Latest news with #GovernmentalConductAct
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New Mexico State Ethics Commission settles with Cuba mayor
The New Mexico State Ethics Commission has reached a settlement with the mayor of the village of Cuba over alleged violations of the Governmental Conduct Act. 'Following an investigation, the Commission found reason to believe that [Mayor Denny Herrera] improperly benefitted from a village directive requiring employees to exclusively refuel Village vehicles' at a gas station Herrera owns, the commission wrote in a news release announcing the settlement Wednesday. Herrera, who is serving his first term as mayor, said in an interview Wednesday the directive was issued by 'prior administrations.' 'I should've caught it sooner, since Day 1,' he said. 'It's something that slipped by me, and it shouldn't happen.' Herrera said the village has long had a charge account at his gas station. 'Once this was brought up, I issued credit cards to everybody in the whole city and released an internal statement stating that they could purchase fuel at any location that accepted WEX cards,' he said. 'All we did was recommend that they purchase it within city limits if they could to keep the fuel tax in the city.' As part of the agreement, Herrera formally notified the village May 14 of his ownership interest in DDH Inc. Fuel Service Station 'and clarified that village employees are free to purchase fuel from any station that accepts WEX cards, in compliance with state and local procurement rules,' the news release states. Herrera also agreed to pay $2,500 to the state and $1,000 to the village within seven days of the agreement's execution. 'New Mexico's Governmental Conduct Act broadly prohibits a public officer from using the powers and resources of their public office to obtain a private benefit, and the Act specifically forbids public officers from selling goods, services or construction to public employees under their supervision,' the release states. 'The Commission works so that New Mexicans can trust that public officers will adhere to those basic principles.'
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Luna County settles procurement violation
Mar. 27—DEMING — A Luna County commissioner who is also a contractor for the county agreed last week to pay a civil fine to settle violations investigated by the New Mexico State Ethics Commission. Christie Ann Harvey was hired as the county's community and economic development director, a staff position, in 2021. The following year, she resigned and founded the Luna County Economic Opportunity Council, a nonprofit for which she serves as executive director. She then continued working for the county under a no-bid contract. That violated the state's procurement code, the SEC alleges. Its investigation found that Harvey participated "directly or indirectly" in the bidding for her services while she was an employee. Moreover, working for the county through the council within one year of her departure as an employee, including contract negotiations, violated the state Governmental Conduct Act, the complaint alleges. Harvey told the Journal the noncompliance was "a horrible mistake and a learning experience." In the settlement, she agreed to pay a $500 penalty to the state without admitting any wrongdoing, and for the council to pay $1,000 to Luna County. The county agreed to cancel the council's current $125,000 contract and launch a bidding process, with county officials to undergo training in the state procurement code. The ethics commission found that the county awarded four contracts to Harvey's organization, totaling $412,328, without issuing a request for proposals or reviewing competitive bids. Procurement code requires contracts for such services to go out for bid if they exceed $20,000. The most recent of these contract awards was on July 1, 2024, four months before Harvey, a Republican, was elected to Luna County's three-member board of commissioners last November. Harvey is also a board member of the New Mexico Border Authority, appointed by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in 2022. County Manager Chris Brice told the Journal his office cooperated fully with the SEC investigation: "We went in with the attitude, 'If we screwed up, you tell us where, and we'll fix it.' We're not hiding anything." Brice said the prospect of working with Harvey as a contractor for economic development initiatives came about after she resigned as a county employee. The arrangement made sense, he said, because "she does a lot of stuff outside the realm of what a normal employee would do." Now that Harvey is an elected commissioner, Brice said she must recuse herself from votes having to do with the council and its contract. This potentially presents an obstacle, because the county has just three commissioners and no provision for breaking a tie vote. Harvey said she enjoyed serving on the county board and the Border Authority, and that she "may or may not" bid for a new contract.
