DHSEM requests permanent staff, in‑house IT and facility repairs as budget differences emerge between LFC and executive

Scott Sanchez, LFC analyst for public safety, told the committee the Legislative Finance Committee and the executive branch were largely aligned on Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management funding but diverged on several line items. “General fund increased by LFC by about $122,000, or 3 percent, whereas the executive increased it by about $953,200, or 23.8 percent,” Sanchez said.

The difference is concentrated in non‑general‑fund and programmatic requests, he said: the LFC recommendation included increased funding for group insurance ($52,000) and audit and compliance contract costs ($70,000), while the executive added $325,000 for brand‑management software and $292,000 for statewide public safety radio services and did not fund the audit and compliance contract costs. Sanchez also noted the executive funded a $440,000 expansion “to add 5 FTE for a disaster recovery unit” and to convert positions currently under contract to permanent state jobs.

Nut graf: The department asked lawmakers for recurring finance and IT capacity and for repairs at a leased facility on a military base. Committee questions focused on cybersecurity compliance, the cost and scope of building repairs and how the building’s lease and ownership affect which agency must approve maintenance.

Department requests and staffing

Mr. Cohen, speaking on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, described the agency’s current reliance on contract staff and the case for hiring permanent finance personnel. “Our base staffing is really all contract staffing. So we have a $2,000,000 contract with one contractor and a $300,000 contract with a local contractor, ATA Services,” he said, and added the department is requesting five FTEs to “start augmenting our finance staff because that is the base of all of the money that flows through the state of New Mexico for all these disasters.” Cohen said if the finance functions are not strengthened, “it’s not working.”

Cohen also said the agency is seeking to bring IT services back in‑house after nearly four years of privatized IT support. He described needs for network upgrades, better Wi‑Fi and cybersecurity capacity: “Having an emergency department without an in‑house IT, a computer went down. We put a help desk ticket in, and, hopefully, we had a computer fixed in the next couple hours in order to function.” He said the request is intended to be a measured expansion: “we are wanting to grow responsibly … at a steady rate.”

Facility and capital concerns

Committee members pressed agency leaders on a package of facility requests that drew skepticism from some lawmakers. Chair and other members asked what would be purchased with $325,000 listed as “landscaping,” and questioned a $150,000 item described as “plumbing.” Cohen said the landscaping request responds to safety and basic maintenance needs — trees falling around a complex and overgrown grounds — and that the plumbing request was intended to fund an assessment, not immediate full replacement. He described operational problems tied to the facility’s condition, saying staff sometimes have to “physically pump” plumbing lines.

On ownership and maintenance authority, Cohen said the building is on a military base and was leased long ago: “DMA, Department of Military Affairs, because it is on the base, they leased it to DPS 10, 12 years ago when DHSM became an agency. No one has ever updated that lease. So right now, we’re in the process of working through all the logistics, either through GSD or through DMA to figure out how to even just do the basic maintenance of that building.” Committee members urged the department to seek contractor estimates and to clarify whether capital or operating budgets should cover needed work.

Cybersecurity and standards

Senator Aaron Bedding asked whether the department, previously exempted from the state’s cybersecurity requirements, still relied on that exemption. Cohen replied that the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management participates on the New Mexico Office of Cybersecurity committee and is working to comply with the state office’s standards despite earlier exemptions. “We appreciated the exemption … but we realized the importance of cybersecurity, and so we are … on board,” he said.

State Fire Marshal Office summary

Randy Verell, the state fire marshal, briefed the committee on the State Fire Marshal Office’s FY26 request and provided headline numbers for the office’s budget and distributions to local fire departments and volunteers. He presented a total FY26 budget figure and outlined increases for personnel, travel, equipment and a reimbursement to the Department of Homeland Security’s central services for finance and legal support. Verell said the office prioritized $577,700 for personnel services and noted the need to reimburse central services for support staff.

What’s next

Committee members asked the agency to provide contractor estimates and clarifying documentation on the facility repair items, and to return with additional details on proposed plumbing, landscaping and HVAC work. Lawmakers also pressed the department to clarify its lease status and which state agency would be responsible for capital improvements. Several committee members signaled skepticism about the agency’s proposal to pay for studies that they said could be sourced by contractors at lower cost.

Ending: The agency left committee members with recurring and nonrecurring budget differences to reconcile — most significantly, whether to convert contract disaster‑recovery positions to permanent state FTE, whether to restore IT in‑house capacity, and how to address immediate facility safety and maintenance needs tied to a long‑unupdated lease arrangement.