County assessor probe gains attention

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Claims of wrong-doing by a high-ranking county official are coming to light again.

Allegations that Bernalillo County Assessor Karen Montoya has been misusing Bernalillo county employees and county equipment are all contained in a recently-released investigative report.

And the findings have captured the attention of the county commission.

“The morale in the assessor’s office is really low and the employees are intimidated by the assessor and her deputies,” Helena Baca said.

A commission meeting in August became a platform for frustrated employees of county assessor Karen Montoya.

Those complaints sparked the investigation that led to a report, outlining a total of 19 allegations.

The outside firm found some to be true.

Among the findings, they found that Montoya allowed unauthorized people to log onto county computers containing confidential tax information. They also found that one of her employees was raking in thousands of dollars in incentive pay he wasn't entitled to.

Among the claims still raising questions is that county employees and county equipment were allegedly used for Montoya’s political and personal gain.

Leora Perez made her claims of misconduct in August.

“I was made to run her own personal errands on county time, for example I was told by her on several occasions to pick up her daughter from school in a county vehicle,” Perez said.

The report states Montoya acknowledged one time that a former employee directed Perez to pick up her kids, but she denied making the demand directly.

Perez is also listed among employees claiming Montoya targeted them for layoffs because they didn't support her campaign for office.

The report states the majority of those initially slated for layoffs campaigned against her. Montoya claimed the proposed cuts were part of her reorganization plan.

Tuesday Perez was laid off along with five others.

Three of the six spoke out against Montoya in that August meeting, commissioners listened then - and they're listening even more after reading the report.

“Are they targeted that's a good question, it's not thoroughly answered in the report but that does seem to be a concern or it is a concern of mine,” Bernalillo county commissioner Wayne Johnson said.

The report also reveals that two employees interviewed by investigators for this probe were transferred out of the office days later at the request of Montoya.

They too spoke out against her in the commission meeting.

Montoya's responded to the sudden transfers saying "it was part of the reorganization plan."

KRQE tried contacting the county assessor for this story, but we have not heard back.

County commissioners have called for a closed meeting on Tuesday to discuss the county assessor and the investigative report.