Colfax County Commission approves transfers, budget adjustments and equipment disposals; Farley fire water agreement approved

The Colfax County Commission on an administrative meeting approved a set of budget and operational measures, including a $40,000 transfer to the corrections fund to cover reduced detention-fee revenue, several targeted budget adjustments, disposal of outdated county laptops and surplus shotguns, and a water-access agreement to support the Farley Fire Department.

County staff told the commission the corrections fund had been underfunded after the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) stopped quarterly detention-fee payments on July 1, 2024, and that an unplanned lock repair at the detention center raised costs. Staff said a $40,000 transfer from the general fund should carry the corrections fund through the end of the year.

A staff presentation on the budget-adjustment resolution outlined several line-item moves: a $1,000 increase to the countywide medical program in the MCMC hospital fund (linked to a baby-box alarm hookup), a reclassification and a $9,000 transfer into capital outlay for a detention-center lock repair (a net $7,000 increase to reach an estimated $15,000 repair cost), a $20,300 shortfall for a new boiler at the clerk’s building, a $10,000 grant-funded increase to employee training for the YES program, and several intra-fund reclassifications reallocating per diem and telephone/professional services lines.

The commission authorized disposal of obsolete county laptops used as mobile data terminals under a corrected resolution clarifying where records will be kept and noting NCIC data concerns that require hard-drive destruction or secure wiping before disposal. The sheriff’s office presented a separate resolution to trade in surplus shotguns with ProForce Law Enforcement for trade credit to purchase training ammunition; commissioners approved that resolution as well.

The Farley Fire Department water agreement, which permits the county to install a meter and draw water from a private site for fire suppression and necessary operations (paying the Cimarron rate if no private rate exists), was initially tabled to allow commissioners time to review the emailed agreement. After returning from a closed personnel session (no action taken in closed session), the commission removed the item from the table and approved the agreement.

‘We had overbudgeted revenue,’ a county staff presenter said about the corrections fund shortfall, noting that previously received quarterly payments are no longer being provided by the AOC.

Votes at a glance:
- Resolution 2026-17 (transfers to corrections fund): Approved (roll call recorded Commissioners Kern — yes; Trujillo — yes; Chairman Tatum — yes). Outcome: approved.
- Resolution 2026-18 (budget adjustments): Approved (roll call recorded Commissioners Kern — yes; Trujillo — yes; Chairman Tatum — yes). Outcome: approved.
- Resolution 2026-19 (disposal of obsolete county laptops/mobile data terminals): Approved (roll call recorded). Outcome: approved.
- Resolution 2026-20 (dispose/trade-in surplus shotguns for training ammunition): Approved (roll call recorded). Outcome: approved.
- Farley Fire Department water agreement: Initially tabled; later removed from the table and approved (roll calls recorded).

The commission recessed for a closed session under the New Mexico statute cited for limited personnel matters and returned to open session with no action arising from the closed session. County manager and staff also reported operational items including time-clock activation and training, a road-inventory/GIS exercise, and the Bloster Gap preconstruction schedule (contractor expected to mobilize the week of March 2 with completion planned by April and a required June 30 finish tied to grant constraints).

The meeting ended after commissioner reports on road-prioritization concerns and local fire activity; the chair described a recent canyon fire where deputies and county workers helped prevent the blaze from reaching the tree canopy and urged citizens to be vigilant. The meeting adjourned following a final roll call.