Mountainair's Plans for Nabbing Police Officers

During the past few months, the town of Mountainair had been pursuing the employment of Belen Police Officer Gabriel Reynolds for the Mountainair Police Department.  By the end of August 2023, it appeared that the town had come to an agreement with Reynolds.

At the September 5, 2023 meeting of the Mountainair Town Council, things took an unexpected turn, and it was made clear that Reynolds had rejected the town's offer. For Councilor Richard Torres, there were questions about whether Reynolds had expected to be offered the police chief position and subsequently had rejected Mountainair's offer when he was expected to fill a patrol officer role instead. Mayor Peter Nieto explained to the town council that the town had never offered Reynolds a chief rate as he was not qualified for the role.

Nieto went on to discuss future efforts to obtain police officers by suggesting the town council raise salary rates. "Moriarty can't even get police with higher rates," Nieto said. He went on to cite other towns, including Edgewood, Moriarty, and Estancia, that offered higher salaries for police officers. After a member of the audience said that the town needed to make clear when hiring was for police officers versus a police chief role, Nieto suggested he would conduct future hiring efforts in public to avoid the "rumor mill."