Commission tables authority appointment proposal

Following more than an hour-and-a-half of discussion on its oversight of the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority and the responsibility of transparency for all parties involved, the Clovis city commission tabled a resolution that would have altered its criteria for appointing its three members.

The resolution, a framework created by City Attorney David Richards following one put forth by county resident Blake Prather, would have pushed the commission towards the appointment of elected officials and city employees and the appointment of other citizens only if nobody from those two groups desired to serve.

Richards noted the commission could create any criteria it wanted regarding appointment of its share of the seven-member authority, which oversees creation and eventual management of the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System. Known more commonly as the Ute Water Project, the system involves pumping reserved water from the Ute Reservoir in Quay County to member entities in Curry and Roosevelt counties.

Proponents of the resolution said it was a step to increase accountability and transparency on the $600 million project. Detractors called it a veiled effort to disqualify current Authority Chair and former Clovis Mayor Gayla Brumfield for personal reasons.

The city appoints a trio of members, two in odd years and one in even years, for a two-year term to serve on the board. Current members are Brumfield and City Commissioners Juan Garza and Chris Bryant. Brumfield and Garza’s terms expire in June.

Richards said there are methods to remove authority members for gross negligence, incompetence or corruption as with any public official, but the commission cannot place directives upon those it appoints.

“Although the commission does have influence,” Richards said, “the commission does not have control.”

Crowder said he understood that process, but noted that the commission is held accountable by voters for what the authority does and said a resolution limiting appointments to elected officials and city employees would be a good thing.

“An elected official comes before the voters,” Crowder said. “A city employee comes before the city commission. There is one element of control.”

Prather said he was bringing a similar resolution to Curry County, which appoints one member and also declined to appoint an elected official. He said he had concerns about the project, noting that Brumfield was mayor during the failed Beauty Health and Science Innovations deal that cost the city nearly $2 million.

“I have no personal dislike for Mrs. Brumfield,” Prather said. “I question her competence as the leader of that authority.”

Crowder said one of the biggest issues was that he receives questions from citizens about the authority and can’t answer them because of a lack of information coming during reports from Brumfield and Vice Chair Sharon King. He said during a recent presentation from the authority, the commission was not made aware of former Project Manager Paul van Gulick’s retirement or talk to reform the authority to hire an executive director.

King bristled at the complaints, noting the issues had been discussed over the years, and the authority was told in audits it should go the executive director route. She also noted if the commission wanted information it felt it wasn’t getting from the chair and vice chair, it could simply ask the two commissioners currently serving on the board.

When asked about the matter, both Garza and Bryant admitted they could have been guilty of leaving the entire job of information to the chair and vice chair and not adding their own input during authority updates.

“I take the blame if I forget to mention something important,” Garza said; Bryant added, “If we’re at fault, I apologize.”

King and Brumfield said in future reports, they would make sure to include more information from meetings, including meeting minutes.

Brumfield said she works on the authority without pay, and often travels without claiming expenses to various functions because it’s an important thing for the city where she was raised, despite the negativity she says has followed after her 2012 electoral defeat to Lansford.

“I don’t get paid to be on the authority, but I get all of the fun and all of the negative comments,” Brumfield said. “BHSI was not my fault, and I think the Underwood report showed that. We all worked hard on that project. The reason I’m still on the authority is that I do care about the community. You don’t have to like me, and several on the back row (of the commission meeting audience) sure don’t.”

Commissioner Fidel Madrid said he had no plans to vote in favor of the resolution because it was being pushed by a county resident telling the city commission how to handle policies for Clovis residents. Commissioner Bobby Sandoval said that he would be glad to consider candidates for the authority that Prather would suggest, but believed the authority already had a competent leader in Brumfield.

Martin said he had searched numerous water authorities, and found that none of the ones he looked at required elected officials. He felt the city needed to choose the best leaders possible, and that redefining criteria this far ahead of the June appointments seemed premature.

Following the discussion, Crowder said he wanted to work on the resolution a little more and possibly bring it back to the commission.

“I very much appreciate the vigorous discussion,” Crowder said. “This is a very hot topic.”