Otero County Ranks in Bottom of State In Funding for Litter Control and Blight Mitigation

Otero County NOT a part of recent cleanup and blight reduction funding grants. Otero County ranks in the bottom of the state in cleanup and blight reduction efforts funding.

New Mexico’s state agencies—including the Departments of Transportation, Tourism, and Environment—have awarded $4.7 million in beautification grants to 97 local entities as part of a push to reduce litter, prevent illegal dumping, tackle blight and enhance public spaces the last year. These grants supported:

• Blight Mitigation via coordinating litter reduction efforts and funded community cleanups
• Educational campaigns
• Graffiti eradication
• Recycling and illegal dumping prevention (via RAID grants)

Otero County Ranks in Bottom of State In Funding for Litter Control and Blight Mitigation - AlamogordoTownNews.org

While the Otero County Commission attempts to pressure the city of Alamogordo to specially designate a non-blighted area as “blight” for special accommodations for an out of town developer, reducing potential tax collections by $600,000, the county itself has done little to tackle the eyesore and safety considerations of litter control and blight in areas it has direct responsibility and control of.

According to recently reviewed state and county government records, the past four years, Otero County Commission leadership has not been prominently featured in a single statewide litter and beautification grant request programs.

Otero County Ranks in Bottom of State In Funding for Litter Control and Blight Mitigation - AlamogordoTownNews.org

Specifically:

The Otero County Commission has NO record of participation in the New Mexico Tourism Department’s Clean and Beautiful Grant Program for FY24 or FY2

No major initiatives listed under the state’s “Breaking Bad Habits” campaign, which has mobilized thousands of volunteers for cleanup events statewide.

The county’s official website does not highlight any recent county-wide litter mitigation programs or blight reduction strategies.

That said, local municipalities like the Village of Cloudcroft (within Otero County) did receive $15,250.25 in FY25 for beautification efforts—suggesting that while the county government may not be leading the charge and is failing to address litter cleanup and blight, smaller communities are stepping up.

The New Mexico Tourism Department (NMTD) is awarding over $1 million in grant funding for beautification and litter reduction initiatives to a record 71 partners for fiscal year 2026, and again Otero County is NOT one of the awarded counties. 

Roughly 67 percent of grant funding in FY26 is dedicated towards the program goals of reducing waste, beautifying communities and eliminating litter. The remaining grant funding will be directed towards youth empowerment initiatives and increasing local program capacity.

“Observing the number of communities participating in this program continue to grow demonstrates there is a real need for cleanup and beautification efforts, and we’re grateful to contribute to those efforts through this program,” said Acting Secretary Lancing Adams.

A focus for the program in FY26 will be beautification and cleanup partnerships with educational institutions. NMTD is awarding six grants to educational institutions and school systems, totaling $91,969.

Pueblo of Acoma, Pueblo of Pojoaque and Pueblo of Santo Domingo were each selected as grant recipients, totaling $43,022 in grant funding for tribal partners in FY26.

One of the key features of the Clean and Beautiful Grant Program is how it provides space for grant recipients to embrace creativity while meeting the program’s mission to end littering, reduce waste, beautify communities, empower youth and increase program capacity.

One proposed FY26 project that demonstrates how this program empowers recipients to embrace creativity came from Luna County which plans to upcycle old wine barrels into waste receptacles. Another proposed project comes from the New Mexico Academy for the Media Arts which will orchestrate opportunities for students to beautify communities through the creation of Route 66-themed murals.

While the Otero County Commission makes the decision via a resolution to waive $600,000 in taxes to an out of state developer and push the city to declare a questionable area as blighted,  it does little itself to seek state funding grants to counter litter issues and blight in areas it is directly accountable for. Let’s continue to follow the money and the Otero County Commission. 

To move up in statewide comparisons, in Blight Mitigation the Otero County Commission could:

Pass a formal blight resolution within the County - outside of City jurisdictions to unlock MRA tools, these efforts would be particularly useful on the edges of Alamogordo and within Chaparral.

Apply for Clean & Beautiful grants and RAID (Recycling and Illegal Dumping) funding

Launch public-private partnerships for redevelopment within county lands most especially Chaparral and on the fringes of Alamogordo. 

Engage in community-driven beautification projects with youth and civic groups across the county with direct commission leadership. 

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