Los Alamos County Council – Continued FY2027 Budget Hearing and Adoption (April 28, 2026)

The Los Alamos County Council held the continued FY2027 budget hearing on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, with the agenda start time listed at 6:00 PM. No minutes were provided for this session; the summary is based on the agenda, staff report attachments, and raw transcript. During the meeting, the Council completed department presentations, acted on budget options, and adopted the FY2027 budget in the amount of $350,220,288 as amended. That adopted amount reflects the proposed $349,305,288 budget plus approved amendments, including the previously approved $15,000 Inclusivity Training option and the $900,000 Department of Public Utilities Fairway utility-infrastructure option approved during this session.

Staff presentations emphasized Gross Receipts Tax (GRT) volatility and the County’s financial position. The FY2025 General Fund GRT revenue was reported at $80.7 million, $17.5 million below the FY2024 level of $98.2 million. FY2026 was projected to end with a General Fund balance of $70.4 million after an operating shortfall of roughly $23 million. The FY2027 proposed budget projected an ending General Fund balance of $72.1 million with a small operating surplus of $1.7 million.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Kyle Dickman, speaking with the Tough Dykes and joined by Bridger Dickman, Callie Dickman, and Taran Dickman, expressed strong support for keeping the North Mesa Bike Park in the FY2027 budget and thanked the Council for considering the community process behind the proposal.
• The Chair noted that additional e-comments supporting the North Mesa Bike Park had also been received.

Discussion Items

• Community Services Department: Department staff presented accomplishments including Gold Medal finalist recognition, completed playground and court renovations, the cemetery master plan, the columbarium project, the North Mesa Bike Park starting funding, Social Services outreach, and the new library integrated library system. Council discussed the status of the tree inventory, North Mesa Bike Park phase-one costs, and the social services facility timeline. The Council tentatively approved the Community Services Department budget of $33,543,026. The motion passed 7-0.
• Fire Department: Fire Chief Eric Litzenberg and Administrative Services Manager Javier Anderson presented. They highlighted daily emergency response, two leadership transitions, a sixth accreditation through the Commission on Fire Accreditation International, wildland deployments to six fires, and about 40 acres of thinning on county-owned property. The budget discussion noted the department’s funds structure, the DOE/NNSA Cooperative Agreement, and professional/contractual services. The transcript does not show a separate tentative vote for the Fire Department before the Police Department presentation began; the Fire Department was included in the final adopted budget.
• Police Department: The Police Chief presented accomplishments including a third consecutive CALEA reaccreditation, the inaugural Youth Cadet Program, a 20% reduction in overall reported crime, and more than 500 citations issued by the newly formed traffic unit in Q4 2025. The proposed Police Department budget was $20,113,136. The Council tentatively approved it by a 7-0 vote.
• Public Works Department: Public Works Director Eric Martinez and division managers presented airport, transit, environmental services, fleet, facilities, and engineering accomplishments. Notable items included the completed airport fuel farm, the Atomic City Transit Rural Transit System of the Year award, augmented brush collection, and the five-year pavement preservation program. Staff asked Council to use the updated yellow budget pages showing a Public Works total of $64,367,263, about $2 million higher than the earlier green sheet, reflecting timing shifts between Fire Station 4 and Betty Ehart Senior Center funding. The Council tentatively approved the Public Works Department budget of $64,367,263 by a 7-0 vote.
• Department of Public Utilities (DPU): Utilities Manager Philo Shelton and staff presented the DPU FY2027 proposed budget of $94,688,744, with FTE count unchanged at 107.65. The budget was about $14.1 million lower than FY2026, largely due to reduced purchased-power costs and capital expenditures. Staff outlined FY2027 rate changes already approved or proposed, including 8% electric distribution, 7% wastewater, 8% water, and a proposed 27% increase to the gas fixed rate. Council discussion covered the gas fund’s low revenue, typical residential gas bills, the Foxtail Flats solar project’s remaining unallocated generation, utility assistance programs, and the $900,000 Fairway joint DPU/Public Works utility infrastructure budget option. The Council tentatively approved the DPU budget of $94,688,744, including the $900,000 budget option, by a 6-1 vote with Councilor Reagor voting no.
• Non-Departmental: Staff presented the non-departmental budget of $8,179,409, consisting primarily of debt service, including payments on the 2013 refunded GRT bonds, the FY2026 $40 million broadband bond issuance, and a proposed FY2027 issuance for the remaining $35 million of planned capital-project debt. The Council tentatively approved the non-departmental budget by a 7-0 vote.
• Capital Improvement Projects and Financial Policies: CFO Melissa Dadzie and Administrative Services Director Helen Perraglio led a discussion of the Capital Improvement Projects fund, the Long Range Financial Projection, and proposed financial-policy changes. The proposed financial policy change would raise the targeted unassigned General Fund reserve from 20% to 25% of General Fund actual revenues, with added language that excess fund balance above the reserve target could be considered during budget hearings for affordable housing, economic development, and capital projects. Staff modeled one-time versus recurring spending scenarios and discussed the reserve target’s relationship to GRT volatility, bond ratings, and future flexibility. The Council also discussed the North Mesa Bike Park funding and the administrative services “cost increase for all categories” placeholder line.
• Parking Lot Items: The proposed $37,350 County Council travel budget option was discussed but left unchanged, with Council indicating no increase was needed at this time. The Council then voted on a bike park funding reallocation.

Key Outcomes

• The Council adopted the FY2027 budget in the total amount of $350,220,288, as described in Attachment B, Summary of Changes from Proposed to Adopted Budget, as amended at the budget hearings. The adoption motion passed 6-1, with Councilor Reagor voting no. Reagor stated he could not support the budget because of concerns about future utility obligations and what he described as insufficient discussion of capital projects such as the Emergency Operations Center.
• The adoption motion also approved the following related items: the FY2027 Long Range Financial Projection (Attachment C), the Equipment Replacement Schedule (Attachment F), the Summary of Pension Fund Administrative Costs (Attachment G), the Recurring Grants Schedule (Attachment H), the Schedule of Appropriations for Salary Adjustments (Attachment I), the FY2027 Department of Public Utilities Schedule of Funds (Attachment J), continuing appropriations from FY2026 for listed items (Attachment L), and the revised Financial Policies (Attachment N).
• The Council approved the reallocation of $1,447,176 from CP 9007, the Administrative Services cost-increase placeholder, to the North Mesa Bike Park capital project line. The motion passed 5-2, with Councilors Neal-Clinton and Cole voting no.
• Department-level tentative approval votes were recorded as follows: Community Services ($33,543,026) 7-0; Police ($20,113,136) 7-0; Public Works ($64,367,263) 7-0; DPU ($94,688,744 plus $900,000 budget option) 6-1; Non-Departmental ($8,179,409) 7-0.
• With adoption completed, the Chair stated that the budget hearings were concluded and that no meeting would be needed on Wednesday, April 29, 2026.