Estancia Fire Chief Details Nearly $55,000 in Damage and Missing Gear as Board Wrestles With Budget, Water Strain
Board also approves a $554,685.58 road payment, renews its school resource officer agreement, and confronts a wave of overdue financial reports at its August 3, 2026, meeting.
ESTANCIA, N.M. - Fire Chief Chris Wolonsky alleged tens of thousands of dollars in damaged and missing fire department equipment from the brief tenure of former Acting Fire Chief Lester Gary.
The August 3, 2026 Estancia Board of Trustees meeting continued a pattern of accountability struggles the Dispatch has tracked in Estancia since spring, when trustees fired acting Fire Chief Lester Gary and reinstated Wolonsky following an April 18, 2026, structure fire on NM-41, and when the town declared a water emergency in June after tanks fell to roughly three hours of supply.
Trustees on August 3 heard that the water system remains under strain, that the town is still catching up on quarterly financial reports required by the state, and that raises promised to town employees remain on hold until a budget is finished.
Fire chief reports nearly $55,000 in damage, demands an accounting
Giving the fire department's monthly report, Wolonsky told trustees there were no fires to report in July, then turned to what he described as the aftermath of mismanagement at the station during the period before his reinstatement. He said he had documented $33,646.79 in damage to department vehicles, including two fire trucks and two ambulances; $19,581.78 in missing equipment; and $1,630 in what he called unneeded expenses, for a combined total of $54,858.57. He said the losses stemmed from the period between February 9, 2026, and Gary's termination, April 21, 2026.
Wolonsky said the funds involved come from state money allocated to the fire department rather than the town's general fund, and that one damaged unit, a fire apparatus with an estimated $21,000 in damage, is currently in Albuquerque awaiting his approval to begin repairs. He said most replacement parts are already available and that repairs would likely take one to two weeks once authorized.
Wolonsky addressed Mayor Riley, who was attending his first meeting since his medical leave of absence, saying he wanted an action plan on his desk by Friday explaining how the town would address the losses "before I escalate this over your head." Trustee Martin Lucero and Trustee Patrick Sanchez asked follow-up questions about whether the town would need documentation for the state, and Wolonsky said the damaged apparatus in Albuquerque was awaiting only his sign-off to proceed.
Earlier in the meeting, during public comment, Wolonsky praised Trustee Sanchez for organizing a recent car show in the town park, then turned to Mayor Riley. "Runnel Riley," Wolonsky said. "You're on my list now. I had a big speech prepared. I can't believe you showed up. You spineless piece of shit! You, these guys, cleaned up everything that you destroyed in your first three months here, and then you took a leave of absence and left this town high and dry while they had an emergency situation. You are spineless. You can't even take care of yourself. You should walk away and resign. I am not a mean person, but when you come after me and my family, you'll get what's coming."
Riley did not respond to the comment during the meeting.
Water system remains under strain as monitoring upgrade nears completion
Interim Town Clerk Roy Hubbard told trustees the town's storage tanks stood at 43 feet, with crews hauling water as needed to keep levels from dropping below roughly 22 feet (the town measures the height of the water available, not the volume), the point at which the system risks losing the pressure needed to serve the school, library, and the new fairgrounds building. Hubbard said residents have continued to conserve water since the town's June emergency declaration, and that the town had not needed to haul water since the Friday before the meeting.
Trustee Albert Lovato pressed for detail on well 4 specifically, calling it the town's "saving grace," and Hubbard said Public Works Supervisor Edwin Bencomo has been coordinating additional water hauling to maintain tank levels. Hubbard also told trustees that Hands On Environmental has purchased the materials needed for a new real-time monitoring system for the town's wells and tanks, with installation expected to be complete by September. Lucero asked whether the town could lose water pressure during the installation itself and asked staff to bring a plan to the next meeting so residents are not caught off guard.
Separately, Trustee Sanchez told the board a local rancher has offered to sell the town water rights tied to an existing well near the town's main storage tanks, and said he would follow up with Hubbard on next steps. No formal action was taken.
Village officials in Willard, in separate meetings, have confirmed that the Town of Estancia has attempted, unsuccessfully, to purchase water from them.
Budget delays continue to hold up employee raises and overdue state reports
Hubbard told trustees the town still owes the state second-, third-, and fourth-quarter financial reports for fiscal year 2026, and that he has been working with New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration budget analyst Harold Quintana to submit them one quarter at a time. He warned trustees he may need to call special sessions to approve budget adjustments as the reports are finalized, and said the goal is to have the overdue reports and the town's fiscal year 2027 budget submitted by the end of August.
Police Chief Thomas Carter asked directly when previously approved employee raises would take effect. Trustee Lovato and Hubbard told him the raises remain contingent on completing the budget. While trustees declined to implement raises for the town's police officers, they separately voted to raise Hubbard's own pay as interim town clerk.
Lucero asked Hubbard to build a standing follow-up section into future clerk reports so the board can track outstanding action items, citing automated external defibrillators the board approved roughly two months earlier that still have not been ordered.
Public safety: staffing questions, a school agreement renewal, and National Night Out
During public comment, resident Julie Morales, who also serves as the town's pool operator, questioned the town's staffing balance, noting the town employs six police officers compared with three public works employees while the park, library, pool, and fire station all need attention. She also said her mother was alarmed to see an officer carrying a "large rifle" while patrolling a recent town event.
Chief Carter addressed the concern directly, saying the visible rifle reflects standard practice for officers working large outdoor events given a nationwide increase in active-shooter incidents, and said he welcomes questions from residents about the policy.
Carter reported 75 calls for service last month, said the department is still waiting on Torrance County's move to a digital dispatch radio system before spending money on new radios, and confirmed the town's school resource officer program is back in session.
Trustees voted to renew the town's memorandum of understanding with Estancia Municipal Schools and the police department for school resource officer services for the coming school year, a rollover of last year's agreement with only the start time adjusted to match the district's new schedule. Trustee Lovato noted the officer, identified in the meeting as David, has been a successful presence at the school, and Carter said the department is working out a schedule to periodically pull the officer out for training without leaving the school uncovered.
EMS, planning and public works updates
EMS Operations Chief Jonathan Barela told trustees EMS responded to 27 calls for service last month, several of them in the county, and that a pharmacist inspection of the department's medications went smoothly. He said the department learned it was approved for $73,233 in state EMS grant funding, a significant increase over prior years, though he cautioned the money is restricted to equipment, supplies, and training rather than salaries, and is not a guaranteed recurring award. Barela said the department is reviewing an applicant for an open EMS position and is in talks with Central New Mexico Community College about a new combined EMT and firefighter curriculum, hoping to recruit graduates directly into the department.
Hubbard, filling in for the town's planning and zoning administrator, who remains on leave, told trustees the town cannot yet grant him system access to the online permitting platform because the absent administrator is the only authorized account holder. He said the town may need to temporarily process permits on paper while he reviews the town's zoning ordinance to keep applications moving.
Board approves $554,685.58 Loring Avenue payment, discusses traffic safety
Trustees approved the town's first pay application to Albuquerque Asphalt, in the amount of $554,685.58, for improvements to Loring Avenue. Hubbard told the board a second and final payment application, expected to total roughly $674,325.16, is still to come and is already fully funded. Trustee Lovato asked Chief Carter to look at whether the road needs additional traffic measures, citing speeding on the newly improved stretch, and Trustee Lucero and EMS Chief Jonathan Barela both raised the possibility of adjusted stop sign spacing or speed bumps, particularly given the number of schoolchildren who walk the route.
Pool operations flagged for training gaps and a broken gate lock
Morales told trustees she has completed lifeguard and chemical safety training but has not received the system-specific training she needs to operate the pool's sand filter, despite repeated promises from a contractor she said has not followed through. Trustee Lovato proposed formally converting the position into a seasonal pool manager role with direct purchasing authority through Hubbard, rather than requiring approvals to pass through multiple staff, an idea Trustee May said is part of a broader staffing reorganization she and Hubbard are developing for the coming budget.
Morales also told the board that a lock securing one of the pool's gates has repeatedly been found open, and asked for a replacement lock and chain as a priority given ongoing camera-access problems that have kept her from monitoring the area. Chief Carter offered to connect her with the person who administers the pool's camera system. Separately, Trustee Lovato asked about first aid kits and automated external defibrillators (AEDs) for the pool that the board approved previously; Hubbard said they still have not been ordered.
Other business
Trustees approved a property line adjustment for a residential lot on South Lassiter, requested by two siblings who co-own adjoining parcels and want a survey to formally reflect a boundary that has never been surveyed. Both property owners agreed to the change.
The board voted to table, until its next meeting, a proposed agreement with Torrance County for after-hours animal control services, after Hubbard said the draft in front of the board had been written using another jurisdiction's name in error and needs to be redrafted specifically for Estancia.
Trustees approved Resolution 2026-27 on a roll call vote, authorizing the town to participate in the state's Local Government Road Fund program, administered by the New Mexico Department of Transportation, and to request a waiver of the local matching-fund requirement for a roughly $71,600 grant. See N.M. Stat. Ann. § 67-3-28.2 (2025) (establishing the local governments road fund).
The board also voted to post the town's vacant deputy clerk position and convene a hiring committee to interview candidates, and separately approved, pending final budget approval, a $2-an-hour raise for Library Director Angela Creamer in recognition of the additional social media and website duties she has taken on. Trustee May said the town relies on the library's Facebook page and website to keep residents informed and to stay compliant with the state's Open Meetings Act.
Trustees also heard a brief update on the town's pending application, still awaiting documentation from the state, to exempt certain town positions from Social Security withholding under Section 218 of the Social Security Act. Hubbard said the state's assigned contact is still gathering the paperwork needed before the board can act. See Soc. Sec. Admin., Section 218 Agreements (last visited August 17, 2026).
Executive session
The meeting ended with a roll-call vote to enter executive session under N.M. Stat. Ann. § 10-15-1(H)(7) (2025) to discuss pending litigation involving the town. The transcript reviewed for this report does not include any portion of the closed session.