Las Cruces City Council Work Session on Budget, CIP, and Natural Gas – April 13, 2026
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Las Cruces City Council Work Session – April 13, 2026
The Las Cruces City Council held a work session on Monday, April 13, 2026, at approximately 1:00 PM, chaired by Mayor Eric Enriquez. The meeting included a closed session statement, a presentation from the Municipal Court, a FY26-27 budget review and public hearing, a Capital Improvement Program (CIP) review, and a discussion on natural gas infrastructure. Council also heard public comment on the budget and natural gas items.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Lucas Harnan criticized proposed operating cuts affecting parks and recreation and utilities, noting a $6.5 million liability line item and suggesting that hiring freeze savings could be partially offset by police liability costs.
- Juan Garcia opposed defunding police, arguing public safety should not be cut, and criticized what he called “anti-police” groups pushing for more recreation funding.
- Giovanni Hernandez recounted a 2020 police brutality case involving Tony Valenzuela and criticized the city’s settlement, stating police budgets are never reduced.
- A resident (Burn Lake advocate) argued the city should focus on public safety and infrastructure rather than entertainment, noting existing parks are under-maintained.
- Mike Moscato (developer) spoke on natural gas, stating his all-electric Metro Verde development has been successful and that the current code does not require gas lines; he urged council not to impose gas requirements.
- Brad Douglas (City Attorney) advised that code language on gas utility requirements is ambiguous and recommended cleanup for clarity.
- Don Kurtz supported developer choice, noting no other U.S. city mandates natural gas in new subdivisions, and questioned the reliability argument for gas.
- Rico Gonzalez (El Paso Electric) highlighted the utility’s reliability, clean energy mix (over 70% carbon-free), and new rate programs for low-income customers and EV owners.
- Leslie Graham (Z Natural Gas) spoke in favor of natural gas, citing efficiency, reliability, and that some developers have trouble obtaining gas connections.
Discussion Items
- Municipal Court Update – Judge Anthony Felosa presented case statistics: 61% increase in petty misdemeanor cases from 2023-2025, DWI filings in 2026 already equal to 2023 totals. He outlined the court’s compliance program (SOS), alternatives to detention, defensive driving, electronic monitoring, and 189 weddings performed in 2025. Needs include filling vacancies, an updated vehicle (currently over 20 years old), technology upgrades, compensation for language access specialists, and consideration of an alternate judge. Council discussed the indigent attorney fund; City Attorney Brad Douglas noted a full-time public defender agreement will come before council in June and will be housed in the city clerk’s office to avoid conflict of interest. Councilor Bencomo praised the court’s openness to alternative sentencing.
- FY26-27 Budget Review – Finance Director Leslie Doyle presented the proposed all-funds budget of $598.1 million for FY27, with a general fund of $180.7 million (7.9% increase). Revenue is projected at $185.4 million. To address a structural gap, the city has already reduced expenses by $7.8 million and transfers by $5 million in FY26. Options to balance FY27 include: (1) adopt as-is using $20M fund balance; (2) use vacancy savings ($7.8M), using $12M fund balance; (3) cut operating costs ($8M), using $12M fund balance; (4) both vacancy savings and operating cuts ($15M total), using $4.1M fund balance. Personnel costs account for 72% of the budget, driven by health insurance (20% increase), PERA contributions, and pending collective bargaining agreements. Council consensus favored option four.
- Capital Improvement Program (CIP) – Cynthia Lamillo reported 309 projects totaling $1.2 billion in need; 164 have no funding identified. For FY27, funded projects total $288.9 million, with major categories: utilities ($72M carryover), public facilities ($19M), public safety ($18M), and parks ($8M). Unfunded needs over five years include $317M for public facilities, $230M for street improvements, and $26M for affordable housing. Councilor Harris noted long-term maintenance costs of new infrastructure and asked for consideration of sustainability.
- Natural Gas Infrastructure – Staff (Chris Favor, Adrian Whitmer, Jenny Hernandez, Natalie Green) presented the current development code requiring natural gas connections in new subdivisions. Council discussed whether to amend the code to give developers the option to skip gas lines. Councilor Harris presented data showing electric appliances are now cheaper to operate (e.g., heat pump water heaters four times more efficient than condensing gas). Councilor Matisse favored maintaining choice for residents. Councilor Bencomo emphasized the energy transition plan and equity concerns for low-income customers who would bear costs of a shrinking gas system. Mayor Enriquez expressed interest in clarity. A consultant study on gas transition is expected in July 2026. Council direction was to clean up code to allow developers the option across residential zones (NH1-NH3), but not necessarily for commercial/mixed-use; extensions could continue if users pay full cost.
Key Outcomes
- Budget Direction: Council unanimously (with absentees) agreed to pursue Option 4 – implement both vacancy savings ($7.8M) and operating cost reductions ($8M) to minimize fund balance usage. Staff will work with departments to identify savings and return with a revised proposal. Final budget adoption is scheduled for May 18, 2026.
- Public Defender: The agreement for a full-time public defender will be presented in June and housed in the city clerk’s office, independent of both the municipal court and the city attorney’s office.
- Municipal Court Needs: Council acknowledged the need for an alternate judge and will consider appointments. The court’s vehicle and technology upgrades will be discussed further, possibly using TID funds (next TID board meeting April 27).
- Natural Gas Code: Staff directed to prepare code amendments clarifying that developers may choose not to install natural gas lines in new subdivisions (residential zones NH1-NH3). Extensions outside subdivisions will continue if the requesting party pays costs. The issue of gas line extensions in existing service areas will be further informed by the pending consultant study.
- CIP: The proposed FY27 CIP was presented; no formal vote was taken. Council will continue to review and prioritize projects.
- Adjournment: The work session adjourned with a motion by Councilor Harris, seconded by Councilor Bencomo, all in favor (Councilors McClure, Matisse, and Munoz absent).
Meeting Transcript
Your life. Good afternoon. Welcome to our city council work session. Today is Monday, April 13th, 2026. It's approximately one PM. I'm Mayor Eric Enriquez. We will start with a moment of silence for the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces. We will start with a moment of silence for the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces and also for our Las Cruces Police and Las Cruces Fire Department that keep our city safe 24-735. If you please join me in the pledge. Under government. First thing on the agenda is to read the closed meeting statement. The City of Las Cruces Council met in closed session today, April 13th, 2026. A meeting started at 1004 a.m. The following were attendance. Mayor Enriquez, Mayor Pro Tem Munoz, Councillor Bencomo, Councilor Corran, Councillor Harris, City Manager, Iconing Hamopayao, City Attorney Brad Douglas, Henry Becker, Christine Rivetta, our city clerk, Kyle Adren, Joe Richards, Jose Vargas from HR, police lieutenant Cody Austin, Housing Natalie Green. From Parks and Red, Catherine Harris Rogers from Public Works, Jimmy Moreno from Land Management, Bill Hamm, Economic Development, Elizabeth Teters, Jan Larnbuck from Housing as well, from Parks and Rec, Steve Binghaman, and Assistant City Manager David Cedillo. Outside counsel, Chris DeFilippo. We met and we had these items, the discussion bargaining strategy preliminary for the collective bargaining negotiations between the policy making body and the bargaining unit, which is closed pursuant to New Mexico State Satute 1978 section 1015-1H5. We also discuss pending litigation regarding Brandon Barron versus the City of Las Cruces, which is closed pursuant to NMSA 1978 section 1015-1H7. We also discuss items brought by housing, parks and recreation, and public works for the per purchase, acquisition, or disposal of real property or water rights by the public body, which is closed pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section 1015-1H8. We also discuss the pending or threatening litigation regarding 828 Productions, LLC versus City of Las Cruces. Also closed pursuant to NMSA 1978 section 10-15-1H7. We also discussed the City of Las Cruces versus Alameda Land Investment Corporation, which is closed pursuant to NMSA 1978 10-15-1H7. The meeting adjourned at 12 p.m. So now we can begin with the work session. Honorable members of the City Council, Anthony Felosa Municipal Court, Judge One for the Las Cruces Municipal Court. Thank you for the invite to be here. So I appreciate the opportunity to present to council regarding those issues. Excuse me. We're a court of limited jurisdiction in New Mexico. What that means is we could only hear certain types of cases in the municipal in the Las Cruz Municipal Courts. We're limited in that we only hear alleged violations of the Las Cruces Municipal Code. We're governed by the rules. I'm sorry, I didn't uh rules of the New Mexico Supreme Court, uh Rule Set 8, which is the Municipal Court Rules of Procedure. Uh Municipal Court's not a court of record. None of the proceedings are audio recorded. We don't handle jury trials, they're all uh bench trials in all cases. Um, if requested can be appealed to the third judicial district court uh de novo, which means all over again, someone's entitled to a new trial in front of a district court judge. Uh for the most part, we uh handle these types of cases, petty misdemeanors, DWI's traffic, animal control, and codes. Um petty misdemeanors are are uh primarily housed within chapter 19 of the municipal code. Um those are batteries, assaults, resisting, evading, or obstructing an officer, shoplifting, criminal trespass, larceny, harassment, criminal damage to property, all petty misdemeanors uh under your municipal code. Uh we also uh have jurisdiction per uh ordnance to handle uh DWI offenses first, second, and third offenses. Um the petty misdemeanors carry a maximum sentence of up to 90 days of jail and and up to a 500 fine. The DWIs are the only exception to that on second and third offenses, they carry a maximum uh exposure of 179 days in jail. Traffic, uh we handle traffic, those are contained within your municipal code, chapter 27, uh, animal uh control cases, uh, chapter 7, the the updated animal ordinance that you all recently passed, those are our cases that we hear, and we also hear codes cases. Um that's just a little overview of the municipal court. Wanted to touch on the move to City Hall for court operations uh from June 2025 to March of 2026. Um, as you all are aware, we we uh operated or we had substantial issues with the HVAC system, some other issues at the municipal court uh building, and we uh in conjunction with conversations with city management, the decision was made to move um to City Hall, and we did that uh we were here from approximately middle to late June uh to March of 20 uh 26. We just moved back last month. We uh operated several places within City Hall.
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