Peralta to pay BF $100K more annually for police service

Peralta and Bosque Farms leadership recently approved an updated intergovernmental agreement stipulating that Peralta will pay Bosque Farms an additional $100,000 per year for police services.

Since Peralta became an incorporated municipality in 2007, the town and village have had an IGA in place for Bosque Farms Police Department to provide police service to Peralta.

In the last agreement, Peralta agreed to pay Bosque Farms $400,000 during the last fiscal year for law enforcement service.

At a workshop held June 10, Peralta and Bosque Farms leaders discussed a request from Bosque Farms’ administration to increase the amount Peralta pays through the IGA.

“It’s been, overall, very cordial and successful,” said Peralta Councilor Leon Otero at the workshop. “With any intergovernmental agencies, there may be conflict a little bit, but I don’t think we’ve ever had any big disagreements or any problems. It all boils down, basically, to finances.”

New Bosque Farms Village Clerk Michael Limon explained calls for service to BFPD are increasing while staffing at the police department is taking a hit.

“Seeing that agreement stay at $400,000 I don’t think is feasible,” said Limon. “I believe, in order to maintain competitive wages for our department and top-of-the-line equipment, that the agreement needs to scale.”

BFPD Police Chief Andrew Owen said Los Lunas and Belen police departments, in addition to Valencia County Sheriff’s Office, pay their officers more than BFPD and, in order to better retain officers, wages need to be increased.

“We pay an officer, right now, $22.19 an hour to put their lives on the line to serve these communities,” said Owen. “This is not to make us the highest-paid agency, but we have to be competitive within our own county, at least.”

Peralta Councilor Randy Smith said the council would like to see additional revenue go toward BFPD wages should the proposed agreement be approved. However, with that being a significant increase, Smith questioned where an additional $100,000 would come from Peralta’s budget.

Peralta Deputy Clerk and Treasurer Steve Robbins said the gross receipts taxes pay for a notable portion of Peralta’s expenses, but they do not have enough GRT revenue to meet an annual $100,000 increase. However, he noted the 2 mill levy the Peralta council recently approved for public safety.

The combined mill levies, Robbins said, is projected to bring in about $330,000 in additional revenue annually for public safety. While there are other public safety departments within Peralta that would need funds from tax, he said the mill levy would be able to fund the additional $100,000 for the updated IGA agreement.

“That increase is something that we can definitely work with, and it is something that we’re grateful for,” said Limon. “I think we can 100 percent utilize that towards salaries, which will make us more competitive in the field.”

“I’ve got no issue with trying to work that into salaries,” Bosque Farms Mayor Chris Gillespie said about the agreement. “I believe that’s probably in the best interest of our department.”

Robbins said he believes the agreement, which lasts for three years before it needs to be revisited again, is sufficient and he would recommend it to the Peralta governing body.

The agreement stipulates that Peralta would pay Bosque Farms $125,000 a quarter totaling $500,000 a year.

Robbins concluded that increasing officers’ wages will help with retention leading to a safer Bosque Farms and Peralta.

“We all understand that, and I appreciate Bosque Farms coming here and we appreciate our shared police force,” said Robbins.

The Peralta Town Council officially approved the IGA agreement at its June 11 council meeting, and Bosque Farms approved it June 20 at the council meeting. The IGA officially went into effect July 1.