A dispute over law enforcement coverage in the Española area that surfaced at recent public meetings in the city points to broader feelings of governmental neglect on the part of some northern Santa Fe County residents.
In March, Española Mayor John Ramon Vigil requested law enforcement coverage from the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office on Good Friday, which draws big crowds to Española each year and to the surrounding area as thousands make the annual pilgrimage to El Santuario de Chimayó.
Santa Fe County Undersheriff Ken Johnson wrote in an email back to Vigil that his agency could not provide extra support to Española.
“[The Santuario de Chimayó pilgrimage] is our agency’s biggest annual event and we will have our entire staff assigned to this event working overtime to fulfill the staffing needs of this large event,” Johnson wrote.
During a public safety town hall meeting in June, Vigil called Santa Fe County a “poor partner,” criticizing what he called a lack of patrolling and policing from county deputies in Española’s southeastern neighborhoods, which sit within the county. The rest of Española is part of Rio Arriba County.
Sheriff Adan Mendoza then appeared at an Española City Council meeting days later, telling councilors he wanted to go on the record in response to Vigil’s “disparaging remarks.” He said at the meeting he works well with Española’s police chief, adding “I would recommend you leave public safety and law enforcement issues to the experts — to the professionals — and that’s me and the chief.”
Mendoza called the issue a “dead horse” during a Wednesday interview, but he said he felt he had a responsibility to defend his agency and the services it provides.
“I don’t think [Vigil] is informed about how much we do up there and how much we assist the Española Police Department,” Mendoza said.
Mendoza said his agency does not perform patrols within any city limits but they do provide “support” when possible.
“Of course, we have jurisdiction, but we discourage our officers from being within the city limits of Española or Santa Fe or any incorporated area,” Mendoza said. “They have their police force and they’ve taken the responsibility of providing those services.”
Mendoza said the agency’s deputies “absolutely” have a presence in the northern, unincorporated parts of Santa Fe County that sit near Española.
Vigil said in an interview that he “disagrees” with Mendoza.
“You don’t see Santa Fe County sheriff’s deputies north of Pojoaque,” Vigil said Wednesday. “Cuartelez, La Puebla — they don’t see Santa Fe County at all.”
Vigil said his comments stemmed from the “much wider issue” of Santa Fe County being an “absent partner” in other ways as well.
“I’m looking out for the constituents of Santa Cruz and El Llano,” he said. “They feel Santa Fe County has been absent in general for them.”
Vigil’s comments touched on sentiments held by some Santa Fe County residents within Española and in nearby communities that they are something like an afterthought for the county.
About one-third of Española’s residents — or more than 3,000 people — live in Santa Fe County.
Vigil said an active neighborhood group in the Santa Cruz neighborhood of the city has been meeting weekly and drafting a list of concerns to present to Santa Fe County, including over service such as law enforcement. And one long-standing grievance from Española officials has been a lack of funding from Santa Fe County for police dispatch.
A little more than a decade ago, Santa Fe County signed onto a joint powers agreement for police dispatch in the Española Valley, City Councilor Peggy Sue Martinez said. However, the county later backed out, leaving the city of Española, Rio Arriba County and several of the surrounding pueblos to cover budget shortfalls for the regional dispatch center.
“Santa Fe County has regarded Española as something they don’t need to help with,” she said Wednesday. “They have sort of dismissed themselves of anything here.”
Martinez said she has tried to secure some funding from Santa Fe County again for the dispatch center for years, and that talks recently began to make it happen. County spokeswoman Olivia Romo confirmed Wednesday that county staff and Commissioner Justin Greene have been in negotiations over the issue but that a deal would also need approval from the commission.
Martinez said she hopes the agreement can be the start of a better relationship between the two entities.
“It would be good if we had open dialogue and built some trust working on a project collaboratively and fairly,” she said.
In 2016, Española and Rio Arriba County officials publicly supported a plan to annex the rest of the city into Rio Arriba County, citing concerns from residents in southeast Española neighborhoods.
Vigil said Española’s parks, trash pickup and public safety would all benefit from a better partnership with Santa Fe County. During a recent City Council meeting, Vigil brought up a threat from residents to “secede” from Santa Fe County, but Wednesday, he said Española is looking for “better collaboration” from the county.
“Right now, it’s just about trying to get [Santa Fe County] to be a visible partner at the table,” he said.
