Council OKs police name change

By Eric Maddy
The SCORE

The Rio Rancho city council had its shortest meeting of the year Wednesday night, dispensing of a few non-controversial items in just under an hour in Tom Swisstack’s first time as presiding officer in almost 10 years.

“It’s like riding a bicycle – once you try it, you don’t forget,” said Swisstack, sworn in as mayor on Monday after serving in that capacity from 1994-98. “But there’s always room for improvement, and I look for that.”

The council would have been done much sooner but for a debate over the second reading of an ordinance proposed by mayor-turned-District 1-city-councilor Mike Williams to rename the Department of Public Safety to the Rio Rancho Police Department. Williams said previously it was a simple measure that was overlooked when the city created a separate fire department last summer.

But new District 4 councilor Steve Shaw said he opposed the change because it could cost up to $70,000 for new signs, vehicle markings and uniforms for code enforcement and animal control officers and equipment that currently fits under the DPS umbrella.

“We’re facing what we’ve been told is going to be a tight budget over the coming year,” Shaw said. “In conversations I’ve had with the DPS administration concerning the name change and the costs that could be associated with it, the figure was an estimated $40,000 to $70,000.”

Williams, a retired 31-year veteran police officer, disagreed with the figures presented by Shaw, saying city manager Jim Payne told him “We’re talking letterhead and that’s pretty much it. The actual cost is pretty minimal, according o Mr. Payne.”

Payne did not comment on the costs. But police chief Robert Boone, asked to address the issue by Councilor Patty Thomas, sided with Shaw, who retired after 21 years with the Rio Rancho department.

Boone also said changing the name could invalidate memorandums of understanding with other agencies, possibly making the department illegal in the federal government’s eyes. He requested a budget adjustment to cover the costs and for up to a year to phase out materials with the DPS brand before replacing it with a RRPD name.

“Or else we may be operating illegally as a police agency,” Boone said.

The council voted 4-2 to make the name change effective six months after the ordinance becomes law, and approved the overall ordinance by the same vote. Shaw and Marilyn Salzman voted against both times.

Shaw suggested the council should table the proposal and consider changing language in the ordinance to better reflect current practice in the department. But city attorney Jim Babin advised the new councilor that such changes could be made at any time and didn’t need to happen as part of the ordinance under consideration.

In other business, the council:

• Officially approved the procedures for the April 15 runoff election for the city council seat in District between Salzman and Kathy Colley.

• Approved its annual ordinance setting times and posting requirements to conform to the state’s Open Meetings Act.

• Approved the transfer of two liquor licenses at the new Albertson’s grocery stores on Southern Boulevard and in Enchanted Hills. The licenses were previously under the Raley’s supermarket chain, which was bought out by Albertson’s last year.

• Approved a funding application for the New Mexico Department of Transportation to get $500,000 for work around Idalia and Iris. The city will have to match $125,000 of the grant to qualify.

• Authorized an additional $2,000 budget adjustment to pay for police overtime as part of the Drug Enforcement Agency’s “Off Broadway” program.

• Issued a proclamation designating March 9-15 as “Groundwater Awareness Week.”

• Recognized Rio Rancho High School junior Elliott Pope as the Convention and Visitors Bureau “Athlete of the Month.” The star hockey player scored 14 goals and nine assists as the RRHS team won five of six games, and the Rams would later win the state title.