Is the Cloudcroft Village in Crises with More Staff Resignations?

A bit of levity is sometimes what’s neededPhoto by2nd Life Media

With the most recent municipal elections last fall in the Village of Cloudcroft, New Mexico; a sleepy mountain village known as a summer retreat for Texans escaping the heat, controversy surrounding staffing, is the lead headline of recent weeks.

The municipal elections, last year swept in a new administration claims to be committed to transparency, and delivering a superior level of service, not seen by the local government in years.

The election brought in new village trustees; and a newly elected Mayor. The newly elected mayor of the Village of Cloudcroft is Vincent Turner, who won with 128 votes. Joining already seated Trustees Gail McCoy, and James R Maynard, are newcomers, Timothy King and Tabitha Foster.

In January, the new team was sworn in with a very hands on approach to governance. Upon being elected Mayor Turner said Turner said he was excited to "roll up his sleeves" and get started on work for Cloudcroft.

In November of 2023 after winning the election Turner told the Alamogordo Daily News that infrastructure is among his area of focus in the first months of his role as mayor.

"First and foremost, our infrastructure, like most small communities in America, your water, your pipes, your roads, leaks that need to be repaired and fixed. Those will be things we will dive into immediately," Turner said.

Turner said he looks forward to working for the village. "There are bright days ahead for Cloudcroft, and I am excited to take Cloudcroft to the next level," Turner said.

The trustees have been active holding Monday staff meetings, 14 grants have been applied for and the budget was done with transparency, a reporter on site from the Cloudcroft Reader and streaming meetings to ensure all have visibility.

Trustee Gail McCoy, when asked last week by KALHRadio.org about the resignations of 3 of the 4 police officers stated the same sentiments as the mayor. She suggested that the “village needs some changes such as 24 hour around the close police protection” and that she was more optimistic than ever about the future of Cloudcroft and that “change is good.”

The new administration is certainly making change, but those changes are not being well received by staff it appears with a number of resignations last week and even more this week.

During May, the Chief of Police, Deputy Chief, an officer, the Village Clerk, and the Water Operator were the first to depart. Several of those resignations were over the new police schedule for 24 hour a day coverage and the increased workload.

Today the Cloudcroft Reader in a story by Hannah Dean, reports even more resignations, “as of today, Water Clerk Crystal Menezes, MVD Clerk Melissa Yates, Library Director Julie Johnson and Deputy Clerk and Project Coordinator Vyanca Vega have resigned.”

Cloudcroft Reader List of resignationsPhoto byCloudcroft Reader

The Cloudcroft Reader went on to report that the mayor confirmed that the village had received a few applications for different positions, and that he and a hiring panel comprised of himself, Trustee Tabitha Foster, Fire Chief Erich Wuersching, Parks and Rec. Chairman Matt Willettand Committee member Adrienne West will interview a Chief of Police candidate this week.

After a Chief is hired, they will sit on the hiring panel for the vacant police officer positions. Mayor Turner also plans on recruiting a member from the Cloudcroft Municipal Schools administration for the selection process.

When one visits the website for the village several positions are posted as accepting applications…

Cloudcroft jobs postedPhoto by2nd Life Media AlamogordoTownNews.org

Trustees are concerned with the recent developments, but they also all appear confident in the future for Cloudcroft.

They admit several new faces will be greeting citizens from the posted vacancies, and they themselves are taking on what they can.

With a dynamic government entity, like any business, change happens and as a result staff does not always want to adapt.

In the corporate world, staff turnover with leadership change is built into business plans as an expected variable. Turnover is not always a bad thing. There will be setbacks and stumbles but the commitment of the Cloudcroft Village Trustees is not a question, each are working hard and in collaboration to build a better future for their community. Stay tuned to further details as they evolve…