Did Bernalillo County Commissioners violate state law?
The Foundation for Open Government (FOG) — an advocate for transparency in government — has asked the New Mexico Department of Justice to investigate whether the Bernalillo County Commission violated the Open Meetings Act by engaging in a rolling quorum before it met this week.
A rolling quorum can include when “three members of a five-member board discuss public business in a series of telephone or email conversations, the discussion is a meeting of the quorum.” A rolling quorum to discuss public business or take action violates the state Open Meetings Act because it means a public body is meeting outside of a properly noticed, public meeting.
The complaint was filed after FOG received several calls about the possible violation on its public hotline. The citizen complaints were about a commission resolution to create a search committee to decide how to fill the position of county manager. Current Manager Julie Morgas Baca will retire in June.
Related: Could County Commissioners face fines for violating the Open Meetings Act?
The callers stated that three members of the commission – Chairman Barbara Baca, Commissioners Adriann Barboa and Eric Olivas – came to the meeting with a plan already outlined. The plan was disclosed in a news release issued by Chairman Baca on April 4, 2024, where the members of the search committee were listed – before the resolution was even considered in the public meeting.
Chairman Baca’s selection process for a new county manager was approved on a 3 to 1 margin at the April 9th meeting. Commissioner Steven Michael Quezada angrily left the meeting during a debate over this issue.
Comments from commissioners were not received by press time.
