Improper power grab merits ethics complaint
I would like to express my deep concerns regarding a resolution passed by the Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners at the May 23,
2023, commission meeting.
The resolution, AR-2023-61, allows Commissioner Adriann Barboa to act as a “liaison to the County Manager, including but not limited to, participating in the creation of a job description for a Deputy County Manager.” The resolution was approved by Commission Chair Barbara Baca, Commission Vice Chair Barboa and Commissioner Eric Olivas.
In a letter the commissioners received from the League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan organization, they claim the vote was in direct conflict to the Bernalillo County Code of Conduct. They point out that under the Standards of Conduct section 2-130, “Public servants shall treat their position as a public trust, with a fiduciary duty to use the powers and resources of public office only to advance the public interest and not to obtain personal benefits or pursue private interests.”
They also refer to section B, Improper influence; “No county commissioner shall make, participate in making or in any way attempt to use his or her position to influence any hiring decision or other decision regarding employment for any county employee.” And finally, Commissioner Interference, “it is the intention of this section that the board of county commissioners shall act in all matters as a body, and it is against the spirit of this division for any of its members to seek to influence the official acts of the county manager or any employee under the jurisdiction of the county manager.”
I do not believe any county commissioner should be involved in the creation of a job description or in the hiring of any county employee. The board members are elected by constituents to represent them and to use the public trust granted, with fiduciary duty, to advance the public interest.
Commissioner Barboa’s participation is also concerning because the deputy county manager for behavioral health will be overseeing a complex, integrated system of distributing behavioral health services from a tax that generates over $20 million per year. The board created a Behavioral Health Workgroup in January of this year and recruited professionals in the industry to make recommendations and help guide the distribution of funding. The reasoning behind the work group recognized that commission members do not possess expertise in these areas.
The Board of County Commissioners oversees and directs the work of the county manager. We do not have the authority to step into personnel matters and should leave that important work in the legal and proper place, with the county manager.
I trust the county manager and her hand-selected interview team to produce a concrete job description and proceed with the selection of the individual she sees most fit to carry out the county’s behavioral health programs and initiatives.
I will pursue an ethics complaint regarding this sensitive and unnecessary power grab to reassure voters and to maintain the integrity of the Board of County Commissioners as a whole.