10-12-2026 8:23am

Otero commissioners add fitness pay to deputies' contract, hear warning on Flock cameras

Chris Edwards Editor

ALAMOGORDO — Otero County deputies who pass a law-enforcement fitness test twice a year will earn up to $820 extra per test under a new three-year labor contract. The Otero County Commission approved the contract Thursday, Oct. 8, after a long debate.

At the same meeting, a La Luz resident gave a 35-minute presentation questioning whether Flock Safety license-plate-reader cameras are constitutional. One commissioner said the county is "really close" to deciding what to do about the cameras.

Commissioners also approved the county's 2026 Community Wildfire Protection Plan, cleared the way to buy the city of Alamogordo's share of the fairgrounds parking lot, and ranked capital-outlay requests for the 2027 legislative session.

Fitness pay splits the board

The contract is with the New Mexico Coalition of Public Safety Officers and runs from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2029. It folds in the $1.50-an-hour raise the commission already funded in the fiscal 2027 budget. It also updates language to match current law, gives the sheriff exclusive authority over who is assigned to the narcotics unit, and creates specialty pay for deputies who serve as instructors.

The union wanted a one-year deal because a new administration takes office soon. Instead, the county offered to keep three years and let either side reopen the contract each January and July.

The union's request for fitness pay drew the most debate. One commissioner backed it, saying insurance costs are increasingly tied to prevention and fewer workers' compensation claims. Another objected to putting the benefit in a union contract. "You're supposed to already be in shape when you're a law enforcement officer," the commissioner said, adding that any fitness incentive should be offered to all county employees.

Staff estimated the incentive would cost $81,000 to $120,000 in its first year. They projected offsetting savings of $43,000 to $110,000 from fewer injuries, sick days and claims.

The draft tied the incentive to an hourly bump: 50 cents for meeting state Law Enforcement Academy entry standards and 75 cents for meeting exit standards, with an annual test. The county's finance staff warned that this would be hard to track in payroll. Commissioners amended it to require testing twice a year, with a flat payment after each passed test: $550 at the entry tier and $820 at the exit tier. Participation is optional.

The resolution passed. It approves the terms and lets the county manager and chair sign once the union ratifies the contract. One commissioner said they would vote no because the incentive sits in a union agreement. Commissioners also asked staff to survey other county employees about a countywide fitness program, which would need a separate budget adjustment.

Residents raise surveillance and flooding concerns

In scheduled public comment, Chuck Andres of La Luz walked commissioners through court rulings, news reports and videos critical of Flock Safety. Flock is a Georgia company that sells license-plate-reader cameras to police. Andres said one camera faces his driveway.

He cited the ACLU's criticism of data-sharing terms in Flock's customer agreement. He pointed to recent court rulings he said have found warrantless Flock searches unconstitutional, and to agencies in Florida, Wisconsin, Tennessee and Arizona that have dropped the cameras. "I'm not doing anything wrong. I have no fear, but I don't like it," he said.

One commissioner thanked him but urged him to fact-check some of the videos, including a claim that Flock's CEO switches cars daily to avoid being tracked. Another commissioner said they and county staff had researched the issue and were close to a decision, but wanted "the correct information" first. A third noted that the cameras have helped find missing children.

In unscheduled comment, Justin Eldridge said recent storms sent a foot and a half of water into his home. He blamed a county road project for the damage. He said 15 to 18 houses are affected and that his insurance denied his flood claim. He asked the county to work with the Bureau of Land Management on a fix in the canyon upstream. Commissioners asked him to leave his contact information so the road department could follow up.

Johnny Powell of the International Space Hall of Fame Foundation thanked the county for pandemic-era CARES Act funding that he said kept the foundation's staff employed. He asked that the county and the city of Alamogordo each get a seat on the governor's commission that oversees the New Mexico Museum of Space History.

Sheriff reports $2.28 million in drugs seized

Sheriff David Black said deputies handled 1,804 calls for service in September, about 60 a day, and made 50 arrests. The narcotics division served eight search warrants and made 33 arrests. It seized about 22.8 kilograms of methamphetamine, along with fentanyl, cocaine and Suboxone, valued in total at $2,288,374.56.

The office has five open deputy positions after one retirement and two resignations. Four cadets are in the academy in Hobbs.

Black and the commission also criticized the cost of state-required prisoner transports. Black said the county spent about $48,000 on them in 2024 and $78,000 in 2025, and about $30,000 so far in 2026. He also said Inspection of Public Records Act requests are running in the 800s this year, up from about 500 last year. Commissioners said they will push the Legislature for changes on both issues.

Wildfire plan, fairgrounds lot and capital requests

The commission approved the 2026 Community Wildfire Protection Plan for submission to the state. Emergency Services Director Matt Clark said the plan is more detailed than the previous one because insurers have been denying coverage in areas where the plan was too broad. One commissioner said the draft lacks funding sources and measurable goals for volunteer recruitment and public outreach. Clark said he would look at adding that language and called the plan a "living document."

Commissioners voted without discussion to authorize the county manager to negotiate and sign a deal to buy the city of Alamogordo's ownership interest in the Otero County Fairgrounds parking lot. "It's been a long time coming," one commissioner said.

The commission approved its 2027 capital-outlay priorities on a split vote, keeping the order staff proposed. A guardrail on Sacramento River Road and the sheriff's office relocation top the list. The dissenting commissioner wanted the animal shelter ranked higher, arguing that an in-house veterinarian would save the county money.

Projects and other business

Project manager Trent Parker said:

A perimeter fence is up at the new district courthouse site, and the contractor is expected to mobilize this month.
Design of the Chaparral law enforcement facility is about 80% complete.
A prefabricated building for the animal shelter has been set and is waiting on a power hookup.
The fairgrounds animal barn roof is about half finished.

The county manager announced that the county has received a Charters of Freedom display from the nonprofit Foundation Forward. It includes life-size bronze reproductions of the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights, and the manager proposed installing it at the new courthouse. Commissioners agreed.

The manager also announced that Diana Sierra has been promoted to human resources director and that Pamela Day will be the new solid waste superintendent.

Commissioners tabled a proposed fee schedule and use policy for a county park in La Luz. Members worried it could overregulate public use, and they asked staff to define what counts as a "special event."