Honorable Discharge: Julie Morgas Baca Retires From BernCo

by Samantha Anne Carrillo

For outgoing Bernalillo County Manager Julie Morgas Baca, public service has always been a calling. That call rang out louder than ever in 2015, when she came out of retirement to be appointed county manager by the Bernalillo County Commission. After serving as county manager for nearly a decade, Morgas Baca retires from the position on June 28, at the close of this fiscal year.

UpLift Chronicles spoke with Morgas Baca to learn more about local governance and specifically her own work in Bernalillo County. Morgas Baca describes the role of Bernalillo County Manager as resembling that of a large company’s CEO: “If you think of the county as a corporation with 2600 employees and 5 board members, the county manager is like the chief executive officer of the organization who is appointed and reports to the board of County Commissioners. I particularly manage the day-to-day operations of Bernalillo County.”

Managing county operations involves ensuring that relevant services are provided while complying with all federal, state and local laws and regulations, ordinances, policies, and procedures. It’s a complex supervisory job with a lot of responsibility and Morgas Baca hit the ground running in 2015. Morgas Baca explains that Bernalillo County was then roughly 17 million dollars in the red and she had to make the tough decision to furlough staff.

Morgas Baca said, “We never cut our services but we just found different ways to serve the county, realizing that there was a reduction in revenue. We were able to overcome it because of the support we have from the commission and then equally because the staff cooperated. Staffers understood what they needed to do, they did it, and we got through it together.”

When Morgas Baca discusses her decision to resume retirement, admiration and respect for her own team, all county staff and the communities she serves is readily apparent. “I love the culture and the weather here. We're very unique and have a very diverse community. In Bernalillo County, there are five different districts and each community is very unique in its own way. I love working with the community, learning from them and experiencing that diversity and culture,” said Morgas Baca.

As in any exit interview, UpLift Chronicles asked Morgas Baca about accomplishments during her tenure. Morgas Baca describes a number of achievements, including establishing the Bernalillo County CARE Campus, which partners with nonprofits to provide behavioral health programs and services for county residents, including youth; the Resource Reentry Center, which provides resources and services to assist recently incarcerated residents with successful reintegrating into the community; the Tiny Home Village, an 18-to-24-month program to help residents transition out of homelessness; creating an accessible and welcoming one-stop shop environment for Bernalillo County at its Alvarado Square headquarters; the upcoming opening of the CARE Campus’ Crisis Stabilization Unit; a waiting room area for law enforcement and Metropolitan Detention Center staff within UNM Hospitals’ new Critical Care Tower; bringing all county salaries up to market rates; and completely rebranding Bernalillo County as “BernCo Count on Us.”

These significant accomplishments notwithstanding, Morgas Baca recognizes that there is always more work to be done so we asked her for a wish list for the incoming county manager to prioritize. Morgas Baca is hopeful that her successor and their staff will work on: successfully addressing court-ordered reforms related to overcrowding and inmate conditions at Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) to resolve the longstanding McClendon settlement; a second phase of revitalization efforts at Fairview Historic Cemetery and Memorial Park; establishing more Crisis Stabilization Units, including a regional facility; and investing in a mobile building to provide additional medical services, ranging from substance use treatment to orthopedic medicine, for MDC inmates.

For more information on the search for the next Bernalillo County Manager, visit www.bernco.gov/home/county-manager-search.