.”
The coalition describes itself as a conduit for Northern New Mexico communities to have a say-so in government decision-making around regional economic development and nuclear cleanup at the lab. It is composed of nine cities, counties and pueblos surrounding the lab, including the city and county of Santa Fe and Rio Arriba and Los Alamos counties.
Board member Ron Lovato, a former governor of Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, said the intent was “pretty simple.”
“It was an an acknowledgment that Los Alamos National Laboratory was the economic engine that affects all of our communities, and stuff was happening up there, and our communities were out of the picture completely,” Lovato said, adding community voices are now being heard. “It’s really turned into more than I would have ever envisioned when we created it. It’s been a bright spot, and I think it’s unfortunate that now we’re getting muddled with all this stuff.”
During and after the meeting, Española Mayor Alice Lucero sided with Romero, saying the executive director was a political target.
“It’s obvious to me that this is politically motivated, and I’m really disappointed by it because this coalition has accomplished quite a bit,” she said. “For them to come now at the 11th hour before her contract expires, it is questionable to me. Northern New Mexico Protects never had any interest in the coalition until Andrea announces that she’s running. All of a sudden, things are in turmoil.”
Lucero said she wanted the matter resolved right away, noting that her term and the terms of other board members are about to expire.
Contact Daniel J. Chacón at 505-9863089 or dchacon@sfnewmexican.com. Follow him on Twitter @danieljchacon.