HR manager announces retirement, previews major HR policy changes and staffing progress

Javier (Speaker 3), identified in the meeting as the HR manager, announced that his retirement will take effect June 1 and that his last day in the office will be Nov. 14. "My retirement will take effect on June 1 with my last day in the office on November 14," he said, then introduced members of the HR and risk teams and thanked staff for their service.

During a consolidated HR managers report covering January through August, Javier described multiple personnel and policy developments. He listed recent promotions and hires (Victoria Pacheco promoted to benefits and pension manager on Feb. 16; Krystle Roybal promoted to HR analyst on Feb. 16; Yesenia Martinez joined March 31 as senior office specialist; Jennifer Rogers joined May 27 as training and development manager; Cassandra Purdy joined June 23 as HR analyst) and said HR currently has one vacancy for an HR analyst to support training and development.

On policy changes, Javier said the county implemented an alternate work schedule pilot signed by the county manager on May 11 that runs through Nov. 2 for evaluation; the pilot allows options such as four 10-hour days or four nine-hour days plus one four-hour day, and he said the majority selected the four-10 schedule. He said telework remains a separate program (one day per week) and employees cannot participate in both programs simultaneously.

Javier described a full revamp of the county's compensation policy, calling the current policy outdated and noting legal review has required adjustments. He said the compensation team executed the FY26 annual increase for "well over 700" employees, implementing an approved 3% structure and merit-based increases and distributing individualized salary increase sheets to employees.

On drug and alcohol policy, Javier said the county is rewriting a 62-page policy to remove procedures into separate documents and create shorter, targeted policies aligned with regulatory regimes (for example, policies that address requirements from FTA and FMCSA for safety-sensitive positions). "We're gonna pull the procedures out of the policy so that it's just a policy," he said.

Javier also reported on training and safety: the learning management system is live, new employee orientation has been extended to include mandatory safety trainings, a HAZCOM training was added to orientation, and the risk manager is conducting site inspections to improve OSHA compliance. He credited risk management with lowering some insurance premium costs, saying premiums were reduced significantly after careful review.

Recruitment activity included a published posting and active hiring for several departments, a police recruitment and testing cycle earlier in the year, and a summer internship program that employed 25 students from June 9 through Aug. 1; several interns later remained as casual employees. Javier acknowledged ongoing challenges recruiting and retaining drivers, noting regional competition and reported higher pay in neighboring employers such as LANL or Albuquerque-area employers.

Board members asked questions about alternate schedule impacts on commuting, measurement of training outcomes, telework participation data, and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act; Javier said the act is federal and the county is nearly finished drafting a policy to implement its requirements, explaining it provides pregnancy-specific workplace accommodations that supplement FMLA protections. He said the county will continue refining policies with input from legal and senior management.

The HR manager's report closed with scheduling notes and reminders about upcoming postings and internal events; no formal board action on the policies was recorded during the meeting.