Doña Ana County government declares emergency to respond to coronavirus

LAS CRUCES — The Doña Ana County government declared a countywide emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic at its County Commission meeting April 14.

The declaration, approved by the commission, directs County Manager Fernando Macias to take necessary steps within the county government to address the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, which has led to economic instability as businesses close and workers lose jobs.

It doesn't impose any new restrictions on county residents.

The declaration grants Macias emergency procurement and budgetary powers that allow him to move money more quickly and in greater amounts within the county's coffers without needing to get commission approval.

Macias is able to approve individual contracts up to $100,000 each for services related to addressing the emergency — an increase from $50,000 during normal times. He can also approve a number of county budget adjustments to address the outbreak.

Macias is able to order flexible work hours and allow county employees to work from home, but those are powers he had under normal conditions and had begun to be imposed back in March.

He said the majority of employees within county administrative offices are teleworking at this point.

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The reason for the declaration, broadly speaking, is "exercising emergency powers and the expenditure of available resources, and requesting aid, assistance and relief programs and funds available from the State of New Mexico and the federal government," according to the resolution authorizing it.

After Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima declared a citywide emergency last week, he said one of the primary reasons was eligibility to receive reimbursement funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for expenses incurred during the pandemic response.

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A spokesperson for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's office has said municipalities within the state have been advised to declare emergencies to remove any ambiguities that could prevent them from receiving aid money from FEMA.

So far, the county has identified $20,000 it spent on first responders that could meet reimbursable criteria, Macias said.

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Macias also said it's possible money could be drawn from the county's emergency fund to address the outbreak, which sits at about $300,000 and was last used to help asylum seekers dropped off by the U.S. Border Patrol in Las Cruces last spring.

But Macias said the county has a complete budget aside from the emergency fund to spend money on ways to combat the outbreak.

Michael McDevitt can be reached at 575-202-3205, mmcdevitt@lcsun-news.com or @MikeMcDTweets on Twitter.