CLLA and Ethics settle complaint

On December 10, three board members of the County Livestock Loss Authority reached an agreement following a civil action under the Governmental Conduct Act initiated by the New Mexico State Ethics Commission (NMSEC).

According to the NMSEC press release on October 4, 2024, the NMSEC board authorized its attorney staff to commence the civil action under the Governmental Conduct Act to prevent those CLLA members who have applied or could apply for CLLA payments from voting on the formulae and methods by which they (or their ranches) would stand to benefit.

Last month, NMSEC and CLLA board members Tom Paterson, Nelson Shirley, and Audrey McQueen reached respective agreements in lieu of litigation.

The agreements do not permit Paterson, Shirley, or McQueen to participate in or vote on any proceeding or action in which their recusal would otherwise be required by law, said the release.

In their individual Memorandum of Understandings and agreements, each party will abstain from any vote to compensate themselves or their affiliated companies, including depredation payments, conflict avoidance payments, or indirect damages payments.

The agreement would allow board members to submit claims and receive compensations for their claims at amounts determined independently by the remaining directors of the CLLA without voting on their own claims, thereby avoiding any appearance of a self-interest vote.

In a September 2024 CLLA meeting, Jim Paxon, CLLA board member, announced that on August 15, he requested an informal opinion from the NMSEC regarding concerns with a conflict of interest.

NMEC followed up with a request of the board’s Joint Powers Agreement (JPA), bylaws, operational procedures, payment of depredations, and conflict avoidance. He said the Ethic Commission contacted him and advised they had enough concerns with the information, and their attorney was elevating it to a formal complaint.

In October, the NMSEC’s lawyer, Jeremy Farris, said they recognized the CLLA was vital to New Mexico’s cattle growers and were willing to work with them.

“I am confident that there is a satisfactory resolution that enables the CLLA to make informed decisions regarding compensation to livestock owners for depredations and preventative measures while maintaining compliance with New Mexico’s Governmental Conduct Act, which generally requires public officers to recuse from any official acts that directly affect their financial interest,” Farris wrote in October.

McQueen, the Catron County Commissioner on the board, sent out a letter to “Livestock producers in Wolf County” on January 2. In the letter, she flatly disputed the allegations, and said the three of them retained counsel. She stated that the three board members who were the most vocal about the poor performance of Sierra County administrators in making timely depredation payments had informal complaints submitted to the NMSEC by Sierra County Board member Paxon.

Tom Patterson called the allegations against the three ranchers who serve on the CLLA board “spurious.”

“Fortunately, the State Ethics Commission, when provided with the facts, saw through the allegations that the Sierra County representative to the board had made. The State Ethics Commission endorsed the payment protocols we had approved, found no impropriety, and agreed to dismiss the investigation. The matter is now behind us and we can get back to the business of working to compensate ranchers for their damages from Mexican wolves.” Paterson said.

Socorro County Manager Andy Lotrich, who stopped the CLLA from continuing a meeting without an approved agenda in the Socorro County Chambers on September 25, last year, said he is thankful for the decision, assistance and direction of the State Ethics Commission.

“Socorro County will continue to work with both Sierra County and Catron County to ensure that all legislative appropriations provided to the CLLA are used to compensate livestock producers for damages from the Mexican grey wolf, as the legislative appropriations are still not estimated to cover the estimated damages. No tax-payer dollars should be used to pay or cover any of the legal expenses of the three board members,” Lotrich said.

Lotrich confirmed that a Socorro County Representative would be appointed this month, as Ray Martinez, the former County Commissioner who served on the CLLA board, term out in December.

Paxon said he believes the settlement agreement was a good result. He also confirmed that he is still a board member of the CLLA.

“A year ago, I did not anticipate the problems the CLLA had during 2024. Since those problems emerged, however, we’ve done housecleaning that we and the Legislature have the right to expect,” McQueen wrote in her letter.

Moving forward, they hope to address the delays in depredation payments and get their new JPA approved in Socorro County, wrote McQueen.

The County Livestock Lost Authority was formed in November 2022 to compensate livestock lost to Mexican wolves, including cattle, horses, goats and sheep. The board is a joint effort between Catron, Sierra, and Socorro counties, with each contributing $100,000 to compensate ranchers. Last year, the CLLA received 1.5 million in funding from the Legislature. The CLLA works with the US Fish and Wildlife Department and New Mexico Agriculture Department to get funding from federal and wildlife advocate groups.

The next CLLA meeting will be in the first week of February at the Socorro County Annex I .