Rio Communities to begin looking for a new police chief

RIO COMMUNITIES — The Rio Communities City Council decided to begin its search for a new police chief as an in-house effort with the possibility of using an outside recruiter if a qualified candidate isn’t found in a month.

At the July 30 council meeting, the last action item on the agenda was consideration of beginning recruitment efforts for a new police chief using an outside consultant at a cost of up to $30,000.

Councilor Matthew Marquez said in conversations with community members, people had issues with the city “hiring somebody to hire somebody. Why can’t we use that money to hire and not use an outside agency? Dr. Moore has been a city manager for many years. I’m sure you know each place to find a police chief.”

Former RCPD chief Felix Nunez was fired in a unanimous decision by the city councilors at a special meeting on July 9 after he was placed on paid administrative leave in mid-May. Nunez was put on leave due to a complaint filed with the city, which was investigated by Universal Investigation, an Albuquerque firm.

The council was given the investigative report during an executive session at the special meeting. When the News-Bulletin requested a copy of the complaint and report, Moore said it was not subject to disclosure under the state Inspection of Public Records Act because it was a matter of opinion in the chief’s personnel file.

During the July 30 meeting, Moore said he does have contacts and resources to advertise the police chief position, but noted filling it would be “extraordinarily difficult. At this time, I am spread thin.”

He explained an outside firm would be able to engage in “assertive recruiting” and go beyond basic advertising for the job.

Citing his experience in corporate settings, Councilor Art Apodaca — who joined the meeting via phone — said the city has limited resources and a consultant would have national reach.

“They have more contacts available ... they are professionals and this is what they do on an ongoing basis to find the right candidate,” Apodaca said. “When we went through (hiring a police chief) the first time, we had one candidate from Kansas. They are national in scope and I don’t think we, as a city, have the capability to work on the national level.”

Councilor Tom Nelson said his big concern was ending up in the same position as the city did when it conducted a national search for a fire chief in 2021.

“I don’t want to end up like we did with the fire chief and he’s here for a day,” Nelson said.

In October, the city’s first-ever paid fire chief, Christopher Bortz, tendered his resignation after a week on the job. In his official letter to the city, Bortz said he was leaving the position and returning to North Carolina for personal reasons, however the News-Bulletin learned the chief had allegedly received threats just days after starting.

At the time, Moore said he couldn’t confirm or deny whether threats had been made against Bortz, but did say the chief didn’t report any issues to him.

Considering the challenges of the police department — small, new and with limited pay — Councilor Lawrence Gordon said it might be difficult to find a local candidate.

“I think we need someone who can think outside the box — someone who can start with a small department and grow it, someone who has done that before,” Gordon said.

Martin noted all candidates would be considered, both local and not.

Marquez argued someone local — from New Mexico — would be better in tune with the community and traditions, and less prone to “culture shock.”

Nunez came from a long background of law enforcement in the state across multiple departments, Apodaca said.

“That’s why we picked him over the Kansas candidate,” he said. “We did pick someone with local ties and it didn’t work out.”

Nelson said he has been approached by local law enforcement officers who are interested in applying for the municipal chief’s position. He asked if the decision to contract with a consultant could be put off a month.

“If we don’t find anything, then we could come back to this,” Marquez suggested.

Nelson made a motion to begin recruiting “locally” no later than Monday, Aug. 4, and if by Sept. 1, a suitable candidate hadn’t been found, then hand the search over to an outside consultant on contract for no more than $30,000.

As discussion wound down, Marquez said “the city manager needs to let us know where he’s going out for advertising so we know it’s going to multiple places.”

During council discussion at the end of the meeting, the councilor circled back to the matter of recruiting a new police chief.

“Every councilor should see every applicant when they are received. I’d like a hiring committee with the fire chief and attorney included,” Marquez said.