Commissioners to address fences in the Lincoln National Forest

By Janessa Maxilom

jmaxilom@alamogordonews.com @janessa_speaks on Twitter

The Otero County Commission will hold a special meeting on Monday to consider approving a court order for the Otero County sheriff to remove or open U.S. Forest Service fences.

The meeting will be held at 8 a.m. in the Otero County administrative building, 1101 New York Ave. Originally, the commission had planned to create a resolution that supports a court order for Sheriff Benny House to take action against the USFS at the May 8 commission meeting.

However, Otero County Attorney Dan Bryant said the commission hadn't placed the resolution on the budget soon enough for it to be legal for commissioners to take action on it.

"The open meetings act says our agenda has to be final and published 72 hours ahead of the meeting," Bryant said.

Bryant said the resolution wasn't placed on the May 8 agenda until late in the afternoon of May 5. He said by the time it was placed on the budget, it didn't fit the requirements of the open meetings act.

Bryant recommended the meeting be moved to Monday, May 12 with commissioners agreeing to tackle the issue then.

Also during the May 8 commission meeting the commission decided to postpone scheduling a public hearing to consider changes to the Otero County personnel policy.

The commission was asked by Otero County Human Resources Director, Debbie Alton, at the March meeting to consider adjusting the policy to include new state and federally protected classifications.

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Commissioners to address fences in the Lincoln National Forest