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Eddy County says out-of-state records requests drove 73% spike in public-records workload
Summary
County staff reported a 73% increase in public-records requests in the first four months of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, driven largely by out-of-state requesters and concentrated on law-enforcement and detention records; staff outlined workflow changes and training to handle the surge.
Eddy County officials told commissioners on May 19 that the county has seen a sharp rise in public-records requests, largely from out-of-state requesters, creating new operational strains on several departments.
"The key takeaway today is that out-of-state requests are driving much of this growth," said Sienna, the county staff member who presented the quarterly public-records overview. She said Eddy County received 570 requests in January–April 2025 and 987 in the same period in 2026, a 73% year-over-year increase. Requests originating in New Mexico rose 64% while out-of-state requests rose 79%.
Sienna told the commission that the largest volumes are concentrated in the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office, the Eddy County Detention Center, local ambulance/EMS (referred to in the presentation as Rita), and Eddy County Fire and Rescue. She said the detention center’s requests rose from 21 to 146 in the comparable periods and that the sheriff’s office rose from 319 to 582.
To address the workload, staff described a series of operational changes: stronger intake and triage procedures, video-request structured review processes, department-specific trainings on record categorization, and employee education during new-employee orientation. "We are developing internal tools and procedures to help staff identify requests that may be overly broad or administratively burdensome," Sienna said.
During Q&A, commissioners asked about costs and whether the county charges for records production. Staff said standard fees apply for paper copies or USB media but routine electronic requests are not charged; an exchange in the meeting referenced a figure discussed by commissioners and staff that processing these requests is consuming local tax dollars (one commissioner cited a $1.3 million number during discussion). Commissioners and staff discussed potential state-level remedies, noting county delegations raised this issue as a legislative priority at the statewide county association.
The presentation stressed that transparency obligations under New Mexico law require production but that the pattern of high-volume, repeat, and out-of-state requests is creating administrative burdens and potential exploitation for online redistribution. Sienna urged continued refinement of intake filters and interdepartmental coordination to maintain compliance and staff well-being.
What happens next: staff said they will continue to refine intake and triage procedures, expand video-review workflows to additional record types, and report further updates to the commission on June 9 as needed.
