City Council Meeting January 20, 2026

MINUTES

City Council

Tuesday, January 20, 2026 @ 1:00 PM

City Council Chambers, City Hall

PRESENT: Mayor Eric Enriquez, City Councilor Cassie McClure, City Councilor William Mattiace, City

Councilor Michael Harris, City Councilor Johana Bencomo, City Councilor Becky Corran, and City Councilor John Munoz

ABSENT:

1. OPENING CEREMONIES 1.1 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE - MAYOR ENRIQUEZ. 1.2 PRESENTATION OF CERTIFICATES OF

APPRECIATION/PROCLAMATIONS - MAYOR ENRIQUEZ. Mayor Enriquez presented Catholic School students with a proclamation for Celebrate

Catholic Schools Week.

Catrina Godinez, Community Engagement Manager introduced the Sister Cities presentation on the trip to Lerdo and Tim Chappell gave an overhead presentation.

1.3 JOBS OF THE WEEK. Sarah Raney, Americas Job Centers of New Mexico presented Jobs of the Week.

2. CONFLICT OF INTEREST INQUIRY BY MAYOR AS REQUIRED BY LCMC

SECTION 2-27 (E)(2) 2.1 None.

3. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION 3.1 Jason Smith, Member of the Public said during the global war on terror I worked on

aerial surveillance at the highest levels. These were careful disciplined professionals the kind of people movies are made out of and there were actually movies made of some of these people. Even with the layers of review and every intention of doing the right thing still make catastrophic mistakes. Not because we were reckless but because we trusted data that looked conclusive. That experience is why I am deeply concerned watching cities outsource suspicion to AI systems especially through unethical companies like Flock Safety and their unsecure devices. Devices that are all over this town. Because when a tool exists that makes judgement feel easier it will used and human discretion quietly atrophies. In Aurora, Colorado, an automated license plate reader system falsely flagged a vehicle as stolen. A family was forced face down on hot pavement at gun point, children crying, parents cuffed. That mistake ended in a $1.9 million settlement. In that moment the error rate of the system didn’t matter which is about 10% by the way. The database did. Felony stops are dangerous affairs and easy to imagine, one turning deadly of any sudden movement or misunderstanding causing that to happen. Flock calls this safety, that is their branding. Their own patent calls it a dynamic surveillance network. It is not safety it is surveillance. It is suspicion not safety. The Supreme Court has been clear in

Carpenter vs. The United States, the court ruled that people do not lose their expectation of privacy simply by moving through public space. Long term tracking of a person’s movements requires a warrant. Flock is a much more intrusive record, without judicial oversight. This is why deactivation is not enough the system collects, retain and share data as long as the camera remains, the infrastructure remains and so does the risk. Many other cities have already stepped away. You have that option.

Not safety surveillance. It’s not safety. It is AI outsourced suspicion, self-censorship for watch citizenry and a system that would make Orwell turn over in his grave and ask did you even read the book. I urge you to remove all Flock ALPR cameras and cancel the contract with Flock Safety.

Lynn Moorer, Member of the Public said today we delve further into the city’s non- compliance of the Lead and Copper Rule. In addition to sighting inspection reports of inventory records to document our findings we are sharing exerts from a master spreadsheet the city has provided in response to IPRA requests. Las Cruces Utilities is required to and promised it would put disadvantaged properties at the head of the line and prioritize their investigation and if needed pipe replacement. The document containing this promise was provided in Handout A at the November 17, 2025, meeting. All reports of inspections carried out during a week in this past November selected at random were requested under IPRA. Handout 1 is two spreadsheets that show disadvantaged properties are not actually prioritized by the city. The disadvantaged column is highlighted. Of 42 inspections conducted the week of

November 2 through 8th, 74% were not at disadvantaged properties. Only 26% inspected that week are disadvantaged. This is disappointing to say the least. If disadvantaged properties were actually prioritized as the city promised and is required to do not one property that is not disadvantaged would be inspected until all the disadvantaged ones have been inspected, absent an overwriting reason. We have previously noticed inaccuracies spread throughout the Utilities Department’s records.

Today we bring more evidence that the city’s shambolic approach evened by records that are inconsistent with each other and riveting with errors. All properties that we are talking about today are designated as in disadvantaged neighborhoods. A mobile home community on Spruce Avenue of 110 properties is one of the few mobile home

communities the city has included on the inventory map. Handout 2 includes inventory records for a sampling of those properties. Not a single one of the 110 is located on the map where its address says it is. There are no street signs in this community which reflect the street names that appear on the inventory map. I have checked it out. If a citizen were to look at the map and drive over to find a property they are interested in they wouldn’t find it where the map says it is. Plus, not one of the 110 properties has its inventory record match the information on the spreadsheet as to what the system owned service line is made of. Every one of the properties says that the system owned service line is non-lead plastic on the inventory record. In contrast the spreadsheet says each one is non-lead other. I am not clear as to what array of materials non-lead other can cover but it is plainly a different classification than non- lead plastic. Thus, for all of the 110 properties the city’s records failed to agree and are inaccurate in at least two respects.

Liz Rodriguez-Johnson, Member of the Public said analysis of the city’s non- compliance of the Lead and Copper Rule related to disadvantaged properties continues. There is a mobile home community on West Hadley with 220 properties according to the inventory record, see Handout A. One hundred and seventy-six of the properties aren’t listed on the spreadsheet. Like the properties on Spruce Avenue

Lynn Moorer just talked about not a single one of the properties on West Hadley has its inventory record match the spreadsheet regarding the piping classification, plus

Handout B shows 44 additional properties on the inventory map designated with the yellow triangle which don’t appear on the spreadsheet. It also includes a sampling of the inventory records missing from the spreadsheet. Las Cruces Utilities submitted the spreadsheet for its inventory which is required to be accurate and include all properties within the city. Thus the spreadsheet submitted is inconsistent with what appears on the inventory record as well as being significantly incomplete. Handout C shows 21 properties on Silverado Loop whose customer owned service lines are all listed as installed in 1936 and classified on the spreadsheet as having system owned service lines that are non-lead other. By contrast all are classified in their inventory records as non-lead plastic, a clear difference. While these properties are designated as being in a disadvantaged neighborhood and the city says that all the customer owned service lines were installed in 1936, all 21 properties appear to be in a newer subdivision. In fact, a check of a few of the properties on realtor.com says they were built in 2022 or 23, see Handout D. Handout E shows the spreadsheet says that there is 11 properties designated disadvantaged on Blue Stem Street close to Silverado

Loop. All the same facts apply. The customer owned service lines are said to be installed in 1936. The spreadsheet says the system owned service lines are non-lead other. The inventory record says non-lead plastic. They can’t both be true.

Realtor.com says all houses were built in 2023, properties on Blue Stem Street have an added inaccuracy. The inventory map doesn’t correctly specify their address.

Instead of Blue Stem Street the map shows the street as Night Fall Court. It is hard to believe properties on Silverado Loop or Blue Stem Street could reasonably be classified as disadvantaged. Nor can I believe that any service lines in this new subdivision were actually installed in 1936. It is a travesty that the Utilities Department is inspecting these newer properties before every property on Mesquite Street and the older parts of the city are inspected.

Fred Huff, Member of the Public said one week ago there were 11 illegal

encampments in the Burn Lake City Park area. They have been multiplying like crazy over the last few weeks. With the cooler weather my wife and I are constantly smelling the smoke from their illegal campfires. One encampment did not last 24 hours before it completely burned. Another encampment that has been there since January 20,

2025, looked like it was a stolen bicycle receiving point. Every day there were three or four bicycles there, different bicycles. Last Monday morning something happened that gave me hope. Some LCPD officers and the new park rangers walked the area and talked to some of these trespassers on city property. When I talked to the officers told me that the trespassers had told them that the Community of Hope had been telling them that it was okay to set their encampments in the Burn Lake area. If this is true, I want to know who gave the Community of Hope the authority to tell these people to set their illegal encampments up over in the Burn Lake area? Over the next two days the LCPD, park rangers, and Mano y Mano got most of these illegal encampments removed. It went from 11 illegal encampments to just two. That gave Parks and Rec or Public Works, whoever is in charge of that area a chance to go into the area and remove the foliage and weeds that these people are hiding their tents under.

Unfortunately, this area is treated as abandoned property by whoever is in charge and very little maintenance is done to keep the foliage and weeds under control so now the illegal encampments are once again blossoming. As of this morning there are four illegal encampments in the area. The big question is though where do they go? I believe it is very inhumane to keep pushing these unfortunate people from one spot to another. I also feel that it is very inhumane to keep giving these people handouts instead of giving them a hand up to work on improving their lives and be able to reintegrate back into society. We need some mechanism that has a designated spot where these people can stay and receive services to help them if they want. Hopefully this new city council will look at passing a public camping ordinance that gives the

LCPD that tools to direct these people to a secure location so that they can start their journey back into society if they want. The city owns plenty of property where this location could be and no such an ordinance would not be to criminalize homelessness. It would be to help get these people off the streets and back into productive lives.

Juan Garcia, Member of the Public said we know there is a healthcare provider crisis in New Mexico. This issue has been widely reported and for many like myself experienced through a loss of individual providers. From KOB, “A survey of over

1,200 physicians who currently practice or have previously practiced in New Mexico show 65% of respondents considered leaving the state with all but one of the state’s

33 counties designated as having a shortage of healthcare providers. Over 80% of the physicians who plan to leave New Mexico say no cap on punitive damages is their main reason”. One lawmaker in the committee meeting Monday said, “The threat that they may use to get you to settle is punitive damage. They threaten those doctors with the fact that if you don’t settle, we will come after you punitive damage”. So why should an issue that affects everyone blue or red, man or women be so contentious?

On the other side stands Safety Over Profit. A dark money group whose donors are funded by the trial lawyers who were sued by the State Ethics Commission for refusing to comply with the state law requiring them to disclose the sources of their funding. NMSOP is the public face of the opposition to Think New Mexico’s proposed reforms to the medical malpractice law during the last legislative session. Reforms that Think New Mexico has proposed like capping attorney’s fees in medical

malpractice lawsuits would put more money in patients’ pockets but would reduce the amount of money going to their attorneys. This is what needs to be done, and this is what is needed by citizens of New Mexico. Instead, the NMSOP Executive Director, one of our councilors is blaming “insurance and corporate CEOs as they sip bourbon from their yachts”. It’s a cute visual. Who pay lobbyist to silence your please and think tanks to sow this information to try and win at any cost. “That is why we will stand firmly against attempts to cap attorney fees or install caps for damages paid in malpractice cases”. So, the question to the citizens is who do you think is getting rich? Suffering patients without providers? Or the lawyers and dark money group like

Safety Over Profit? Think about it.

Derrick Pacheco, Member of the Public said I wanted to address what I am about to address to everyone here during the regularly scheduled open to the public Board of

County Commission meeting this past Tuesday, however I was arrested right before I could say what I am about to say right now. Youth mentorship is extremely important to me, and I have a project that I have been developing on my own in support of youth mentorship that is much needed here in Las Cruces. I have been working with

Lindsay Humphries of the Economic Development Department. She is in the

Technology and Innovation Office. I have been speaking with Jayme Chester of the

Food Hunger and Ag Program along with David White the Community Business and

Rural Development Specialist. I have been developing what is in this binder, what I have been calling a Seed Bank. This is to teach youth and adults alike how to forage for seeds such as the ones that I was arrested with, like these tomato seeds. I have been beta testing this seed bank that I have come up with my own family. So, this is actually a project that works with four-year-olds and seven-year-olds alike. There is an

AI component to this because there is a software companion to this hardware seedbank. Anyone can check it out. It is live right now, www.royalrootgarden.com.

Root is actually a play on words, it was actually homage based on the Camino Real which is what this project is actually to on. It was initially located at 646 South

Mesquite Street across the street from my grandma’s home. Check it out and give me some feedback. I would love to officially present my project to the City of Las

Cruces and thank everyone for their continued mentorship to the community and your continued service.

Lucy Silva, Member of the Public said I understand that on May 6, 2024, the council voted unanimously to contract with a company called Flock Safety for license plate readers. It was my understanding at the time that these readers were to collect information regarding speeders and red-light runners and now I see and hear that this is going much further beyond surveillance. Flock Safety according to ACLU website is passing this surveillance data onto ICE. They are selling their cameras to police departments and private customers across the nations and allowing the police to do nationwide searches. They have also according to the ACLU website revealed that a police officer in Texas used the systems to search nationwide for a woman who had an abortion illegal in their state. Flock is now expanding the power of the system itself.

I urge the council to please delete this contract and remove the cameras from the Las

Cruces community to keep our community safe.

Fred Miller, Member of the Public said I am also speaking about Flock cameras and I want the city to cancel the contract but beyond that I hope that Legal will look into

actually getting rid of the cameras. Making sure that the Flock Safety company does not just move them from public property to private property. We need to limit their access even if they move them onto private property. Please look into that.

Donna Stryker, Member of the Public said I would like to thank the Chief of Police and the department for the town hall last Thursday here in chambers. The attitude of the police officers, deputy chiefs and our chief of police was excellent. The chambers were very full with citizens. I appreciated the handling of an extremely difficult subject that of public safety and the issue of juvenile crime in Las Cruces and the state. The statistics are always good to see in black and white. On Monday, January 12th

Senator Crystal Brantly spoke to our group Businesses for a Safer Las Cruces on a legislative overview. Public safety and juvenile crime are on the radar for the legislative 30 day session and what was really encouraging to hear from the Senator was the reputation of our Chief of Police and the respect for him, his department, and his efforts to educate the legislators in Santa Fe and it was reassuring to hear that the

Chief is respected and his department by both sides of the aisle and that when he comes before them they listen. We do have a long way to go, yes. We do need changes to the laws that applies to bonding, juvenile offenders and competency, yes but the Chief explained at the town hall it is going to take time, and the small wins are still wins. The efforts to show true transparency are appreciated and would like to see more transparency as it applies to the budget, the changes to the budget and the errors that are and were uncovered. I appreciate that this is a difficult job for you as councilors. I believe that you are literally thrown into this job after you win your election. There is basically on the job training and there is a lot of seat of the pants.

No formal true councilor training is my understanding. I think it would be an area to spend a little more time and money in the future so that councilors are provided the best opportunity to do a great job for our city, our citizens and our community and what you do without all of that is pretty amazing still. Thank you, Chief Story and our

Deputy Chiefs, and your many, many dedicated men and women on the force. You are all human and if anyone in this room has never made a mistake in judgement, in life, in relationships or in general then you are an amazing person with the exception to the fact that human’s error. In our city the LCPD are not perfect, neither one but neither are we and it is good to remember who we are from time to time and reflect on the difficulty of others jobs, their dedication and appreciate all the things that our

LCPD does right and all the things that our city does right.

Tim Jenkins, Member of the Public said I would like to thank our Chief of Police as well for his participation at the town hall last week and for taking time out his schedule to serve the community once and again. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to our entire Police Department for the work they do day and night to do their absolute best to keep our city safe. Public safety is something that many of us only think about when something goes wrong but for our Las Cruces Police Department it is their sole responsibility day in and day out during every single holiday, every day and every night, 24/7. It is all they eat, sleep, and breathe. Their work often happens quietly with little to no recognition but behind the scenes our officers do far more than just respond to calls. They build relationships, support local events, work with businesses and schools and the ones to step in during moments of crisis. Our officers’ service requires courage, patience, and professionalism. Policing today is anything but easy. Our officers face increased demands, complex situations and constant

scrutiny all while being asked to make split second decisions that can affect many lives at a moment’s notice. Despite these challenges our officers continue to serve with dedication and commitment to our community and let’s not forget their families and husbands and wives and children that they leave behind day or night never knowing if they will return home. Today we as a community want to wish our entire

Police Department a sincere and heartfelt thank you for what you do to keep our community safe from the pure evil that lurks in the dark. We have your back, we support you and you are in our prayers. God bless and protect you all.

Jim Hoerst, Member of the Public said I have many concerns today. First there is no protocol or procedure for groups to use City Hall facilities. Different groups have used them over time, but I can’t figure out how to apply for the space. How to reserve it, what the requirements are, if any. As far as I can tell there are no applications, no forms, no records. That is a defect and I hope the city corrects it. Also, when you correct it, liability insurance for small groups for political or religious events those policies are simply not available for any price. If I had $1,000 to buy a certificate for $1 million worth of event insurance I could not get it. So, it is unreasonable to require it. I am deeply distressed by the activities of my President, the Commander and Chief of our military and the person who has the authority to hire agents to operate in America who conceal their identity and behave outrageously. I see how important Posse

Comitatus is because local residents need to have control of everybody in their jurisdiction who has authority to arrest people and to shoot people and all that kind of stuff. Local authority over local law enforcement is essential. We need to know who they are and what they are doing and they need to answer to us. As it is we have a bunch of mad men running around governed by a mad man who is not only mad but malicious.

4. READ CLOSED MEETING STATEMENT 4.1 READ JANUARY 20, 2026 CLOSED MEETING STATEMENT INTO THE

RECORD. The Las Cruces City Council met in closed session and only discussed those limited items as stated in the posted notice:

1.To discuss the purchase, acquisition or disposal of real property by the public body, which is closed pursuant to NMSA, 1978, Section 10-15-1H(8).

2.To discuss pending litigation regarding Paris Pena-Lee v. City of Las Cruces, Civ.

No. 22-cv-960 WJ/GBW, which is closed pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section 10-15-

1H(7).

5. ACCEPTANCE OF AGENDA City Councilor Becky Corran moved, seconded by City Councilor John Munoz, to accept the agenda as presented.

RESULT: Carried

MOVER: City Councilor Becky Corran

SECONDER: City Councilor John Munoz

AYES: Mayor Eric Enriquez, City Councilor Cassie McClure, City Councilor William

Mattiace, City Councilor Michael Harris, City Councilor Johana Bencomo, City

Councilor Becky Corran, and City Councilor John Munoz

6. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES 6.1 REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF DECEMBER 15, 2025.

7. RESOLUTION(S) AND/OR ORDINANCE(S) FOR CONSENT AGENDA 7.1 RESOLUTION NO. 26-088: A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING AN EXISTING

CONTRACT PURCHASE AGREEMENT FOR AFTERMARKET VEHICLE

PARTS AND SUPPLIES WITH A5 AUTO SUPPLY, INC. DBA NAPA OF

SILVER CITY, NEW MEXICO, VIA SOURCEWELL CONTRACT NO. 100124

FOR A POSSIBLE TERM THROUGH JANUARY 10, 2032, IN AN AMOUNT

NOT TO EXCEED $275,000 PLUS APPLICABLE TAXES ANNUALLY,

SUBJECT TO ANNUAL RENEWALS AND APPROVED BUDGET

APPROPRIATIONS (PROCUREMENT NO. 25-26-048). 7.2 RESOLUTION NO. 26-089: A RESOLUTION TO ENTER INTO AN EXISTING

CONTRACT PURCHASE AGREEMENT FOR MEDICAL SUPPLIES FOR

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SERVICES WITH BOUND TREE MEDICAL,

LLC OF DUBLIN, OHIO IN AN ANNUAL NOT-TO-EXCEED TOTAL OF $300,000, SUBJECT TO APPROVED BUDGET APPROPRIATIONS (PROCUREMENT NO. 25-26-069). 7.3 RESOLUTION NO. 26-090: A RESOLUTION TO AWARD PROFESSIONAL

SERVICE AGREEMENTS FOR ARCHITECTURAL & ENGINEERING

SERVICES ON AN AS-NEEDED BASIS TO AKS ARCHITECTURE, P.C.;

ARCHIPELI, PLLC; ARCHIS ARCHITECTS; ARIA STUDIO CONSULTANTS;

ASA ARCHITECTS, P.C.; COUNTRYMAN & CO. ARCHITECTURE;

DEKKER, LTD; DWL ARCHITECTS & PLANNERS, INC.; HARTMAN +

MAJEWSKI DESIGN GROUP; HUITT-ZOLLARS, INC.; IN*SITU

ARCHITECTURE; MODULUS ARCHITECTS & LAND USE PLANNING;

MOLZEN-CORBIN & ASSOCIATES, PA; NINE DEGREES ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN, INC.; NV5 CONSULTANTS, INC.; PARKHILL, SMITH &

COOPER, INC.; STANTEC ARCHITECTURE, INC.; STUBBS

ENGINEERING, INC.; STUDIO SOUTHWEST ARCHITECTS; VIGIL &

ASSOCIATES ARCHITECTURAL GROUP; AND WILSON & COMPANY,

INC., ENGINEERS & ARCHITECTS, IN AN ANNUAL NOT-TO-EXCEED

AMOUNT OF $999,999, PLUS APPLICABLE TAXES, PER VENDOR, FOR A

PERIOD OF FIVE (5) YEARS, SUBJECT TO APPROVED BUDGET

APPROPRIATIONS (PROCUREMENT NO. 25-26-004). 7.4 RESOLUTION NO. 26-091: A RESOLUTION TO ENTER INTO AN EXISTING

CONTRACT PURCHASE AGREEMENT FOR CUSTODIAL AND

JANITORIAL EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES WITH SPECTRUM PAPER CO.,

INC. OF EL PASO, TEXAS IN AN ANNUAL NOT-TO-EXCEED TOTAL OF $400,000, SUBJECT TO APPROVED BUDGET APPROPRIATIONS (PROCUREMENT NO. 25-26-068). 7.5 RESOLUTION NO. 26-092: A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING AN ANNUAL

NOT-TO-EXCEED TOTAL OF $300,000 FOR PUBLIC SAFETY MEDICAL

SUPPLIES, EQUIPMENT, AND MONITORS WITH LIFE-ASSIST, INC. OF

RANCHO CORDOVA, CALIFORNIA, SUBJECT TO APPROVED BUDGET

APPROPRIATIONS (PROCUREMENT NO. 25-26-070). 7.6 RESOLUTION NO. 26-093: A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING AN

AMENDMENT TO THE CONTRACT FOR PORTABLE TOILET RENTAL

AND SERVICES WITH FUSIONSITE TEXAS, LLC D/B/A POTTY TIME 2 OF

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, TO AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $165,000

PLUS APPLICABLE TAXES ANNUALLY, SUBJECT TO APPROVED

BUDGET APPROPRIATIONS (PROCUREMENT NO. 23-24-096).

8. RESOLUTION(S) AND/OR ORDINANCE(S) FOR DISCUSSION 8.1 PUBLIC HEARING REQUIRED. RESOLUTION NO. 26-094: A

RESOLUTION APPROVING THE REQUEST FOR A CRAFT DISTILLER

THIRD LOCATION LIQUOR LICENSE, NO. BLA-0000013785, WITH ON

PREMISES CONSUMPTION AND PACKAGE SALES TO ICEBOX

BREWING, LC, D/B/A FARMESILLA LOCATED AT 1840 AVENIDA DE

MESILLA, LAS CRUCES, NM. 88005. Public hearing began at 2:04 p.m. There was no one for or against. Public hearing ended at 2:04 p.m.

Adam Ochoa, Senior Urban Planner gave the overhead presentation. City Councilor Becky Corran moved, seconded by City Councilor John Munoz, to Approve Resolution No. 26-094.

Councilor Becky Corran, and City Councilor John Munoz 8.2 RESOLUTION NO. 26-095: A RESOLUTION TO ACCEPT THE CITY OF LAS

CRUCES ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE

FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2025. Josie Trevino, Comptroller introduced the topic.

Jesse Oliver, Patillo, Brown & Hill gave the overhead presentation.

Councilor Harris asked this includes transfers out, can you explain a bit more of those transfers?

Jesse Oliver said our general fund is transferring. So, what it is we have expenditures throughout the year. Transfers are done from the general fund to other funds for specific items. Special revenue funds require certain things to cover matches and so that comes out of the general fund. That is why it is included as an expenditure.

Councilor Harris asked is here kind of the same deal since we are spending more

than we are taking in on our enterprise funds?

Josie Trevino asked is this the slide? What was your question on it?

Councilor Harris asked the statement in the presentation was that expenditures are higher than our revenues because of transfers?

Josie Trevino said our expenditures are higher so our revenues but the more services we provide that ups our expenditure. Our revenues may also go up which means we need more individuals to capture those. He is just telling you that expenditures in here include both expenses and transfers.

Councilor Harris asked things that we wrote a check out of the general fund that is what a direct expenditure and then they transfer out of this fund to housing or something to cover match is also an expenditure?

Josie Trevino said you are correct. Anything that is a direct payment we paid for salaries, for example my salary, that is general fund. Say we get a grant, and they require a match for example for Transit what we do is transfer the funds from the general fund to the transit fund just because they have different accounting reporting requirements. So, the matches we do to Transit that is considered a transfer.

Councilor Harris said general fund and enterprise funds are specifically included here.

Overall, my understanding is the budget is balanced?

Josie Trevino said the reason the general fund and the enterprise are shown here is because they are both major funds, so part of the requirement is the auditors have to show the major funds. The general fund is a major operating, and the enterprise is also a major fund. That is the reason those are being presented.

Lesley Doyle, Finance Director said I did want to add also the majority of the transfers that we are talking about here are related to debt service. The debt service funds what would happen is we transfer from general funds to a debt service fund and in that fund is where we pay from to actually pay off the debt. That is by and large what our transfers are. The majority of our transfers. We do have the other ones that Ms.

Trevino spoke of. However, the majority of them are related to our debt service.

Additionally, I wanted to add to your question if our budget is balanced? The answer is yes. We do have savings and fund balance that we can utilize. However, we as an organization are working to make sure that we do utilize less of that savings and that is the goal of both this year and next.

Councilor Munoz said in your findings you mentioned WEX Fuel Card anomaly. How much was that?

Josie Trevino said we do have the findings in here. Single audit and in there it will say what they tested, how many they tested. One out of four vehicles. So, the details are in here. In this particular instance it was some vehicles for the Police Department.

They used premium. Information we have on the process is that premium is only to be used for certain vehicles and some of the vehicles that were using premium were not included on that list. This one right here was a process and Ms. Mercedes has started working on the fleet of what they are going to be doing to make sure these are complying with everything that we have on there for gas and pretty much using the tax dollar payers where we need them and if premium is not needed then no premium should not be used.

Councilor Munoz asked as far as the amount, obviously if it is $4, $400 or $4,000 we all have to be good stewards of taxpayer money, but you are not anticipating that it was more than a few hundred dollars?

Josie Trevino said no it was a few transactions. So even one transaction would show up because if it says premium is only to be used for vehicle A and it was used on vehicle B then they would note it.

Councilor Munoz said that is good to hear and that we will tighten up on that. You have the amount?

Josie Trevino said yes, so on page 315. It says, “Our audit of the City of Las Cruces fuel card transactions for the fiscal year based on sample testing disclosed that 11 out of 25 transactions, Police Department vehicles totaling $494.83 were for premium grade gasoline”. That doesn’t mean the increase, that means the total that was used for premium was $494, had they used regular it could have been $300. So, the difference was less than the $494.83.

Councilor Munoz said in comparison to the overall amount that was used on fuel. I don’t want to use the term drop in the bucket but in either case that is good news. I think we can tighten up on that and again good use of taxpayer money and it wasn’t an incredible amount. The other piece too that I am sure we will work with City

Manager and the rest of the team is the numbers are flat and consistent overall but I also want to keep in mind that we are growing as a city so in 2000 we were about

75,000 in population and now we are projected at around 117,000 or 118,000 for

2026. So, we will have to make those numbers match up as our population grows we will need to continue to provide services and provide service delivery at a high-quality level and so definitely something to be aware of for future forecasting.

Councilor Bencomo said I just wanted to bring up the Director of the South Central

Solid Waste Authority who is here perhaps to speak on the corrective actions taken at the authority. I know that the Inspector General has spoken publicly here about the issues, but I thought it was a good opportunity for the authority to speak on the changes that have been made since October.

Josie Trevino said I just wanted to note that the South Central Solid Waste finding was a self-report so South Central did contact me and I contacted the state auditor and we let our external auditors know and so when they came, they already had the case so this was something that we reported.

Jose Gallegos, Executive Director South Central Solid Waste Authority said I just wanted to take the moment to assure you that our staff has taken great measures in implementing internal controls of any voided transactions, which was a case about a year ago. Ms. Rosa Montoya and Rene Ruiz, these two individuals in late 2024 were two key individuals that discovered the transactions that were occurring. Over several weeks they developed and implemented internal controls. The total amount of voided transactions that were occurring were under $100,000. Our revenues to put that into perspective were $12 million a year more or less from a certain from our tipping fees.

So, it was a drop in the bucket so to speak, however, with their quick action they were able to identify the issues and implement internal controls. Now at the time it was discovered here were several dozen transactions that were being voided at one of our of transfer stations. With internal controls that have now been implemented it is less than 10 per month and they are of a different nature. They are basically transactions now that have to be replaced with a corrective transaction rather than totally being voided. So great job to them and our staff that have implemented those internal controls. So again, we believe we have the process better controlled now and we are looking at other opportunities to we make sure that we catch anything that as soon as it is discovered.

Mayor Enriquez said thank you to Lesley and the accounting team, everyone that was a part of this audit. I would like to recognize you all so go ahead please stand up, those of you from the accounting team. Let’s give them a hand. Thank you for all your work. I know it is a time when it becomes anxious time whenever you have the auditor show up but we appreciate it. We look forward to it because we always want to build on it and improve and get better at what we do. City Councilor Becky Corran moved, seconded by City Councilor John Munoz, to Approve Resolution No. 26-095.

Councilor Becky Corran, and City Councilor John Munoz 8.3 RESOLUTION NO. 26-096: A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF

LAS CRUCES (CITY) TO ACCEPT BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS FOR

VARIOUS CITY DEPARTMENTS THROUGH AN AMENDMENT TO THE

CITY’S ADOPTED FISCAL YEAR (FY) 2025-26 BUDGET. Vanessa Perez, Budget Analyst gave the overhead presentation. City Councilor Becky Corran moved, seconded by City Councilor John Munoz, to Approve Resolution No. 26-096.

Councilor Becky Corran, and City Councilor John Munoz 8.4 RESOLUTION NO. 26-097: A RESOLUTION AMENDING THE FY2026 - 2031

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM.

Cynthia Alamillo, CIP Manager gave the overhead presentation.

Dominic Soucy, Division Chief Las Cruces Fire Department continued the overhead presentation.

Mayor Enriquez asked what kind of warranties do we get on the re-roofs?

DC Dominic Soucy said I believe those are twenty-year warranties on those roofs.

Cynthia Alamillo continued the overhead presentation.

Natalie Green, Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization Administrator continued the presentation.

DC Dominic Soucy continued the overhead presentation.

City Councilor Becky Corran moved, seconded by City Councilor John Munoz, to Approve Resolution No. 26-097.

Councilor Becky Corran, and City Councilor John Munoz 8.5 RESOLUTION NO. 26-098: A RESOLUTION APPROVING A

PRECOMMITMENT OF CITY FUNDING FOR A FEDERAL LOW-INCOME

HOUSING TAX CREDIT MULTI-FAMILY DEVELOPMENT SUBJECT TO

AWARD TO SAID TAX CREDITS BY HOUSING NM. Natalie Green, Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization Administrator gave the overhead presentation.

Councilor Corran said I am excited as always to have affordable housing on the possible agenda in our sphere. I always like when you give a little breakdown of 9% very competitive. You alluded to this, the City of Las Cruces is one of the most successful municipalities I think in the state, knock on wood, submitting today. It is very competitive and takes a very sophisticated operation to do this as well as a very strong private partner. So, I just wanted to ask you to talk a little bit about 9% and also just say that the developers have been extremely communicative. I have already chatted with them about some of the design elements and what this will be like for folks in the community in District 5, so I just also wanted to say I am really happy that they are willing to consider investing here in Las Cruces and partnering with us in this way.

Natalie Green said this is our chart showing the difference between a 9% and 4% tax credit. So, the 9% is highly competitive because it creates almost 70% equity within

the development so the tax credit and the investors and the developer only need to take a small amount of debt service which allows them to reduce rents or cap the rents based on HUDs LIHTC chart. A 4% surprisingly is actually starting to become very competitive. It typically wasn’t 4%, it allows larger projects so we could 100, 144 unit complexes. You have less equity in the deal, but it was subject to the State’s volume cap, our bounding volume cap. That cap is actually at its limit so we are going to start to see 4% get a lot more competitive, which will in turn make the 9% even more competitive. So not only are we seeing developers compete here in Las Cruces,

Las Cruces is also very competitive at the state level so thank you for the compliment.

Councilor Harris said those renderings look pretty cool. This looks like an exciting project, and I am excited to see the investment into Las Cruces. The precommitment of these funds, do we do that for other projects that we are looking to get funding sources for, is that a way that we can make projects we want our city to do more competitive in other areas?

Natalie Green said the loan income housing tax credit competition is conducted annually. So, staff puts out a call for projects in October, and we have what is called a qualifying grantee and I apologize, it is a lot of verbiage. So, projects actually have to come to us and to get prequalified, they have to be eligible under the New Mexico

Affordable Housing Act and then Housing New Mexico has to confirm our assessment of those qualifying grantees and then that will make them eligible for any precommitments under our programming. Sometimes those are loans, other times for example the Housing Authority project we got capital outlay so that will likely be some sort of loan, grant combination. I have not read the documents myself. Staff has been working on those. But generally under the Affordable Housing Act it calls for staff to do primarily loans because we want that return on investment so any precommitments that we have made that have been awarded tax credits have either come from special revenue bonds or we have tapped into the Telshor Fund but it has been a loan that will be repaid back. Again, it is specific to affordable housing projects. Typically, multi- family rental and then for 9% tax credits the sweet spot is anywhere from 60 to 80 and then just as a note to the projects in order to be competitive they have to stay affordable, typically 35 to 40 years so there is an expectation of whatever is being built be sustainable for that lifetime.

Councilor Harris asked so this kind of pledging of funding for these kinds of projects is specific to these kinds of projects just because of the grants they are going out to get awarded, right?

Natalie Green said correct. It is a program that is authorized under the IRS so it is actually a tax incentive that was created by Ronald Reagan and so it is the longest running affordable housing program and our consultant presented to council a couple of months ago. It is the only federal housing program that received bipartisan increases during the current administration.

City Councilor Johana Bencomo moved, seconded by City Councilor Becky

Corran, to Approve Resolution No. 26-098.

MOVER: City Councilor Johana Bencomo

SECONDER: City Councilor Becky Corran

9. BOARD APPOINTMENTS 9.1 COUNCILOR CORRAN APPOINTS NANCY CLAYPOOL TO THE LIBRARY

BOARD. 9.2 MAYOR ENRIQUEZ WILL BE APPOINTED TO THE COMMUNITY

SCHOOLS BOARD. 9.3 COUNCILOR HARRIS WILL BE APPOINTED TO THE TRANSIT BOARD.

10. NOTICE OF PROPOSED ORDINANCE(S)

1) There will be no public discussion.

2) A Councilor may ask staff for clarification on the proposed ordinance(s). 10.1 COUNCIL BILL NO. 26-014; ORDINANCE NO. 3106: AN ORDINANCE

AMENDING CHAPTER 23, SECTION 23-36. POLICE SERVICE AIDES OF

THE LAS CRUCES MUNICIPAL CODE. Council agreed to bring it forward. 10.2 COUNCIL BILL NO. 26-015; ORDINANCE NO. 3107: AN ORDINANCE

TERMINATING THE PROJECT PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT (PPA) WITH

828 PRODUCTIONS, LLC, RELIEVING THE CITY OF AN OBLIGATION IN

THE AMOUNT OF APPROXIMATELY $1,858,015.22, CONDITIONALLY

AUTHORIZING THE FULL TERMINATION OF THE PPA AND ORDINANCES

3028, 3054, AND 3067, AUTHORIZING CLAWBACKS OF FUNDING

EXPENDED UNDER THE PPA, AND AUTHORIZING REPAYMENT TO THE

NEW MEXICO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT. Council agreed to bring it forward.

11. CITY COUNCIL MEMBER BOARD REPORTS AND COMMENT 11.1 COUNCILOR MCCLURE I have two things specifically, the first one is that I also share a concern about Flock but I think that we are not thinking wider even than that. I went to MVEDA’s AI conference and I thought about cyber security in different ways that are going to impact us just dynamically for whatever we do. I was a youngen in 2001, but right around then we started talking a lot about protecting our critical infrastructure. A lot of the time that meant water and gas from things that we could be threatened against and right now we have to be concerned about where our data goes and I think that is a crucial thing that we need to talk about. One of the pertinent things and this was an

8 a.m. presentation. There was a lot for 8 a.m. and they had that cyber security professional who was talking about five years ago the ability to stop a virus was about a month. Now it is 48 hours. This is not outside the normal for Las Cruces either. Look at the ransomware attack for Las Cruces Public Schools was in 2019. We don’t want to have things like that happen to us too. I spoke a little bit with Economic

Development and thinking about that for that. Can we guarantee data security for working with some of the companies that want to come in? I don’t know so this is a conversation you need to have here at this city level.

The other thing I want to talk about is that I was encouraged to hear about a project called Art Space which is different housing opportunities for Las Cruces. Years ago they had come into El Paso, and it was like a catalyst project for downtown El Paso to be basically bring artists in and give them a different way of living. So, when we talk about different opportunities for housing, things like that make me really excited so I am glad those conversations are happening, they are coming at the end of February to kind of scout locations if you are interested. Reach out in conversation with them. I am always going to argue for downtown but there is flexibility. So those are the things that I am excited about, and I do think that we ought to have some larger conversations.

11.2 COUNCILOR MATTIACE None. 11.3 COUNCILOR HARRIS I will also welcome further conversation on cyber security and data privacy practices and the implications of programs that we are doing in the city, Flock, potentially other things. As anyone who has been paying attention to what I say, you probably know that is a big thing for me. Cyber is my passion and my industry so I would welcome these conversations, and I think they are very important.

I attended the Art Board meeting the other week and I just wanted to point out that they are accepting chalk artists for their annual Chalk Walk event. The application deadline is the 21st. There is a premeeting on the 6th and the event itself is March

14th in the Museum courtyard. Also, this Thursday we are dedicating a new art piece at Fire Station 6 at 1:30 p.m. 11.4 COUNCILOR BENCOMO I wanted to note that this week on Wednesday, which is tomorrow just in case anybody forgot. We are celebrating all of our Utilities employees at the Utilities

Banquet. We do get to thank you Utilities’ employees who I feel like have a very thankless job often and after seeing what happened in El Paso in the last couple of weeks with their huge utility emergency they had it puts even more into perspective how important our Utilities employees are so if you see folks around town make sure to give them a huge thank you.

I also had the pleasure of attending NAACP Dr. King luncheon yesterday. I am really grateful for their continued work in Dona Ana County and for inviting us to be there.

And it was great to have, they had as keynote speaker Leon Howard who is the

Executive Director of the ACLU of New Mexico there and it was great to have him shoutout Las Cruces and the ways that we are standing up for our immigrant communities and shoutout our welcoming city resolution. I certainly hope that the majority of this council continues to protect that. Especially because it does include some data privacy provisions in there that obviously we have to continue having those

conversations. So, I am also very up for what that conversation can look like in our community since multiple members of our community have raised it.

In the last couple of weeks the American Planning Association also had a report that came out on zoning practices and specifically shouted out Las Cruces and some of the things that we are doing in Las Cruces through housing, through zoning to improve housing opportunity for folks and this magazine, American Planning

Association, nonpartisan, nonprofit also talked about the cost of criminalization and I know that we live in a time where research and evidence and data aren’t necessarily used primarily to plan policy. I certainly hope that here in Las Cruces we can highlight that and this particular magazine did talk about the cost of criminalizing homelessness through things like camping bans and I think it is important for folks to understand that encampment sweeps how that impacts taxpayer dollars. One study in the magazine it says, “One study estimated that after receiving a move along order 91% of unsheltered people remain outdoors, moving only two or three blocks away. Even if temporarily incarcerated, individuals often return to the same neighborhoods and parks by simply creating a costly revolving door that circulates individuals experiencing homelessness from the street to criminal justice system and back or from neighborhood to neighborhood or block to block enforcement expenditures are often counterproductive and wasteful”. So, if perhaps the real humanitarian narrative doesn’t land on folks perhaps the cost effectiveness of a cruel policy like this can go a lot further. It was great to have Las Cruces on here and recognized. I also saw that there are some state legislators who are uplifting some zoning policies and I was reading this list and I was like we already did that. So, it has been really incredible to see that the City of Las Cruces is very much leading the way in New Mexico and so just a huge shout out to our staff who has led and a lot of those efforts. 11.5 COUNCILOR CORRAN I also agree that I would love for us to have a conversation about Flock/ I think Flock gets the publicity but I think that the surveillance data is not as secure as we would hope for our data to be in any situation so I support my colleagues that mentioned that as a priority to continue to follow up on. I do want to just mention in this discussion of the bigger picture I am really grateful for our opportunity next week, next Wednesday is our Budget Retreat and I talked to someone this weekend and had thought oh it had already happened. I think everyone is reading things from 2025 and forgetting that it is 2026. So just as a note our Budget Retreat comes up next Wednesday and I am sure there will be information publicly available, but the public is invited and the media is invited and I hope that folks will consider joining us in that conversation as we think about the budget moving forward.

11.6 COUNCILOR MUNOZ I know that currently right now with the legislature in session we are looking at capital outlay. I have heard like many of my colleagues that there were some delays in projects statewide not here in Las Cruces but statewide. There is about $7 billion that has not been spent and that would be a great problem to have here in Las Cruces but statewide. So, I asked City Manager and his staff to provide a report, and I am happy to say with the progress that has been made we are on track or have completed some of the projects. There are just a few projects that we are behind for good reasons, and

I think we will be able to catch up. So that is a really good message to share with the legislature and compliments to the City Manager and the Assistant City Managers, leadership and the staff for keeping those projects on track. Looking forward to finishing off the projects and then getting some new monies from the state.

The other piece I would like to look at is if my colleagues would like maybe a Work

Session, I know we talked about electrification of fleet. We are about 6% so if you have that plan out there. I would like to take a look at it to see how we can reasonably grow that or get to our budget. With that we probably wouldn’t have to worry about premium or regular gas. Actually that also brings me to the point, thank you to the staff and thank you to the audit team that out of really just millions and millions of dollar and a lot of dollars that we spend on fuel that they were able to catch that very, very tiny anomaly and we will be able to hone in on that and we will actually be able to improve on those processes so that is pretty good but again I just want to look at electrification and I want to be reasonable. I know that there are reasons why we might be a little bit slow on that and I know there was a slow down in the manufacturing of EV vehicles so I get that piece, but I just want to be aware of that.

I want to thank Executive Director Rochelle Miller-Hernandez and her team and everyone from Las Cruces City team who participated in the balloon rally. I felt it was very positive, community came together and not just Las Cruces community but surrounding communities. I saw some folks from or met some folks from various parts of this region and also someone who really stuck out who was wearing shorts and short sleeves at 5:30 in the morning when it was about 20 or 30 degrees. He was from Canada I believe. So great job to the team and a very good sense of community and I hope that we continue to have more programs like this for our community,

11.7 MAYOR ENRIQUEZ I also want to say a shout out to Rochelle and Visit Las Cruces and the Mesilla Valley

Balloon Rally. It was a great event Saturday morning. There was probably a couple of thousand people there and again to Councilor McClure and Mayor Pro Tem Munoz who got on the Visit Las Cruces balloon. Also, our Assistant City Managers. That balloon was beautiful and to see Visit Las Cruces and to see Las Cruces up there in the sky was something to see so again thank you Visit Las Cruces for putting that together.

As we started out today we had the presentation by Sister Cities and I always say that is a great way to learn not only here locally or in the country but throughout the world and I mention that because we talk about Flock, we talk about technology, we talk about AI and not too far from us we have one of the state of the art facilities being built and that is in Juarez, Mexico for the Real Time Crime Center and it is a multi- story building and I know police has already been invited to tour and see how it works.

GIS has been invited. I have been invited. So, I will extend that invitation so that we can learn and see what are the problems, what are the issues and this came from

Mexico City. The President and Governor of Chihuahua decided that they wanted it down south, so they put it in Juarez. So, it is something that we can learn from and grow from as well.

12. CITY MANAGER REPORT 12.1 IKANI TAUMOEPEAU Economic Development, Film Las Cruces announced that the city of Las Cruces has been named one of the best places to live and work as a movie maker in 2026. This marks the fourth year in a row that the city has been listed in the top ten film towns in

America. Great job to our film makers and Economic Development for assisting with that.

Parks and Recreation on January 17, which passed co-hosted a meet featuring athletes from our four local high schools. Looking ahead we invite the community to join us on January 31st for the dual meet between New Mexico State University and the University of New Mexico. This event runs from 8 a.m. till 2 p.m. This event is free and open to the public and we encourage everyone to come out and cheer on our hometown Aggies.

Last, I just want to give an update that Las Cruces PD and Mesilla Valley Community of Hope are working closely together. Community of Hope Outreach and Mano y

Mano continues to meet with unhoused neighbors at Burn Lake and transition them into Camp Hope, mitigate neighborhood impacts and so on and so forth. So, I just wanted to give everyone an update on that.

13. ADJOURNMENT 13.1 City Councilor John Munoz moved, seconded by City Councilor Michael Harris, to adjourn at 3:21 p.m.

MOVER: City Councilor John Munoz

SECONDER: City Councilor Michael Harris

Mayor

City Clerk