Commission approves series of budget, hiring and contract measures; appraiser hire fails
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Summary
At a regular Colfax County Commission meeting commissioners approved a package of resolutions, contracts and hires — including a corrections recruitment fund adjustment, multiple hires, an IT contract renewal and infrastructure grants — and rejected a request to immediately rehire an assessor appraiser. Several items passed unanimously in recorded
Colfax County commissioners approved a series of resolutions, contracts and hires at a regular meeting, while rejecting a request from the county assessor to immediately rehire an appraiser.
The commission voted to accept state and federal grant agreements, adjust budget accounts related to corrections recruitment, award a county road bridge contract, authorize the sale of surplus vehicles and approve personnel actions for safety-sensitive positions and temporary overtime rules for the sheriff's office. A separate motion to immediately refill an appraiser position in the assessor's office failed on a 0-3 roll call.
Why it matters: The package moves grant-funded projects and county hiring forward and creates a dedicated corrections recruitment fund for FY26. The failed appraiser hire keeps that vacant position from being filled immediately and prompted commissioners to ask for a January review of the assessor's staffing request.
Most significant items and recorded outcomes
- Resolution accepting New Mexico Department of Transportation grant for the Tonaha River crossing (grant agreement LP40087). Outcome: approved (3-0).
- Budget adjustment creating a special corrections recruitment fund (Fund 232) and returning unused FY25 grant funds to DFA: approved (3-0).
- Transfer resolution to move prior-year and current-year amounts from the general fund into the corrections recruitment fund: approved (3-0).
- Resolution authorizing recruitment and hiring of vacancies for safety-sensitive positions (Resolution 2025-85), with an amendment allowing the county manager limited authority to unfreeze one jail position in coordination with the warden: approved (3-0).
- Resolution authorizing overtime compensation for the undersheriff and a lieutenant for declared state/federal reimbursed disaster operations and for certain on-call duties: approved (3-0).
- Award and funding direction for the Blosser Gap low-water crossing replacement (RFB 2025‑05‑O1) and direction to pursue additional state bridging funds or use county reserves to cover a remaining shortfall: approved (3-0).
- Approval to award a contract for IT master services (Amadeo Services) as a renewal; current contract set to expire Oct. 31: approved (3-0).
- Approval of appointment/hire for a corrections/detention officer: approved (3-0).
- Service agreement for the Colfax County YES program director (FY26) and the related contract with the recommended candidate: approved (3-0).
- Disposal of surplus vehicles and designation of proceeds to the original purchasing departments or general fund as appropriate: approved (3-0).
- Work plan/agreement with USDA APHIS Wildlife Services for fiscal year 2026 for $39,366 (amount approved as budgeted): approved (3-0).
- Setting the November and December commission meeting dates (Canvas/regular meeting Nov. 10 amended to 9:00 a.m.; regular meeting Nov. 18, 9:00 a.m.; December 16, 9:00 a.m.): approved (3-0).
Item that failed
- Hire an appraiser for the assessor's office: after discussion about the county's current budget position and requests to delay, the motion to approve the immediate hire failed on a 0-3 roll call. Commissioners said they preferred to revisit the request in January and asked the assessor to return with additional staffing detail.
Votes at a glance (named roll calls where recorded)
For each recorded roll call the three voting members were recorded as Commissioner Kern, Commissioner Trujillo and Chairman Herman Tatum. When the transcript recorded individual roll-call answers, those answers are reflected in the action records below.
Implementation notes
Commissioners directed staff to pursue additional state funds where possible for the Blosser Gap crossing and asked the county manager to confirm encumbrance and purchase-order procedures related to the county's budget concerns raised elsewhere in the meeting. The resolution on safety-sensitive hires was amended on the floor to allow a single narrowly defined unfreeze of a jail position after consultation with the warden and county manager.
Provenance: Meeting transcript contains the motions, presentations and roll calls supporting each item; see transcript excerpts listed in provenance.
