Santa Fe County managers outline FY2026 capital and maintenance priorities, urge completing existing projects first

County Manager Schafer presented the Santa Fe County Board of County Commissioners with a proposed fiscal year 2026 capital and maintenance projects budget at a study session, urging the board to prioritize completing existing projects and to limit new project commitments until current items are closer to construction-ready.

Manager Schafer told the commission the county is recommending that staff focus on projects already “on the books” with funding attached or near-ready rather than adding many new projects. He cited large cost volatility in construction markets — including a recent example where the Bureau of Reclamation’s $20,000,000 estimate for a Pojoaque Basin Regional Water System phase produced a sole bid of about $60,000,000 — and said the county is avoiding treating line‑item estimates as full funding until a construction contract is in hand.

The nut graf: because of uncertain construction pricing and previously allocated projects with limited engineering backing, management recommends concentrating FY2026 resources on gap funding for existing projects, selectively funding feasibility or preliminary engineering work where a clear path to construction exists, and keeping contingency capacity to respond to overruns.

In the presentation,…