Julie Morgas Baca

Morgas Baca has overseen significant progress to provide better services and improve living conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Center. This progress has brought closure to the 21-year-old McClendon class action lawsuit over living conditions at the jail. With Morgas Baca’s guidance, Bernalillo County continues to lead the way with new and improved mental health, drug treatment and support services in our community. The county has partnered with other governments and nonprofits to take action to build a stronger safety net for people that need help, and better manage tax dollars that fund public safety. In 2016 Bernalillo County voters decisively approved the new Bernalillo County Charter, which gives county government – and the county manager – more flexibility and independence to create local solutions for local challenges. “It’s an honor and a privilege to serve all Bernalillo County families,” County Manager Morgas Baca says. “My top priority is the best and most efficient use of tax dollars to provide quality public services for our communities, from public safety to parks and Open Space." "I will continue to strengthen the county’s financial position by streamlining our operating costs throughout county government. I’m also committed to more positive reforms at the Metropolitan Detention Center, especially improving staff and inmate safety and overall efficiency. I am grateful that the Bernalillo County Commission and our top-notch employees are committed to this positive vision as well.” Morgas Baca is also dedicated to open government, transparency and proactive community relations. “I believe it’s critical that county leaders and employees continually strive to earn the public’s trust and confidence,” she says. Morgas Baca, a former Bernalillo County deputy county manager, was unanimously chosen for the county’s top job by the Bernalillo County Commission in September 2015. She brings a wealth of experience in public administration, public finance and budgeting, legislative relations, media relations, government employer/employee relations, intergovernmental/community relations and business/community relations. From 1995 to 2003, Morgas Baca served as fiscal director of the Second Judicial District Court, where she oversaw a $40 million operating budget, drafted and analyzed legislative requests and bills and presented before statewide legislative bodies and committees. From 2004 to 2011, she served as deputy county manager for Community Services, where she was responsible for the long-range planning and coordination of Parks and Recreation, Housing, Building, Planning and Zoning, Environmental Health, Economic Development, Cultural Services, Social Services/nonprofit grants and other community services functions. Bernalillo County’s award-winning Open Space Program flourished during her tenure. Most recently, she was president and CEO of the National Hispanic Cultural Center Foundation, where from 2013-15 she was responsible for the fiscal integrity of the organization. Her responsibilities included maintaining annual budgets and financial statements, raising funds and carrying out programs that supported the organization’s mission. Morgas Baca holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix and received the designation as fellow of the National Institute of Court Management. Morgas Baca was born in Tooele, Utah, a small town just outside of Salt Lake City. She was raised in El Paso, Texas and has three older brothers. She is married to former Chief District Court Judge Ted Baca and they have a daughter, Celina, who attends the University of New Mexico. Morgas Baca says she’s happy to be back at Bernalillo County again and plans to do her job while being guided by one of her favorite sayings: “Never forget where you came from; never mistake kindness for weakness and always treat everyone with dignity and respect.”