Upon receipt of the complaint, the Compliance Officer shall refer it to the Chair of the Doña Ana County Code of Conduct Review Board and to the Respondent within three (3) business days of receipt of the complaint.

The Chair may schedule a preliminary hearing for the board of review to determine whether the allegations in the complaint, if taken as true, would constitute a violation of the Code of Conduct, and the complaint is properly heard by the review board.

The review board shall issue a preliminary order that:

• Dismisses the complaint if it does not state a claim under the code, or if it is not properly heard by the review board and refers the complaint to the compliance officer for handling outside of the code; or
• Holds the complaint abeyance while the case is reviewed for potential criminal conduct; or
• Determines that the complaint states a facial claim; schedules the case for an evidentiary hearing and establishes a prehearing schedule; or
• Finds that the allegations require an independent investigation before the evidentiary hearing is held and sends the case to the compliance officer with instructions on what investigation the board determines to be necessary. Investigations deemed necessary shall be performed by an independent investigator selected by the compliance officer and county attorney.

All sworn and signed complaints are public records and shall be made available in accordance with the provisions of the Inspection of Public Records Act.