Eddy County quantifies IPRA staff costs, urges legislative reform in packet for Santa Fe

Eddy County staff presented a packet and a flyer to commissioners quantifying the county's workload and personnel costs associated with IPRA (Inspection of Public Records Act) requests and urged commissioners to take the findings to the legislative session in Santa Fe.

The packet, prepared by county staff with assistance from HR and IT, reported four full-time positions devoted to IPRA (two in the county manager's office and two in the sheriff's office) and an all-in cost for those four positions of $430,327.77 for one year. A broader countywide estimate that includes the partial time other employees spend on IPRA-related work put personnel costs at about $952,019; staff summed those items to an estimated personnel cost of roughly $1,000,382 (personnel only), excluding software, attorney fees and other operating costs.

Presenters highlighted a pattern of high-volume requesters; staff said one out-of-state requester submitted 94 requests between Dec. 10 and the presentation date and that law-enforcement video requests in particular are time intensive to process. The flyer and proposed web posting are intended to support the county's legislative advocacy to add checks or adjustments to statute to reduce unsustainable burdens while maintaining transparency.

Commissioners expressed support for taking the data to legislators in Santa Fe and for coordinating with neighboring municipalities. Staff said a digital copy of the data would be posted on the county website and that they will seek to brief legislators during upcoming county visits to Santa Fe.