Sean Barnes, once the City of Truth or Consequences’ parks and recreation supervisor, claims he was fired for pointing out that his boss, O. J. Hechler, is a felon and was hired while still on probation–in violation of human resources policy.
O. J. Hechler is the city’s community services director, which oversees parks facilities, ball fields, recreation programs, the golf course, the swimming pool, the animal shelter, the library, the city’s cemeteries, and Turtleback Trails.
He was hired behind closed doors by then-City Manager Morris Madrid in 2019. The more ethical and transparent method of hiring on the basis of merit is to publicly advertise positions with attendant duties and qualifications in order to define an even playing field for contestants.
Madrid didn’t seek city commission approval for creating the brand new community services department with its new head, letting it drop as an aside during a public meeting after the fact. The city commission at the time didn’t question the hiring, department creation and new general- fund expense. Instead, they roundly praised O. J. Hechler.
O. J. Hechler is the son of Mayor Rolf Hechler, who was not on the city commission at the time his son was hired. Mayor Hechler had been a city commissioner the year before and was again in 2020, winning a third four-year term last November.
Barnes, a veteran Marine, was hired as parks and recreation supervisor in February 2022. A Sentinel photo and cutline show O. J. Hechler praising Barnes’ work at his one-year employment anniversary:
But Barnes was suspended without pay and then terminated shortly afterward.
According to Barnes’ court filing, his firing was retaliation for doing his duty–informing the city of wrongdoing. Retaliation is disallowed under the state’s Whistleblowers’ Protection Act, the linchpin of Barnes’ case.
According to his suit he and H.R. Specialist Alona Niebergall had interviewed a prospective parks maintenance worker, who admitted he had a pending felony case against him. After the interview, questions were raised whether the city could hire felons.
Barnes told Niebergall that when O. J. Hechler was hired, the H.R. policy required that a prospective employee be out of probation for three years. O. J. Hechler was a felon and still on probation when he was hired. Current H. R. policy disallows the hiring of felons altogether, Barnes’ court filing states.
Barnes also claims in his suit that O. J. Hechler’s crime “directly conflicts with the duties and responsibilities of the community services director position.”
O.J. Hechler was caught stealing a ballpark canopy in Las Cruces, according to a 2014 news article:
Barnes is asking for actual and special damages. The Whistleblowers’ Protection Act, under “actual damages,” allows two times the amount of back pay with interest and loss of future wages. Special damages include past and future mental anguish and attorney’s fees and “other.”
The city’s response to Barnes’ filing is brief and essentially denies any retaliation. Barnes was fired for being a bad employee, the city claims.
Both parties have requested a jury trial, the date of which is not set.