Doña Ana County approves $312M revenue preliminary budget; expenditures total $387M with planned reserve draw

Doña Ana County commissioners on May 27 approved a preliminary fiscal year 2026 budget that budgets $312,000,000 in revenues and $387,380,000 in expenditures, creating a planned draw on reserves of roughly $75,200,000, Budget and Research Officer Lucio Luttrell told the board.

Luttrell said the revenue figure reflects a $98.7 million grant budget and that the county's largest single revenue source is gross receipts tax. "We are budgeting $312,000,000," Luttrell said during his presentation, and he told commissioners the preliminary plan assumes a recurring operational surplus of about $2.6 million after accounting for grant-funded and one-time items.

Key figures Luttrell presented include: $165.3 million in tax revenues (about 53 percent of total), $98.7 million in grant revenue (32 percent), $33.0 million in service revenues and a conservative $5.0 million estimate for investment income. On the expenditure side, Luttrell reported $104.0 million in personnel costs, $111.0 million in operating costs, and $45.2 million in capital outlay (split among unrestricted and restricted projects).

The proposed budget includes 57 new positions countywide; Luttrell detailed a revised fire-rescue request of 41 positions after internal department adjustments. He also said the county plans to pursue state firefighter recruitment grant funding that could cover many firefighter positions for the first years if awarded.

Luttrell described the county's projected cash position: a beginning cash balance of about $205 million, budgeted end cash of about $129.9 million and an "adjusted" unrestricted ending cash after required reserves of roughly $27.0 million — equivalent to under six months of unrestricted operating costs at current levels. "That number is important because...when you look at it at the budget perspective, we really have $27,000,000 to work with," Luttrell told the commission.

Commissioners discussed timing, implementation and the need for long-range forecasting extending beyond FY26. Luttrell said staff will update grant budgets and capital-in-process items between July 1 and July 10, and that the board will consider final budget adoption at a July 29 special meeting that will include the fourth-quarter report for FY25.

Why it matters: The preliminary budget sets the county's spending and capital priorities and identifies persistent staffing and operational needs — especially in fire-rescue, public safety and community-facing facilities — while signaling a multi‑million-dollar planned use of reserves that the board and staff said they will monitor closely.

What’s next: Luttrell said the county must submit the preliminary budget to the state Department of Finance and Administration by June 1 and will return to the commission with updated grant spending plans and any adjustments before the final FY26 vote on July 29.

Ending: The commission approved the preliminary FY26 budget and directed staff to refine grant budgets, provide clearer grant spend timelines, and develop longer-term revenue forecasts to inform FY27 and beyond.