By Connor Currier
Moriarty Mayor Brandon Webb is calling for sweeping reforms in city government as ongoing investigations uncover what he described as years of financial mismanagement and systemic oversight failures.
Webb emphasized a commitment to transparency and accountability in the wake of a reported $5 million in overspending, as identified in the city’s 2022–2023 audits. The overspending has prompted state-level inquiries, and potential legal action could follow.
“We have a responsibility to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars,” Webb said. “That means understanding how this happened and ensuring it never happens again.”
Webb, who took office after the reported overspending occurred, said he was unaware of the city’s financial condition when entering office and distanced himself from decisions made by the previous administration. He attributed much of the current financial strain to poor record-keeping, unaddressed audit findings and a lack of oversight from city leadership in prior years.
“I have department heads that have never seen their budget, they didn’t know if they’d ever seen it,” Webb said. “How can you operate a department if you don’t know what you’re paying?”
As part of his response, Webb hired Deborah Liu as city clerk, noting her role as an outsider was deliberate. “We needed someone without ties to the past. Deborah and I have been actively working with state auditors to get to the bottom of this,” he said.
Liu is also serving as the City of Moriarty’s Treasurer. In her first months as city clerk, she has made it her mission to manage the city’s budget. She has disclosed IRS documentation, verifying the city’s financial mishandling.
Webb was also critical of the city council’s historical approach to financial oversight, claiming the council repeatedly approved budgets and audits without adequate review.
“A City Council has been signing off on finances, budgeting, the audit, everything for four years. And how in the world didn’t they see this going astray?” said Webb.
As Webb and Liu found frustration working with the city council on the financial mismanagement of the city, both the city clerk and the mayor requested a special audit be done by the New Mexico Office of the State Auditor.
NM.News also reached out to the New Mexico State Auditor Joseph M. Maestas, who confirmed a recent visit to the City of Moriarty relating to their ongoing inquiry into the city’s finances.
“Regarding our recent visit to the City of Moriarty. The Office of the State Auditor routinely assists local governments during the audit process, facilitating communication and coordination with their contracted audit firms. Our involvement in this matter was initiated at the request of the City, and we are currently providing support as the audit progresses. Currently, we have not identified any material concerns,” Maestas said. “In keeping with our commitment to audit integrity, transparency and good governance, we will continue to support local governments to help ensure full compliance with audit requirements. We appreciate the City’s proactive approach in seeking technical assistance to ensure compliance and uphold public trust.”
Webb verified the office of the state auditor’s recent visit and said, “The state auditor’s office was here to discuss some things with Deborah, the city clerk. They were there for about 2 hours.”
To address these challenges, Webb outlined plans to implement internal reforms, including providing department heads with direct access to their budgets and enhancing training around financial accountability. The mayor also signaled support for potential external oversight, including the possibility of the state auditor taking control of the city’s financial operations if necessary.
The full extent of legal or administrative consequences remains unclear, but Webb acknowledged that lawsuits and further audits are likely. “There’s a long road ahead,” he said. “But exposing these problems is the first step toward fixing them.”
Webb’s administration is seeking to separate itself from the city’s past leadership, pointing to ongoing collaboration with outside authorities as evidence of a proactive approach.
“I have no idea coming into the office, the mess we were in. I knew that we were behind on an audit. During the transition, the previous mayor said they were really trying to get that wrapped up before January 1, 2024, and that just didn’t happen. So I had no clue that it was this bad, the magnitude of everything coming down the pipe,” said Webb.
