OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Rio Rancho Governing Body Work Session: FY27 Budget & Roads Update (April 21, 2026)

Meeting Portal — Tuesday, April 21, 2026
BodyRio Rancho, New Mexico
SessionMeeting Portal
DateTuesday, April 21, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:25:25

Transcript — Verbatim
0:01

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

0:15

Thank you.

0:15

You may be seated.

0:20

Okay, I'll go ahead and call this work session to order.

0:25

And let's see here.

0:28

Miss Davis.

0:31

Do I have an agenda?

0:39

Thank you.

0:42

Okay, first item on the uh but let me just do this real quick.

0:46

I'll call roll and uh please silence all electronic devices while attending governing body meetings, and I'm gonna take that same advice right now.

0:57

And then let's see here.

0:59

And for the record, when I announce the names of the governing bodies, members that are present, please acknowledge by saying present.

1:06

Uh councillor Dabson.

1:08

Present.

1:08

Thank you.

1:10

Uh Councilor Lynantine, is he joining us online?

1:15

Okay.

1:16

Uh Council Tyler.

1:18

Present.

1:19

Thank you.

1:20

Councillor Weimer is excused.

1:23

Councilor Colbras.

1:25

Present.

1:25

Thank you.

1:26

Councilor List.

1:27

Present.

1:28

Thank you.

1:29

All righty.

1:31

Moving on to the first item.

1:33

Uh no public comment will be taken at this work session.

1:36

So moving on to discussion, municipal court FY27 budget request.

1:42

Judge Cook, welcome.

1:46

Oh, and for the record, Jerry uh Councillor Lennon has just arrived.

1:56

Good afternoon.

1:58

Mayor and Counselor.

1:59

Really don't have a lot to say.

2:00

Our budget is recently flat.

2:03

Oh, yeah.

2:05

There we go.

2:06

That works.

2:06

Okay, thank you.

2:08

We don't have a lot of requests.

2:10

There is one thing that Miss Mascarina's brought to my attention.

2:14

There was a decrease in health care costs to the city.

2:18

We have some employees that have opted out for various reasons.

2:23

But other than that, there are some things that are out of our control that uh have increased.

2:28

Um the costs of interpreters is kind of skyrocketed.

2:33

Um that's not a good thing, but it is uh totally out of our control.

2:38

Beyond that, we don't have a whole lot to present uh beyond what is uh what you have in front of you.

2:44

If you have any questions, please council, do we have any questions on this?

2:56

Mr.

2:57

Mayor.

2:58

Yes, Council List.

3:00

Not a question, but I just wanted to say thank you.

3:02

If I recall a year ago, um one of the requests that had come up, I believe, from Councillor Tyler was that we would get a monthly email or regular updates on what's going on, and I just want to say thank you so much.

3:13

You have been so diligent about that, and we appreciate that.

3:15

You're welcome.

3:16

I have the best administrator.

3:21

Mayor Counselor, thank you.

3:22

We'll agree.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Engineering And Infrastructure███████████████████████████████████35%
Budget Equity Analysis█████████████13%
Personnel Matters█████████████13%
Capital Improvement Planning█████████9%
Procedural████████8%
Water And Wastewater Management████████8%
Public Engagement██████6%
Parks and Recreation█████5%
Animal Welfare█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Rio Rancho Governing Body Work Session: FY27 Budget & Roads Update (April 21, 2026)

The Rio Rancho Governing Body held a work session on April 21, 2026, at 3:00 PM in the Council Chambers. The meeting focused on the Municipal Court FY27 budget request, the City Manager's FY27 budget overview, and a roads update. No public comments were taken. The session adjourned at 4:29 PM.

Discussion Items

  • Municipal Court FY27 Budget Request: Municipal Judge Cook reported that the court's budget remains essentially flat. Health insurance costs have decreased due to employees opting out, while interpreter costs have increased uncontrollably. No new requests were made. Councilor List thanked Judge Cook for providing regular updates.

  • City Manager FY27 Budget Overview: City Manager Matt Geisel presented the FY27 recommended budget, which is structurally balanced and maintains a 27% general fund ending balance (exceeding the 25% policy minimum). Key proposals include:

    • 5% compensation adjustment for all employee groups (subject to collective bargaining), effective July 13, 2026, costing $2.6M for the general fund.
    • 5% increase in health insurance premiums due to rising medical costs.
    • 21 new general fund positions, including 9 firefighters/EMTs, 2 police officers, 2 Real Time Crime Center operators, and others.
    • General fund capital equipment totaling $466,696.
    • Utility enterprise fund rate adjustments: already-approved 3% annual increase for water and wastewater, with FY27 increasing the average monthly bill by approximately $3.
    • Two new utility positions.
    • Tentative agreement with the fire union on the 5% adjustment. Additional compensation adjustments for the police union (base pay, longevity, education pay) totaling ~$1.4M will be presented at the May 28th meeting.
    • Next steps: Budget hearing on May 1, public comment on May 14 and 28, and adoption by May 28.

  • Roads Update: Director of Public Works BJ Gottlieb provided an annual update. The city has 495 centerline miles of paved roads and 116 miles of maintained unpaved roads. Since 2016, 50 major road projects have been completed, mostly funded by GO bonds. Key statistics and projects:

    • Neighborhood Streets Improvement Program (NSIP) In-house Patch & Seal: 109 centerline miles completed in 10 phases; 91.2 miles remain.
    • Hybrid Mill & Inlay (HMI) program: ~41 miles remaining; Phase 4 requested in FY27 budget.
    • Project pipeline: Kim Rd (10% design complete, final design by Aug 2027), Rainbow Blvd corridor study (5% complete, 30% design by Dec 2027).
    • Upcoming projects funded by Transportation Project Fund (TPF): Barbara Loop (construction June 2026), Western Hills Dr (August 2026).
    • 2026 GO Bond projects: Baltic Ave, Springer Dr, Ridgecrest Dr, Honduras Rd (Fall 2026 to Spring 2028).
    • Federal projects: Unser Blvd Phase 2B and Southern Blvd Phase 2A expected to bid in Fall 2026.
    • Comparison with peer cities: Rio Rancho's road mileage is similar to Las Cruces, but its general fund revenue is lower.
    • Discussion on road life cycles: Patch and seal is a stop-gap; HMI provides longer life. Some earlier patched roads may need renewal, creating a challenge between backlog and maintenance.

Key Outcomes

  • The FY27 budget overview was presented; formal adoption will occur at the May 28, 2026 governing body meeting.
  • City Manager indicated that additional police union compensation adjustments (~$1.4M) will be brought forward for a vote on May 28.
  • The roads update was informational; no formal decisions were made. Director Gottlieb will post the presentation online.

Meeting Transcript

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. You may be seated. Okay, I'll go ahead and call this work session to order. And let's see here. Miss Davis. Do I have an agenda? Thank you. Okay, first item on the uh but let me just do this real quick. I'll call roll and uh please silence all electronic devices while attending governing body meetings, and I'm gonna take that same advice right now. And then let's see here. And for the record, when I announce the names of the governing bodies, members that are present, please acknowledge by saying present. Uh councillor Dabson. Present. Thank you. Uh Councilor Lynantine, is he joining us online? Okay. Uh Council Tyler. Present. Thank you. Councillor Weimer is excused. Councilor Colbras. Present. Thank you. Councilor List. Present. Thank you. All righty. Moving on to the first item. Uh no public comment will be taken at this work session. So moving on to discussion, municipal court FY27 budget request. Judge Cook, welcome. Oh, and for the record, Jerry uh Councillor Lennon has just arrived. Good afternoon. Mayor and Counselor. Really don't have a lot to say. Our budget is recently flat. Oh, yeah. There we go. That works. Okay, thank you. We don't have a lot of requests. There is one thing that Miss Mascarina's brought to my attention. There was a decrease in health care costs to the city. We have some employees that have opted out for various reasons. But other than that, there are some things that are out of our control that uh have increased. Um the costs of interpreters is kind of skyrocketed. Um that's not a good thing, but it is uh totally out of our control. Beyond that, we don't have a whole lot to present uh beyond what is uh what you have in front of you. If you have any questions, please council, do we have any questions on this?

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