The Las Cruces City Council will decide on May 19th whether to approve a proposed budget of nearly $610 million.
The council held a work session on April 28 to outline the budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2026. The budget for the upcoming fiscal year saw a decrease from the $694.7 million budget for Fiscal Year 2025.
Jacqueline Rubalcava, the city’s Budget and Grants administrator, presented the plan to the councilors and said the budget theme included was to showcase “the city’s spirit and engagement throughout the year.”
Even though the overall budget decreased, the general fund increased by $5.7 million from the previous year’s budget. Internal services and trust and custodial funds also increased, but all other expenditures, including enterprise funds and capital project funds, decreased.
The general fund increase came because of increased personnel costs, as operating and capital costs each declined from the previous year. The budget includes a 5% general wage increase for city employees, allows for increased costs from labor negotiations, a 12% increase in insurance premiums, along with a 0.5% increase in costs for retirement costs through the Public Employee Retirements Association of New Mexico.
Personnel costs are over $120 million of the general fund expenses.
District 5 councilor Becky Corran worried that a 5% increase in wages would not be enough.
“I really appreciate you all including staff wage increases,” she said. “I think 5%, I just feel like we're behind. Everyone is behind because of the rate of inflation and I really appreciate and always want to advocate for us making an investment and paying our folks at the best wage that we possibly can.”
The budget includes money for 12 new personnel in the Las Cruces Fire Department: six new firefighters, three drivers and three new lieutenants.
The budget also includes funds for new fire and police academies. The 55th police academy began in April but will last through the new fiscal year to graduation in September of this year. Another police academy will begin in January and end in July 2026.
The fire academy will take place from February 2026 to June 2026.
Some of the large costs transferred from the general fund include $1 million for 17 new vehicles. These include eight ford interceptors for police, and various Ford pickup trucks, mostly F150s, for police, the fire department and other departments.
City Councilor Yvonne M. Flores questioned the funding for homeless outreach and asked if it was “not a handout to the homeless.”
Natalie Green, the Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization manager said the funds were for those who do street outreach for those experiencing homelessness, which are contracted out from Mesilla Valley Community Hope. They try to transition the unhoused to housing or other programs.
“There’s two teams of two employees each, so four employees total, and they manage that program on behalf of the city,” Green said.
Green later said in response to questions from District 2 Councilor Bill Mattiace about programs for housing, that the city is looking to utilize those funds to increase affordable housing. The city is utilizing the money to reimburse the Telshor Fund for the projects. The city created the Telshor Fund from its lease with Memorial Medical Center to fund health-related public services
“Of course, that's over a 20-year period, but our intent is to make the Telshor Fund whole for any of the funds that it's allocated to us for loans,” Green said.
