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SANTA FE 鈥� A special audit into Mora County鈥檚 handling of more than $40 million in state wildfire response funds found county officials routinely skirted New Mexico鈥檚 procurement code, were late on payments for leased equipment and misused roughly $3 million in interest income intended for disaster relief efforts.

State Auditor Joseph Maestas, who ordered the special audit last year after receiving tips from a county whistleblower, said Tuesday he was 鈥減rofoundly disappointed鈥� by the audit鈥檚 findings and by the response of county officials in the northern New Mexico county.

He also said the special audit findings would be referred to other state agencies, including the State Ethics Commission, for further review.

鈥淲e need to make sure when we make these level of expenditures that local governments have the financial infrastructure to manage them,鈥� Maestas told the Journal. 

Mora County Commission Chairman George Trujillo said county officials are working to implement new internal policies and procedures, adding, 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to learn a lot from this audit.鈥�

But Trujillo also disputed some of the audit鈥檚 findings, saying Mora County followed instructions from top officials in two different state agencies on how the interest earnings in question could be used.

鈥淲e rely on the state to guide us and help us,鈥� Trujillo said in a Tuesday interview.

Mora County received roughly $41 million in state loans intended to jump-start recovery efforts after the 2022 Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire, the largest wildfire in modern New Mexico history.

The disaster relief funds were approved that authorized up to $100 million in no-interest loans for cities and counties impacted by the wildfire and subsequent flooding.

Local governments were instructed to pay the money back after being reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The money was intended to be used for road repairs, culvert restoration and fixing other damaged public property in San Miguel and Mora counties, but sat largely unspent for more than two years.

While Mora County began putting the funding to use on five separate road repair projects last year, the special audit found county officials mismanaged more than $3 million in interest earnings by using the money for general purposes. The interest was generated after county officials placed the $41 million in an investment account overseen by State Treasurer Laura Montoya鈥檚 office.

The comingling of funds could lead to FEMA reducing its eventual reimbursement payments, the special audit warned.

In addition, the audit also found 鈥渟ignificant deficiencies鈥� in the county鈥檚 internal financial control structures, adding the deficiencies had generated a 鈥渉igh risk of fraud, waste, and abuse.鈥�

One specific expenditure 鈥� of more than $168,000 to renovate the historic Chief Theater in Mora 鈥� was determined to be a waste of public funds and possible violation of the state鈥檚 anti-donation clause, since it was used to benefit a private business. It was unclear whether any of the interest earnings were used for that project.

Mora County officials insisted last year that none of the disaster relief funding was embezzled, but also acknowledged the county has struggled to hire and retain qualified financial staff.

The county has also had high turnover in key positions, including at least three county managers in the last three years. Former interim county manager Richard Trujillo quit last year after only a few months on the job.

Current Mora County interim manager DesMarie Romero did not immediately respond to questions about the special audit, which also identified interference by Mora County commissioners in day-to-day operations and possible favoritism in awarding contracts.

The special audit was conducted by Carr, Riggs and Ingram, an sa国际传媒官网网页入口-based auditing firm, and examined Mora County鈥檚 finances over a more than five-year period 鈥� from January 2020 through April 2025.

In his letter to county commissioners, Maestas, a Democrat who is seeking reelection this year to a second term, described the findings as serious.

鈥淭hey demand serious attention, decisive reform, and meaningful accountability,鈥� Maestas said. 鈥淎nything less would represent a continuation of the failures documented in the report and a further abdication of the duties entrusted to you by the voters and taxpayers of Mora County.鈥�

Dan Boyd covers state government and politics for the Journal in Santa Fe. Follow him on Twitter at @DanBoydNM or reach him via email at dboyd@abqjournal.com.