Julia T. Brown

County management and accountability: Doña Ana County has faced significant findings involving its financial controls and management practices. What specific changes should the County Commission make to improve accountability, financial oversight and public confidence in county government?

The BOCC has a fiduciary responsibility to be good stewards of the public funds entrusted to them as well as the duty to govern and provide oversight which yields benefit to those individuals and entities which rely upon it to provide for the provision of public health, safety and welfare of the County.

Accordingly, there is a critical need to address the findings as soon as possible and to restore public confidence in County government. The BOCC should implement enhanced financial oversight measures, especially putting into place stricter adherence to auditing procedures and transparency in financial reporting. Additionally, there should more robust internal controls and regular audits to ensure compliance with financial regulations; this should include a review of the tasks of the position of Internal Auditor and ensuring that office is given resources (including personnel) to perform those duties. BOCC has started to review and address the findings, they should stay focused on this task paying particular attention to:

·       During the period following the “clean-up”, the BOCC should require internal and external audits more regularly than on an annual basis. This will ensure departments remain on track, reveal any compliance missteps early, and identify the need, if any, for additional staff training

·       Determine the appropriate length of time during which there will be on-going monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of corrective actions related to the 42 findings.

·       Determine a method for engaging with residents and other stakeholders to gather feedback and continue to improve operations.

Southern county infrastructure: District 3 includes communities that have long identified needs involving roads, drainage, water, wastewater and other basic infrastructure. What are the most important infrastructure needs in District 3, and what specifically would you do as a commissioner to get those projects funded and completed?

I would say flood control and roads issues are the most pressing. Followed closely by clean water issues. Funds are needed for infrastructure to control drainage and flooding. In large measure this relies on the State Legislature through Infrastructure and Capital Improvement (ICIP) funds. The manner in which the funds are appropriated generally does not provide sufficient funds to complete such projects in a reasonably timely manner.

Indeed, some projects have been on the list waiting for legislative funding for more than two decades. In addition to calling attention to the inefficiency of ICIP funding, the County needs to seek more funding for roads. This includes seeking funding from the Federal Highway Administration as well as seeking legislative relief from the Anti-Donation clause of the State Constitution which prevents the use of public funds for construction and maintenance of private roads.

There are roads in the county which are virtually impassable by emergency vehicles. In order for a private road to become a public road an offer to dedicate the road to the County must be made. Before the County can accept the road, it must be up to engineering standards and easily usable by the public. I would pledge to work with County Management and County Attorney to explore legislative solutions to this issue and determining how similarly situated communities in other states have been able to overcome this type of funding hurdle.

Economic development and Project Jupiter: Project Jupiter has raised questions about jobs and economic development as well as public incentives, water and energy use, environmental impacts and transparency. What should the county do now to oversee Project Jupiter, and what lessons from that process should guide the county when considering future large economic-development projects?

County Management and the Economic Development Department should be proactive in identifying these issues and any other issues impacting communities in potential economic development projects in advance of actionable items being recommended for placement on the agenda. I’ve said on

numerous occasions, both publicly and privately, that the County fell way short of the necessary level of transparency and accountability in the decision-making process regarding Jupiter.

There should have been true outreach by the County to inform and make residents, businesses, and institutions aware of the details of the proposed project and its potential impact (positive and negative) on the County.

Large scale projects of this nature deserve more than a few minutes on the overall BOCC agenda. Work sessions or publicly noticed special meetings devoted to this one topic would better serve the public and those having an interest in such projects. The timeline for these large proposed projects

needs to factor in the necessary stage of such public information and citizen participation.

If the project is allowed by the NM Environmental Dept., and the courts to move forward, the county must thoroughly and continually monitor and evaluate the project’s compliance with the terms and conditions of the contracts with Doña Ana County; and in the event of failure or refusal to comply, the county must take quick and decisive action.

Water and growth: How should the county balance the need for new housing, businesses and jobs with limited water resources, particularly in the rapidly growing communities of southern Doña Ana County? What county policies, if any, would you change to achieve that balance?

We know that the trend in climate is moving toward increasing aridity. We cannot keep doing things the old way. New thinking, new approaches and innovative solutions must be sought to balance the equities between competing demands for water for agricultural, residential, commercial, and industrial

uses as proposed community and economic development projects are presented.

The County will need to look at viable strategies and available technology in developing policies concerning water management in proposed projects. With agriculture consuming the lion’s share, long-term strategies and tools are needed that continue effective use of water for agriculture while increasing efficiency, allocating water for competing uses, and measures to prevent depletion of water supplies. I think we face more of a need to adopt policies related to water management as we look at growth in the future, rather than a need to change existing policies. For example, there are more than 40 mutual domestic water companies or associations in the county, not all of them have

ICIP or comprehensive plans for water management, flood control, drainage, conservation or growth. The county needs to coordinate and collaborate with them on these issues.

Doña Ana County sits on one of the largest sources of brackish water in the country. Efforts are currently underway to explore development of a desalination plant. I support an expanded role of research and development to aid in understanding and mapping new approaches to reach the necessary balance between supporting water uses and sustaining supplies for the long term.

The Bulletin asked each Dona Ana County candidate four questions to allow voters to assess where the candidates stands on important issues heading into the election. The questions vary for each office, but are the same for every candidate running for the same office.

We attempted to wait to publish until we heard from all candidates for a race, but in this race, we have not received a response from Willie Madrid, the Democrat candidate for County Commission District 3. If we can get a response from his campaign this week, we will run his answers in the Oct. 30 edition of the Bulletin.