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Regional planning council asks San Juan County to increase membership level to restore local planner presence
Summary
The Northwest New Mexico Council of Governments briefed commissioners on services it provides and proposed a San Juan County membership increase to $35,875 to restore a dedicated planner position in the county.
Brandon Howe of the Northwest New Mexico Council of Governments (COG) updated the commission on the COG’s regional work and asked San Juan County to consider increasing membership support to $35,875 to restore a local planner position.
Howe described the COG’s role as a multi-designated regional planning body that supports project development, transportation planning, long-range plans, housing efforts and assistance for small systems such as water or irrigation districts. The Northwest New Mexico COG covers San Juan, McKinley and Cibola counties and leverages membership dues to pull state and federal program funds.
Howe traced the COG’s history of presence in San Juan County, noting a full-time planner housed in the county after past membership levels supported an in-county office. Membership and contracted support declined through the 2010s; the COG board approved a strategy in 2022 to raise San Juan membership back to prior levels and to resume a planner presence. “At that point, we are confident that we can hire a full time planner, stationed here in San Juan County,” Howe told commissioners.
Howe said the proposal packet in commissioners’ meeting materials included a cover letter, the membership agreement and supporting documents, plus a San Juan membership summary projecting reaches toward historic membership levels. He said the staged increase would enable the COG to provide more on-the-ground planning and faster responsiveness for grants and project development.
Commissioners asked about current COG services; Howe said the organization currently supports grant identification, data collection, housing planning, brownfields, trails and small systems assistance and can be a resource for long-range planning and funding match.
Howe said the COG would follow up with departments and provided contact information. Commissioners did not take an immediate vote; the presentation was informational and the membership request was left for later consideration.
