Doña Ana County Manager Julia T. Brown has moved Animal Control and Codes enforcement from the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Department to the Doña Ana County Community Development Department.
The move — which became effective today — was coordinated with the cooperation and approval of Doña Ana County Sheriff Enrique ‘Kiki’ Vigil.
The move will not affect the ability of the officers in the field to enforce all relevant county ordinances, but it will allow them to work with the Zoning Codes personnel who have long been under the umbrella of Community Development.
“This move will allow the Sheriff’s Department to focus on community policing, but it will not affect the ongoing working relationship between ACO/Codes officers and deputies in the field,” Brown said. “It will allow us to coordinate all codes education and enforcement through one department in which the personnel can cross-train and support one another for added efficiency across the board.”
Brown said there will be no disruption to the popular Animal Control Environmental Survey – ACES project – in which county workers from Animal Control, Codes Enforcement, Planning and Zoning, Vector Control and the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Department split into teams and go door-to-door in selected communities to offer education on weed control, pest control and animal ordinances so residents can come into compliance with county codes and beautify the areas where they live.
“The ACES project will continue unabated,” she said. “We’ve had hugely positive feedback to that program that we intend to build on under the new alignment of services.”
In all, 23 employees — and all their gear and supplies — will be affected by the change.
Community Development Director Daniel Hortert said the only substantive change will be the provision of new uniforms for the officers in the field, as well as new decals on the ACO/Codes vehicles. Those changes will be phased in and implemented in both the current and coming budget cycles.
Vigil said he, Hortert and Brown will work closely together to make the transition seamless.
Information from Doña Ana County