County staff told the Board of County Commissioners that the Office of the State Auditor has authorized an external auditing firm to conduct a full special audit of Dona Ana County, and staff outlined next steps and related financial-review items.

Assistant County Manager Steven Lopez said he met with the auditing firm and a representative from the state auditor’s office and confirmed the auditors “have on their authority… the authority to do a full special audit” that can review all aspects of county operations. He said auditors are interviewing employees and evaluating organizational culture in order to make recommendations for improvements rather than to punish.

Lopez said the auditors flagged six external entities for review and staff identified additional organizations the auditors had not listed. He explained auditors will evaluate whether some partner entities are “component units” for financial reporting purposes — a determination governed by the financial relationship between the county and those entities rather than a legal control test. Lopez said audits may require the county to disclose or change how certain external partners appear in the county’s annual financial statements.

Separately, staff announced the International Association of Fire Chiefs will perform a three-day on-site review of the county’s fire operations and make recommendations. County manager Scott Andrews and Lopez suggested Commissioners Ronald Reynolds and Daniel Sanchez as volunteers to meet with the IAFC review team; both commissioners said they would consider participation depending on schedules.

Why it matters: a special audit can lead to recommended organizational and financial reporting changes and may affect how the county documents relationships with partner agencies such as the Mesilla Valley Regional Dispatch Authority and the county’s leased hospital facility. The IAFC review is expected to produce operational recommendations for fire and emergency services.

What’s next: the auditing firm and state auditor’s office will continue interviews and analysis; staff asked commissioners to flag any concerns and said the county will need to evaluate component-unit relationships annually as part of the audit process. The IAFC team will be on-site next week for three days and staff will coordinate commissioner participation.