Saturday, June 14, 2008

Peralta approves agreement to ask BF for police service

Sandy Battin News-Bulletin Editor; sbattin@news-bulletin.com

Peralta Bosque Farms police officers may soon be patrolling the streets of Peralta.

The Peralta Town Council voted 3-0 Wednesday to sign a joint powers agreement with Bosque Farms to provide police services after residents spoke out emotionally for more than an hour about whether to accept a proposal from the village to the north or one from the sheriff's department.

The Bosque Farms Village Council will vote on the agreement at its meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 19, at its village hall.

At the Peralta Council session, Mayor Bryan Olguin reviewed the proposals for the crowd. For $93,141, the sheriff's department would provide "24/5" coverage, with two officers each assigned to Peralta on 12-hour shifts during the week and police protection from the department's regularly assigned deputies during the weekends.

Bosque Farms, for a cost of $85,000, would add one officer to its roster and provide a "24/7" daily presence in Peralta, he said.

Councilor Joseph Romero said that, under the sheriff's plan, "on the weekends, we'd be thrown in with the rest of the citizens of the county. ... One of my concerns is that, it seems to me, the majority of calls... will happen on the weekends."

Citizen John Taylor said that the sheriff's department "has to cover 1,068 square miles ... The farthest they could be away is 2.5 miles. Bosque Farms covers roughly four square miles. It usually has three officers on patrol. The farthest it could be away is 2.5 miles. ... It seems to me it's 24/7 versus 24/5."

He said he thinks that, on the weekends, the sheriff's department is "going to be spread pretty thin."

Citizen Lorenzo Moya noted that the sheriff's plan would cost $93,141 only the first year and then would go down. Olguin said in subsequent years, it would drop to about $87,000.

Moya presented a petition with 135 signatures opposing the hiring of the Bosque Farms department and recommending the sheriff's option.

"We're used to the county," Moya said, adding he sees patrol cars in his neighborhood once or twice a day. "We're more comfortable; we've had the county there for years." When he said that, with Bosque Farms' traffic control patterns, "we'll have a bunch of tickets," others in the crowd broke into applause.

Resident Randy Smith countered that Peralta "needs a police force established in traffic control." He said that the sheriff's department has "not only a larger area, but the crime rate in Valencia County is higher than it is in Peralta and Bosque Farms."

The Bosque Farms Police have offered a 30-day trial period, Smith said. "It seems clear the Bosque Farms proposal is better."

Olguin noted that both proposals could be negotiated. "Both departments have been good, courteous and generous," he said.

Resident Anthony Apodaca said he was concerned that "we're considering bringing into Peralta a police force that has never been voted on by anyone in Peralta" while local citizens have voted in the election of the sheriff.

Driving home that day, he said, he saw a Bosque Farms police officer parked at the border of Peralta, apparently on traffic patrol. "That's a problem I have. It seems everything they do is right on the edge," Apodaca said.

A woman told the council that "I feel they're watching the traffic, and I feel we do need them." Peralta has a speeding problem, she said, and "it is very bad."

She said many residents had called her and told her they favored the Bosque Farms option. "We could see how many signatures we could get," she said.

Olguin noted that Bosque Farms residents also vote for the sheriff. "It's not us versus them," he said. "We've got to get in the mindset that we're all working together."

The mayor said he had been flooded with calls on the issue, running "about 50/50" on the two departments.

"I've heard Bosque Farms is tough on tickets," he said, adding that he'd also head that the sheriff's department's response time is slower."Is this about emergency services response time or traffic?"

Apodaca noted that, when the people of Peralta voted to incorporate, one of the issues they were trying to prevent was being taken over by Bosque Farms. "We don't vote for anyone in Bosque Farms — at least not yet," he said.

Councilor Romero said that "I agree we haven't voted on the Bosque Farms Police Department. Bosque Farms residents haven't voted on the Bosque Farms Police Department" nor have Los Lunas residents voted on the chief of their police department.

"Chiefs are not elected officials. It's not an elected position. It's an administrative position," he said.

And he said the Peralta municipal judge will be there "to temper justice with mercy" in terms of tickets. Romero said that, when the town incorporated, people also expressed concern about crime and speeders.

A man told the council that the Bosque Farms Police are "looking for any little minute thing" such as a light on a license plate being out. "You're like a fish in a shark-infested water" driving through Bosque Farms, he said. "They will pull you over for any reason whatsoever.

"I'm sick and tired of the way they treat people."

Resident Robert Dixon said that his wife was ticketed for not having a rear-view mirror attached to her windshield, but that she had other mirrors. He said that the department was unable to prove that its ordinances required a mirror on the window and the ticket was eventually thrown out after he spent an entire evening in court.

Dixon said that he had no problem with officers going after speeders; it was the minor problems that they target that bothers him.

Taylor said that "we have our own judge. .. I want professional law enforcement officers," he said.

Officers on the department have told him that, when they stop someone on a traffic-related offense, they often find people with felony warrants, Taylor said. "The fact that they're sticklers is fine with me."

Fire Chief John Dear, who noted that he has been a certified police officer since 1965, said that, as a municipality, Peralta is required to have at least one officer and it has to make a decision about law enforcement protection.

He said, with the amount of territory the sheriff's department covers and the number of calls it takes, "the sheriff's department cannot do it. I work with them on a daily basis.

"People complain about getting stopped for not having proper equipment" but police departments must enforce those laws since the state did away with safety inspections, he said.

A person who is ticketed for a broken taillight learns his or her lesson and gets it fixed, he said. When the driver goes to court with a receipt showing the problem has been fixed, the case is usually dismissed.

"I believe Bosque Farms is by far a better agency to provide us with the service we need at this time," he said.

Another man said he hadn't heard a valid reason why the sheriff's department should be chosen. He said he welcomes tickets being given to people endangering his family by going 50 to 60 miles per hour down his residential street and not slowing down for stop signs.

A woman said she wasn't attacking the sheriff's department, but that it is "understaffed, undermanned ... They don't have enough staff. No one is here to beat up the sheriff's department."

She said she understands that some people are frustrated with the Bosque Farms department because of the number of tickets it passes out, "but when your home is being invaded ... and you call 911, would you rather not face (the burglar) for 30 minutes while you're waiting for the sheriff's office? ... We want our families protected."

Considering a 30-day trial period and that it seems willing to set up a committee to review grievances, "my suggestion is we go with Bosque Farms," she said.

Citizen Dolores Torres said when she's had problems at her business, the Bosque Farms department responded quickly and handled events professionally.

But another man said: "I travel five states, and Bosque Farms is the only place I have problems."

Another man claimed that "Bosque Farms is walking over us."

He said many local residents have lived in the area for generations and "it's easy for people who are not from here to change things the way they want." He said people are happy with the law enforcement they've got and, with deputies being assigned to Peralta, "it's more than what we had."

After listening to citizens' arguments, the council and mayor began discussing the agreement.

Olguin said that his mother's home had been burglarized and that he came home, went through the house and went back to work and the sheriff's department still hadn't arrived.

"It's about police protection. It's about public safety," he said.

Romero said that he lives on a dangerous turn on N.M. 47 and that his fence is taken down four or five times a year as traffic goes at up to 80 or 90 miles per hour through Peralta. "I have two small kids who love to play outside," he said. "I'm terrified something will happen."

He suggested that Peralta could establish a committee to keep an eye on the policing situation and that a probation period could be set up for traffic tickets in Peralta. Warnings could be given at first — "a get-out-of-jail-free card," he suggested.

Apodaca asked what prevents the mayor and council from appointed Peralta's own chief of police. "That has not been addressed," he said, also advising the council not to rely on anecdotal evidence in making the decision.

Romero said that Peralta has until July 1 to establish law enforcement, and Olguin told Apodaca that it is the new municipality's aim to start a police department in the next three to five years. He said it took the town of Edgewood five years to set up a police department.

Councilor Michael Otero told the crowd that the council is only working to get the best police protection it can. "It's not an issue of sovereignty; Bosque Farms is just hired help," he said.

He said he thinks that the county doesn't have the manpower to do what it wants to do. "My heart is with the county, but my head knows better," he said.

Councilor Christian Garcia recalled an accident involving young people in which the Bosque Farms police arrived in 11 minutes and the sheriff's department came in 40 minutes.

"What's more important — a life or a damned ticket?" he asked.

Garcia moved to approve the agreement with Bosque Farms. Romero seconded the motion, and they were joined by Otero in voting for it. One councilor, Nancy "Pug" Burge, was not present at the meeting.

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