The New Mexico Office of the State Auditor initiated a special audit of Doña Ana County and the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office as the relationship between the two entities has frayed in recent months.

“The apparent lack of trust amongst County departments and staff is highly disconcerting to me and the situation appears to be at an impasse,” read a letter from the office of State Auditor Joseph Maestas.

“Consequently, all allegations of potential waste and abuse of public resources and funds, including any potential violations of laws, regulations, rules, policies and procedures in connection with the operation of the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office, to include DASO’s interactions with other County departments, elected County officials, County administrative leadership, and County staff must be fully examined and reported without any delay or avoidance,” an April 14, 2025, designation letter from the OSA to county leadership read.

In February 2025, the Doña Ana County Board of County Commissioners approved an external audit of DASO that was prompted by a petition filed by the county against Sheriff Kim Stewart, who refused to commission recent academy graduates as deputies.

The State Auditor’s office will provide oversight of the audit, at the request of both Stewart and the county, according to Maestas.

In an email sent Feb. 11, Stewart said she would not commission the cadets because she lacked the power to decommission, according to emails obtained by the Sun-News. In a Facebook post, Stewart  recounted events from her perspective and also said the county’s human resources department informed her that several cadets did not pass their psychological exams.

In addition to the possibility of waste and abuse and a lack of communication and trust between the county and DASO, the designation letter also referenced a potential legal risk. There are several cases filed against the county and the sheriff for violations of the Whistleblower Protection Act, with the most recent filed by one of the deputies Stewart intended to decommission.

“After multiple requests, I was told the sheriff would not meet with anyone from county management, so I am left to put together the pieces of information that I have available,” County Attorney Cari Neill said during a presentation of legal proceedings of the writ in February. “And what appears to me to be happening is misdirection, smoke screens, confusion and deflection. Is it possible that HR got some pieces wrong? Of course. Is it also possible that the full blame is being placed on HR when HR was not fully to blame? Of course.”

While communication between the county and DASO appears to have broken down, Stewart seemingly agrees with an external audit in a March 13, 2025 letter to his office, but asking for oversight, “so that DASO and I may be treated fairly and equally.”

“Sheriff Stewart was first out of the shoot with a letter to us, basically outlining some of her areas of concern,” Maestas said. “She has issues with certain actions by human resources, and certain issues with the county legal counsel.

“She was very forceful in her letter. She did outline some of her concerns.”

Stewart did not respond to a request for comment by the Sun-News.

Maestas described the special audit as an opportunity to establish a pause in the trading of allegations between the involved parties.

“We are dealing with public safety here in a fairly large and significant county,” Maestas said. “I think it’s incumbent on all of the elected officials involved to demonstrate professionalism, tact and diplomacy in working together and establishing a good effective working relationship.

“If they don’t then the voters are going to take notice and say we elected folks that are just incapable of doing that. To avoid risking the wrath of voters, I’m confident in the county commission and administration, as well as the sheriff’s office will work together.”

The county also sent a letter to the auditor’s office requesting the state’s involvement, Maestas said.

“I’m looking forward to the audit and seeing what an auditor may find for opportunities for improvement and things where we have performed well,” District 5 Commissioner Manuel Sanchez said. “It will give us an opportunity to correct those issues and hopefully create a more productive relationship between county elected officials, the county administration and departments and DASO.

“My belief is that during an audit, they are trying to test and look at how strong our processes are and if you find something, it gives you a chance to get better and fix it. My concern is if you find the same issues year after year.”

The county will bear the cost of the audit and will be required to secure an independent public accountant from the state’s approved firm list to perform the audit.

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Maestas said a special audit could normally take up to a year to complete, but he hopes to finish this particular audit sooner. The first meeting between the parties to determine to scope of the audit is scheduled for April 21, 2025.

“Part of the rebuilding of the bridge between Sheriff Stewart’s office and the county commission and county administration is jointly working on the scope of this audit,” Maestas said. “That way both sides are confident that their concerns will be addressed.”