Staff Reports
During the May 26 McKinley County Commissioner meeting the Sun learned that Deputy County Assessor Ernest Charles Becenti III was terminated from his position March 9. Ernest also recently won the Democratic nomination for the District 1 County Commissioner position during the June 2 primary election, according to the unofficial results. He received 33% of the votes (1,164 votes).
Becenti served as the county’s Deputy Assessor for the last four years.
The Sun tried to speak to County Manager Anthony Dimas and Assistant County Manager Brian Money about Ernest’s termination, but they both said they couldn’t comment on personnel matters. However, Money did briefly speak about personnel issues during the May 26 meeting.
He elaborated on the past and current vacancies that need to be filled, noting the responsibility fell on the recently terminated Ernest, who didn’t fulfill these responsibilities during his tenure with the county.
“The Chief Deputy Assessor position is posted, that one has only been vacant recently,” Money said. “That person was terminated from employment so we do have that advertised to fill.”
Money said county staff have spent hours on these personnel issues which have been challenging, saying there were some “bad actors” down in the office that were “causing a lot of drama.” He said this led to many vacancies.
He didn’t elaborate on the issue any further, but he did note that the county would be conscientious of who they hire moving forward, and work to ensure they select the right people.
“We’re not here to cause drama, to gossip and play games,” he said. “Some of the staff we had down there were doing exactly that and they are no longer here so I think we can move forward in a positive direction.”
County Commission Chair Robert Baca, Dist. 3, concluded the discussion by restating what County Assessor Edward Becenti’s role is, and what the expectations are moving forward.
“We are public servants,” Baca said. “We are officials that have been put into these positions by the citizens of this community. I see that we do a disservice to the community when we have a lack of personnel; we need them, they’re essential to this community.”
This issue came up after the commission received a presentation from Edward and contractor Lucas Fresquez on their challenges of backlogged property evaluations and other responsibilities within the office. They cited a lack of personnel spanning over 15 years due to various vacant positions within the county.
Commissioner Danielle Notah, Dist. 1, questioned Edward on why the report is just now surfacing after 15 years. Edward said that the report would typically fall under the deputy assessor’s responsibility.
