By MARK DEVODER
Los Alamos

I attended the County Council meeting on Nov. 19, 2024. I found the meeting to be very instructive.

People in Los Alamos have been complaining for years about “transparency” related to County Council decisions. After the recent meeting, I see that it is not an issue of transparency but an issue of the constituency failing to understand the development and content of the Los Alamos County Strategic Plan. In most cases, it appears that the County Council votes in accordance with the Strategic Plan.

I watched / listened as one person after another responded to issues during the Public Comment portions of the meeting.  What I found interesting is that their comments were totally disregarded unless the comments were consistent with the content of the Strategic Plan. In short, Public comment in Los Alamos County meetings is a waste of time.

There is an exception to the Public comment issue. If an overwhelming number of Los Alamos County residents (perhaps something approaching 66%) do not agree with the content of the Strategic Plan, then it may alter the outcome of the vote by the County Council. A vote (referendum) may reveal what County residents really think about an issue. However, Los Alamos residents are very independent. Trying to get 66% of constituents to agree on anything is like “herding cats”. When only 100 constituents show up at a County Council meeting, it is easy for the County Council to ignore any and all input from the Public and go with the Strategic Plan (the automatic default choice).

Members of the County Council are also highly skilled in tactics. For example, putting an issue on the agenda at the last minute is a method of reducing Public attention. In addition, putting an issue at the very end of a meeting reduces the amount of attention an issue receives. I noticed that constituents began to drift away before the end of the meeting. The hour was getting very late. This kind of planning on the part of the County Council reduces any opposition to issues included at the last minute or late-in-the-meeting issues. Then the County Council is free to vote in accordance with the Strategic Plan.

I now have no doubt that the County Council will approve $10 million to purchase the land across from the high school for a Social Services hub. At best, the land is worth $6.8 million (that is, $5.6 million with $1.2 in demolition improvements). It makes no difference if this is a fiscally imprudent move. It is the objective of the Strategic Plan that matters.

It is bothersome that predators in Colorado can purchase property in Los Alamos County and then peddle the property to Los Alamos County in accordance with the Strategic Plan. In the meantime, all the disinterested “cats” in Los Alamos County are wandering off to their jobs at LANL or somewhere else in Los Alamos County.

It is also bothersome that Gross Receipts Tax (GRT) revenue from an “entity” property tax revenue and huge sums from revenue bonds ($50 million for the broadband effort) put the County Council in a position to spend any amount of money that is consistent with the objectives of the Strategic Plan. It makes no difference if the County Council wants to wisely / unwisely throw away a few million here or there.           

It appears that the County Council is on “auto-pilot” when it comes to the Strategic Plan. Therefore, it is a waste of constituent’s time to either sit around for 5 hours at a County Council meeting, provide petitions with less than 5,000 signatures, voice any kind of protest and / or make degrading remarks about the performance of the Los Alamos County Council or supporting efforts by Los Alamos County employees.    

Happy Thanksgiving.