March 13, 2025 Regular meeting of the Grant County Commission

[Editor's Note: With the help of a new reporter, the Beat is finally starting to catch up with past Grant County Commission meetings. This one addresses the March 13, 2025 regular meeting.]

By Michael LaReaux

After the Pledge of Allegiance and salute to the New Mexico flag, the Grant Countyt Commission began the meeting with the approval of the regular meeting agenda. District 2 Commissioner Eloy Medina made the motion, and District 4 Commissioner Eddie Flores seconded. The motion carried without opposition.

District 1 Commissioner and Chair Chris Ponce opened the floor for public input. The first to take the podium was David Barton of Silver Acres. Mr. Barton expressed concern about cars speeding in his neighborhood. He spoke of people doing "70 or 80 miles an hour" down his street. When he brought his concerns to the Sheriff's Department, he was unsatisfied with their response. "Their answer is they don't have enough help." His efforts to call attention to the problem with public officials hasn't resulted in any meaningful action. Barton expressed hope that something could be done about the problem.

After Barton's remarks, Delfina Jimenez of Silver City took her turn at the podium. Before she began her remarks, Jimenez distributed notices of intent to the Commissioners and the County Attorney. She then began an impassioned but measured critique of the proposed Silver City Citizens Advisory Board, which is intended to oversee the Silver City Police Department. "I'm here presenting something that you can take for food for thought, awareness, or just plain freedom of speech."

Jimenez criticized the proposed resolution as "very questionable and unethical," citing the lack of requirements for serving on the board and the potential for nepotism and corruption. According to Jimenez, there is no guarantee that law enforcement will have a presence on the advisory board. She also expressed concern for how the advisory board would be chosen, and the potential for sensitive information to be made available to the public. "Everyone is related and everyone knows everyone else," she remarked. "How is that going to be fair?"

Jimenez cited the importance of Silver City to the region as a medical, financial, and educational hub for the surrounding rural communities. Because of this, the Advisory Board would impact not only residents of the city but affect Grant County as a whole. She closed by thanking Eddie Flores and his dedication to supporting the State Police, and law enforcement in general.

"Everyone who wears a badge is a hero." she said.

Following Jimenez's remarks, the Commission moved on to a proclamation declaring severe drought conditions and imposing a restriction on fireworks. Medina made the motion, which was seconded by District 3 Commissioner Nancy Stephens. The motion passed without opposition.

Ponce invited Robert Whitaker, Gila Regional Medical Center chief executive officer, to the stand for a report on the hospital. Whitaker began with a year-by-year comparison of admissions and deliveries. Admissions were slightly up, while deliveries remained relatively static. According to Whittaker, the hospital has placed more focus on the Swing Bed Program, and was looking to expand it. ER visits continued to grow, along with outpatient visits.

"As a facility, that's good and bad," he said.

Whittaker then reported on the hospital's financial situation, citing $8.4 million in revenue against $8.2 million in expenses, excluding funding from SB161 and HDAA. The hospital was running a surplus of $2.3 million dollars, a marked increase from the previous year's $29,000. The hospital received payments from SB161 and expected to receive payment from HDAA at the end of the month.

He delved into the subject of bad debt versus charity care. "It's an accounting principle on what you're allowed to count as charity care versus what you can count as bad debt." According to Whitaker, the hospital had $2.5 in bad debt and provided approximately $445,000 in charity care.

Whitaker continued with the report, outlining his concerns about possible cuts to Medicare and their potential impact on the hospital and the health system in general. His staff conducted a scenario analysis to determine the impact of the proposed cuts. The results of that study would be presented at a future meeting. According to Whitaker, the impact from spending cuts already resulted in delays in communication in regards to federal grants, a possible harbinger of the future.

"I have reached out to a congressional office to see if we can get some progress on that," he said.

Whitaker moved on to details about the day-to-day operations of the hospital. The hospital's newly installed phone system was fully operational and advised the Commission that they were still "working out some kinks."

With nine days left in the state's legislative session, a number of bills impacting health care remain on the docket. "We are watching and will make plans and assessments once things are passed and if they are signed by the governor," he said. "We are keeping a close eye on that."

Whitaker then gave an update on hospital staff. Dr. Leslie, a family medicine physician has "grown quite well" in her clinic. A general surgeon was slated to begin work that week, and the hospital has engaged the services of two physician recruitment firms to "continue to bolster up a few specialties that we are recruiting specifically for." Whitaker assured the board that announcements about new staff would be forthcoming.

Following the conclusion of Whitaker's remarks, Ponce expressed concern about the possibility of cuts to Medicare. "Gila Regional is a vital part of our community. The public needs to be aware of all this." Whitaker responded, citing the state legislature's work in creating a Medicare Trust fund to mitigate the effects of a shortfall of Medicare funding.

Medina thanked Whitaker for his assistance in a new transfer data service that was set up to help assist with behavioral health transfers. "It's going to be a better mechanism to allow us to monitor transfers and see who we're transporting on the regular as well as additional
outside assistance to help us getting these behavioral patients out." The new service is based out of Las Cruces and is run by Hospital Services Corporation. According to Whitaker, "It's a one-stop shop. There's a number to call. They arrange and take care of everything. It's going to be wonderful."

With Whitaker's report concluded, the Commission then turned its attention to financial matters. Treasurer Patrick Cohn reported that $ 9,439,065.13 had been collected for the year, representing 65% of the 2024 tax roll total, with $5,082,451.31 remaining uncollected. The 10-year percentage stands at 92.53 percent, with a total of $17,181,450.76 collected, with $9,466,098.92 outstanding. The Treasurer's staff was prepared to send out annual delinquent postcards in an effort to collect delinquent property taxes before they are subject to referral to the state Property Tax Division. A referral to the state automatically generates a charge of $125 and thereafter would begin generating additional penalties and interest. The Treasurer invited anyone who is delinquent to contact him, so that he could provide guidance before the matter is referred to the state.

The Treasurer's Office and Solid Waste would be closed for training on the new internet banking system on the 26th. He expressed sincere gratitude for the recently completed office upgrades. "The attention to detail and expertise displayed by the Grant County Maintenance team was truly phenomenal," he said. "Grant County is fortunate to have such dedicated professionals. Your efforts never go unnoticed."
He also thanked his staff, as well as Director Adam Baca and the IT staff for their assistance in keeping the department's equipment running smoothly.

Next to speak was Sheriff Raul Villanueva. The Sheriff's Department is still working to perfect the new CAD system, citing problems with separating dispatch calls from self-initiated calls for statistical purposes. The total number of calls for the month of February was 1502.
Domestic violence calls raised particular concern, as that number was unusually high, and represented a significant increase over a typical month. The department investigated 45 non-injury vehicle accidents and 3 injury accidents. In addition, the department received 33 unwanted subject calls, 30 reckless driver calls, 62 animal control complaints, and 75 reports of suspicious activity. There were 335 traffic stops.

The department processed 292 documents, including subpoenas and writs, and took part in four transports to different facilities, logging 1807 miles. The court hosted 30 in-person hearings, and Court security oversaw 77 inmates transported to the courts. A total of 791 visitors underwent security screening at the courthouse for the month.

The sheriff spoke briefly about Operation Stonegarden, citing his request for $280,000 in additional funding, along with one fully equipped unit and two mobile LPR (license plate readers). He expects to receive an answer on approval later in the year.

District Attorney Norm Wheeler signed a new contract grant providing funds for fugitive apprehension. Deputies continue to do operations searching and apprehending individuals with outstanding warrants in Grant County.

Several deputies attended training in accordance with regulations. Further training would be provided in house.

The sheriff closed by inviting the public to bring their concerns directly to him. "I do encourage the community if they have issues in their areas…I have an open-door policy. I am willing to meet with anybody…they can bring their concerns to me. I'd rather they call me if they want something done in their area…I get the frustration from some of our citizens, but we try to do the best we can with what we have."

Following his remarks, Stephens expressed concern about the number of domestic violence cases. She asked if the number represented unique cases or included repeat offenders. Villanueva responded, "We deal with the same individuals over and over. I'm concerned with why we are getting so many within that timeframe." Possible explanations involved addiction, mental illness, and lack of access to resources. He invited the commissioners to visit with him if they wanted to explore the matter further.

The discussion then turned to Operation Stonegarden. Villanueva addressed concerns about the existence of a quota, and the possible involvement of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Sheriff assured the Commission that Operation Stonegarden existed purely for the purpose of traffic enforcement, and had nothing to do with immigration. Grant County Sheriff Department deputies are not ICE agents. He said he had met with representatives from Homeland Security in Albuquerque , and according to him, they assured him that they would notify local law enforcement if they intended to operate in the area. "If they are here, they would notify us. Not our mission to enforce immigration."

Commissioner requested clarification on the "bugs" in the new CAT system. The crux of the problem is the inability to separate self-initiated calls from dispatch calls. Mr. Flores also asked about the number of traffic stops tied to Operation Stone Garden. According to the Sheriff, many of the 335 stops were tied to the operation, but he didn't have exact numbers available. After a brief discussion about traffic collisions and their effect on law enforcement, the Sheriff completed his report.

The Commission took up the consideration of the consent agenda for the February 27 regular meeting. The agenda was approved following a motion by Stephens, seconded by Medina.

In New Business, the Commission unanimously carried a motion to approve the 2024 Volunteer Firefighter annual reporting.

In a motion brought by Ponce, The Tu Casa Advisory board was dissolved. Stephens asked for clarification on the reason for the dissolution. "The goal has been met. That's the reason for dissolving it."

Ponce agreed and said: "They served a great purpose and met what they needed." The dissolution of the board is not an indication that the Commission believes that behavioral health goals have been met. It is merely an acknowledgement that the Tu Casa Advisory Board has completed its particular mission. The Commission would look forward to further discussion as to the direction of the Tu Casa program and was open to meeting with the HMS board to discuss the issue. The motion carried without opposition.

Resolution R 25 17 – A motion to prohibit non-service animals in public buildings carried without opposition.

Resolution R 25 19 – A motion authorizing expenditures for architectural services with NCA Architects for the Public Safely building, also carried without opposition.

Resolution R 25 20 – A budget adjustment request carried without opposition.