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Record of Proceedings

Los Alamos County Personnel Board Meeting Summary – April 28, 2026

County Council & Boards — Tuesday, April 28, 2026
BodyLos Alamos County, New Mexico
SessionCounty Council & Boards
DateTuesday, April 28, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 25:01

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

All right.

0:01

We're uh call to order.

0:03

Let the record show for our roll call.

0:05

The member CATCO, Member Best, Member Hoover, and Member Hampton are in attendance.

0:11

So we have a quorum.

0:14

And does anyone have any changes or corrections to the agenda?

0:19

Right.

0:20

The genus approved unanimously.

0:24

So for the first minutes from February 11th, does anyone have any changes or corrections?

0:32

All right.

0:33

Minutes for February 11th are approved unanimously.

0:37

And then March 18th.

0:39

Does anyone have any corrections or comments?

0:50

All right.

0:50

So that one's approved unanimously.

0:54

And with that, that was the most important thing we had to do today, by the way.

1:00

The Thursday, because that was the one from our extended meeting.

1:06

All right.

1:07

So with that, we'd like to uh welcome Martha Cadko to the board.

1:16

Excited to have you.

1:17

Thank you.

1:18

If you don't know, I'm retired from HR, so I kind of felt like I could see the ground running and backs.

1:29

We have a better position because you're here.

1:30

Yes.

1:34

All right.

1:34

Um chair's report.

1:36

There is none.

1:38

Um manager reports.

1:41

Hey.

1:45

So we'll um I'll be going over the HR manager report.

1:49

This will be for March of 2026.

1:52

Um we have a few different sections that we'll be going over here.

1:58

So excuse me.

2:00

Um, in the administration, we hired a new deputy HR manager, Tanya Chevidia de Lumis.

2:08

She has a very long last name.

2:10

Um she started with us on March 16th.

2:13

So as the deputy HR manager, she will be overseeing all employee and labor relations.

2:20

So she's getting up to speed on all of the county processes.

2:23

Um really just jumping in and learning that.

2:26

So we're really excited to have her.

2:29

Um at the time of this report, we were recruiting for a senior office specialist.

2:35

However, that position has been filled.

2:37

We have Mia Casados here who started with us on Monday.

2:42

So she will be our new senior office specialist.

2:45

Um we're very excited to have her.

2:47

She'll be a great addition to our team.

2:50

Um HR has been prepping for the upcoming budget hearings, which we um presented ours last night at council.

2:58

A tentative approval.

3:00

So we've just been busy with our budget hearings.

3:05

The personnel board um had two members whose um term ended on March 31st.

3:12

One of the vacancies has been filled, who you just met Martha Cadko.

3:16

We still have one vacancy.

3:18

So if you know anyone, um please advertise for that.

3:21

We're hoping to get that vacancy filled.

3:25

Um in our safety and risk management.

3:29

Um we've been busy with a lot of trainings, so we've implemented a lot of safety trainings, and we are about 97% compliant.

3:39

Um a lot of our safety trainings will include CPR training, blood warm pathogens, um, we have specialty trainings such as like forklift, um confined spaces.

3:51

So we've been really pushing the safety trainings and compliance.

3:55

So, like I said, we're about 97% compliant.

3:59

In compensation in HRIS, which is our HR system, our information system.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Personnel Matters█████████████████████████████████████████████75%
Procedural█████████████22%
Employee Commuting██3%
Summary of Proceedings

Los Alamos County Personnel Board Meeting Summary – April 28, 2026

The Los Alamos County Personnel Board met on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at 11:30 AM in the County Council Chambers at 1000 Central Avenue, Suite 110. The meeting was called to order with a quorum present (Members Hampton, Best, Hoover, and new member Katko). Key agenda items included approval of minutes, introduction of a new board member, the HR Manager's Report with commute statistics, and a report from the County Council Liaison.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Agenda: Approved unanimously.
  • Approval of Minutes: Minutes from February 11, 2026, and March 18, 2026, were approved unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • None were offered.

Introduction of New Personnel Board Member

  • Martha Katko was introduced as a new board member, appointed to fill a vacancy. Katko, a retired HR professional, expressed enthusiasm for serving on the board and stated she felt she could "hit the ground running."

Discussion Items

  • HR Manager's Report (Bernadette Martinez):
    • Administration: New hires: Deputy HR Manager Tanya Chevidia de Lumis (started March 16) and Senior Office Specialist Mia Casados (started April 28). HR is preparing for budget hearings; a tentative approval was received from Council.
    • Safety & Risk Management: Safety training compliance reached 97%, including CPR, bloodborne pathogens, forklift, and confined space training.
    • Compensation & HRIS: A new electronic Performance Appraisal (PPA) system was implemented in the HRIS, going live 28 days prior. Feedback has been positive; PPAs are due May 8. Five new or modified job descriptions were approved by Council on March 3, including positions in Community Services (instructor), Police Detention (deputy administrator), Human Resources (risk analyst level III), Utilities (title change), and Community Development (title change).
    • Training & Development: Customer service training (mandatory, six-hour in-person course) is about halfway complete, with completion expected in August. A new "Manager Need to Know" training (six-hour in-person) will roll out in May, initially two sessions per month, covering ordinances, policies, benefits, labor relations, and more. County employees are 95% compliant with required training.
    • Recruitment Statistics (Year-to-date through March): 42 job postings, 642 applications received (193 in March), average 19.3 applications per posting, 29 promotions, 23 new hires, 3 transfers, 2 status changes. An RFP is underway for a new applicant tracking system due to issues with the current system.
    • Benefits: The wellness committee is being revived; a quarterly walking challenge will offer an administrative day off for the top stepper. Five retirement planning meetings were held in March. Service awards: five-year (Sobia Sedea), ten-year (Victoria Martinez, Tyler Randolph), 25-year (Rebecca "Gwen" Kalavasa). Three recognition coins were awarded for cooperation. Retirements: Jesse Ortega (Police Detention), Victoria Martinez (Clerk's Office), Daniel Archuletta (Fire Department).
    • Employee & Labor Relations: Negotiations began for the plumbers and pipe fitters collective bargaining agreement (expires June 30). Upcoming RFPs for dental, vision, long-term disability, and employee benefits consultant.
  • Commute Statistics: Martinez presented a report on employee commuting patterns based on zip codes. Key findings: A little less than half of all employees (including temps, casuals, election workers, students) live within Los Alamos County. Many commute from Albuquerque and other parts of northern New Mexico. One employee listed an address in Palm Coast, Florida (likely a pre-retiree on leave). The report is a snapshot and not regularly tracked; a refined report on regular employees could be provided.
  • County Council Liaison Report (Beverly Neal-Clinton): Noted the county is in the middle of budget hearings; praised staff for their responsiveness and expertise. No specific actions.

Key Outcomes

  • The board unanimously approved the agenda and the two sets of minutes.
  • The board welcomed new member Martha Katko.
  • The HR Manager's Report and Commute Statistics were received and discussed; no formal action was taken.
  • The next meeting is scheduled for June 23, 2026 (no May meeting due to Memorial Day). The board may consider electing a new chair and vice-chair at that meeting.

Meeting Transcript

All right. We're uh call to order. Let the record show for our roll call. The member CATCO, Member Best, Member Hoover, and Member Hampton are in attendance. So we have a quorum. And does anyone have any changes or corrections to the agenda? Right. The genus approved unanimously. So for the first minutes from February 11th, does anyone have any changes or corrections? All right. Minutes for February 11th are approved unanimously. And then March 18th. Does anyone have any corrections or comments? All right. So that one's approved unanimously. And with that, that was the most important thing we had to do today, by the way. The Thursday, because that was the one from our extended meeting. All right. So with that, we'd like to uh welcome Martha Cadko to the board. Excited to have you. Thank you. If you don't know, I'm retired from HR, so I kind of felt like I could see the ground running and backs. We have a better position because you're here. Yes. All right. Um chair's report. There is none. Um manager reports. Hey. So we'll um I'll be going over the HR manager report. This will be for March of 2026. Um we have a few different sections that we'll be going over here. So excuse me. Um, in the administration, we hired a new deputy HR manager, Tanya Chevidia de Lumis. She has a very long last name. Um she started with us on March 16th. So as the deputy HR manager, she will be overseeing all employee and labor relations. So she's getting up to speed on all of the county processes. Um really just jumping in and learning that. So we're really excited to have her. Um at the time of this report, we were recruiting for a senior office specialist. However, that position has been filled. We have Mia Casados here who started with us on Monday. So she will be our new senior office specialist. Um we're very excited to have her. She'll be a great addition to our team. Um HR has been prepping for the upcoming budget hearings, which we um presented ours last night at council. A tentative approval. So we've just been busy with our budget hearings. The personnel board um had two members whose um term ended on March 31st.

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