Las Cruces City Council Work Session - December 8, 2025

The Las Cruces City Council held a work session on Monday, December 8, 2025, at approximately 1 p.m., presided over by Mayor Eric Enriquez. The meeting featured updates from the Office of Emergency Management, the Mobile Integrated Health (MIH) and Light programs, and a presentation on legislative policies for the upcoming 30-day state legislative session. A public comment highlighted the impact of city services on a resident's family.

Pets of the Week

• Carol Nelson, Digital Content Specialist from the Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley, introduced Bandit (dog, 91663) and Pantera (cat, 100563) as adoptable pets. She also promoted a Santa Photo Day event on an upcoming weekend, asking for donations for the Community of Hope drive.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Tara (citizen) : Shared a personal story about the MIH team's support for her aging parents over the last four years, including assistance with her father's PTSD, firearms removal, and fall protocols. She described her father's suicide in June 2025 and the team's continued help for her mother, including obtaining a locks box and completing VA paperwork. She expressed full support for the MIH program and urged the council to recognize its value in reducing 911 calls and ER visits.

Discussion Items

1. Office of Emergency Management (OEM) Update

• Presenter: Amanda Bowen, Emergency Manager.
• Provided an operational update and presented the new All Hazards Emergency Operations Plan (AHEOP), a policy and governance document. The prior plan dated to 2011 with minor updates in 2019, overdue for a major revision required every 3-5 years by federal/state standards. The update process began May 2024 and concluded June 2025, producing a base plan, 10 functional annexes, 10 hazard annexes, and operational support tools. The plan complies with FEMA's CPG 101 v3, NIMS, and ADA requirements.
• Key features: continuity of government provisions, local emergency declaration authority, and council's role in funding and policy.
• OEM accomplishments in the past year: broke ground on a new emergency operations center (EOC) at NMSU (move planned May 2025), responded to 4 federally declared disasters, supported the Family Assistance and Resource Center after the Young Park mass shooting, delivered training to regional responders, conducted multiple exercises (hazmat, mass casualty, cybersecurity, etc.). Managed $16 million in grant funding, completed a countywide hazardous materials commodity flow survey, and hosted a water summit.
• Staffing changes: Steven moved to county administration, Amanda Bowen selected as emergency manager, Joy Chavez as deputy, Monse Pienka as volunteer coordinator, and two new emergency management coordinators (Tim Heydrich and Matt Comms).
• Questions from council: Councilor Graham commended the Young Park response; Councilor Corey inquired about increasing the city manager's emergency spending authority above $100,000 (a post-it note from orientation three years ago). Mayor noted the city manager can coordinate with the county manager. Councilor Bencomo asked about lessons learned from the Young Park incident; Amanda noted an after-action review of the Family Assistance Center highlighted pre-planning and collaboration as key strengths.

2. Mobile Integrated Health (MIH) and Light Program Update

• Presenters: Matt Hiles (Division Chief), Wes Smith (Case Manager), with support from MIH and Light teams.
• MIH Update (Wes Smith):
  • Referral sources: Fire (internal, often repeat 911 users), LCPD, government agencies (courts, utilities, library, transit), families/friends (word-of-mouth), health/human services (hospitals, skilled nursing, APS).
  • Statistics: Patient ages 2-108, average 70 years old. 85% of patients have both chronic health and psychiatric diagnoses. In FY25: 890 community health visits, 1,739 interventions. 86.8% of patients had reduced 911 usage; 53% had no subsequent 911 call. Average time to next 911 call was 82 days. Graduation rate (patients who received at least one resource and completed treatment) was 80%; 20% were ineligible, deceased, refused, or revoked due to safety concerns.
  • Future plans: New LCSW supervisor hired (Alison Stoner), MIH headquarters fully funded through HUD and state legislative funds, expanded community education.
• Light Program Update (Wes Smith):
  • History: Pilot started 2016, overdose outreach 2021, Operation Bluebird (co-response with LCPD CIT) 2022.
  • Structure: Two teams (firefighter paramedic + LCSW), hours M-Sat 8am-7pm. Roles: paramedic does medical assessment, social worker does behavioral health assessment and brief interventions. Do not sign certificates of evaluation, do not accept referrals, do not provide long-term counseling, do not respond to 988 calls (but 988 can escalate to 911).
  • Call types: Behavioral issues, suicidal subjects, suicide attempts, overdose, CPR, deaths. In FY25: average time on task 1 hour 18 minutes (down 40 minutes from prior year). Emergency department/detention diversion rate 72.9%. 89.9% had no subsequent 911 call for mental health. Response to mental health crises: 58.2% (up 9 percentage points from prior year).
  • Data: 58.2% of all mental health crisis calls in 911 system are handled by Light; goal is 90%. Light canceled PD 30-50% of the time, showcasing trust and efficiency.
  • Youth population: A 2-year retro study led to improved adolescent response protocols.
  • National contributions: Presentations at conferences in Spokane, Tampa, Dallas (accepted for 2026), and a paper on child/teen mental health.
• Council Q&A: Councilor Grant noted the 58.2% response rate and argued for expansion. Councilor Bencomo asked about trends in call volume and provider network; Wes noted complexity but said community engagement and “who you know” are key. Councilor Bencomo also asked about 988 escalation (only 6 cases in two years). Councilor Flores asked for clarification on canceled responses (PD, fire, AMR) – Wes confirmed cancellations can occur en route or on scene. Jimmy Moreno (Public Works) provided an update on the Light/MIH headquarters design: 90% complete, awaiting SHIPO review due to historic status of old fire station 3.

3. Legislative Policies

• Presenters: Andy Hume (Airport), Natalie Green (Housing Administrator), Chief Jeremy Story (Police), Carol Bray (Quality of Life).
• Airport (Andy Hume): Requested support for the Rural Air Service Enhancement Grant Program, which provides financial support for passenger air service (current route Las Cruces to Albuquerque, transitioning to Phoenix). The program is unsustainable without funding – example: current one-way tickets $95, without subsidy would be $750. Requested multi-year stable funding instead of year-over-year, and a clear methodology for fund distribution (funding dropped from $3.5M/two years to $1M/year without clear reason).
• Housing (Natalie Green): Tracking several bills: source of income discrimination (city already has ordinance), eviction sealing, consumer protection for mobile home parks, residential uses in commercial zones (governor’s call, already allowed in Las Cruces). Key appropriation requests: $ for NM Housing Trust Fund (gap financing), $500,000 for Affordable Housing Act implementation (local plans), and a multi-year fund ($400-500M over 3-5 years) for affordable housing and homelessness. Noted that a federal continuum of care NOFO was rescinded that day.
• Police (Chief Story): Addressed three issues: 1) Juvenile crime – noted increase in severity, with 6 juveniles having 11+ arrests and 37 with 6-10 arrests; 4 juveniles charged with first-degree murder this year. 2) Repeat offenders – in Doña Ana County, 3 individuals with 100+ arrests, 8 with 76-100, 19 with 60-75, 46 with 50-59 arrests. Called for better intervention mechanisms. 3) Modernizing law enforcement training – supports legislation to give the Law Enforcement Standards and Training Council more flexibility to set curriculum and mandates (currently 51 hours mandated in 2-year cycle, plus 40 hours in-service).
• Libraries (Carol Bray): Requested support for the NM Library Go-Bond (general obligation bond) that goes to voters every 2 years. The NM Library Association asks to increase funding from $19M to $24M for libraries. Las Cruces Public Libraries received ~$466,000 in 2022, expected ~$500,000 in 2024, and would get ~$554,800 if increase approved. Funds used for e-resources, books, furnishings (not construction).
• Council discussion: Councilor Graham explained the 30-day session dynamics (governor's call) and noted evolving information. Councilor Bencomo expressed concern about Chief Story meeting with a citizen group separately from the council’s legislative priorities, urging alignment and transparency. City Manager Ibarra acknowledged the oversight and took responsibility for not combining the legislative priorities agenda item with the ICIP as historically done.

Key Outcomes

• The council heard presentations and did not take votes on the discussion items as it was a work session.
• The meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn (moved by Flores, seconded), which passed unanimously (all councilors present voted yes).
• Noted intentions: Councilor Corey will follow up on increasing the city manager’s emergency spending authority. Council will receive more information on airport ridership data. The city manager will ensure legislative priorities are presented as a unified agenda item in the future. New councilors joining in January will receive OEM orientation and a tour of the new EOC.
• The city clerk (Christina Vera) will coordinate reporting on bills as they drop in January, working with lobbyist Larry Moran.

(Note: No consent calendar or additional major agenda items were presented outside the above categories.)