Bernalillo County Assessor Under Fire

Karen Montoya

KRQE — Claims of wrong-doing by a high-ranking county official are coming to light again. Allegations that Bernalillo County Assessor Karen Montoya has been misusing Bernalillo county employees and county equipment are all contained in a recently-released investigative report. And the findings have captured the attention of the county commission. “The morale in the assessor’s office is really low and the employees are intimidated by the assessor and her deputies,” Helena Baca said. A commission meeting in August became a platform for frustrated employees of county assessor Karen Montoya. Those complaints sparked the investigation that led to a report, outlining a total of 19 allegations. The outside firm found some to be true. Among the findings, they found that Montoya allowed unauthorized people to log onto county computers containing confidential tax information. They also found that one of her employees was raking in thousands of dollars in incentive pay he wasn't entitled to. Among the claims still raising questions is that county employees and county equipment were allegedly used for Montoya’s political and personal gain. Leora Perez made her claims of misconduct in August. Read full story here: News New Mexico

Bernalillo County Assessor Under Fire