Rio Rancho council approves police collective bargaining agreement, authorizes budget to cover pay and benefit changes

The City of Rio Rancho governing body voted unanimously Sept. 11 to approve a new collective bargaining agreement with the Rio Rancho Police and Communications Association and to adopt a companion budget resolution recognizing funds to pay for the agreement.

Human Resources Director Loyola Martinez presented the draft agreement to the council, saying negotiations concluded in August after a bargaining team composed of city and union representatives reached a ratified draft. Martinez said the agreement lowers the overtime threshold from 43 hours to 40 hours per week, updates corrective-action and promotion procedures, modifies annual fitness testing and related incentives, revises light-duty parameters, increases on-call compensatory time for specialty units, raises the uniform allowance, implements a contingent annual retention incentive, applies base pay increases of 4% to all career-progression tiers (with dispatch supervisors receiving a 5% adjustment), and creates a new longevity plan for non-sworn MOS positions. Martinez said many of the economic changes have recurring budget impacts and that, if approved, “the ratified CBA would take effect on the pay period beginning 09/22/2025.”

Martinez told the council the anticipated total cost of the enhancements is approximately $1,400,000 in the remainder of fiscal year 2026 and that the additional recurring funding needed to support the changes (beyond already-budgeted 4% base pay adjustments) is approximately $950,389. She said the source of that increase would be the city’s unreserved ending general fund balance and staff had analyzed the action to confirm recurring expenses can be funded from recurring sources.

Kevin Buchanan, speaking on behalf of the association, thanked the governing body and staff for what he called a “thoughtful and deliberate process,” and said the agreement “acknowledges the daily sacrifices made by our officers and dispatchers” and will help with recruitment and retention. Several council members praised both the union and city staff for reaching agreement. Councilor Linnentine said the city is “reaching a point of equilibrium” on public-safety compensation and Councilor Tyler and others expressed appreciation for the cooperative negotiation process.

The council approved D-51 (advice and consent to the collective bargaining agreement) and then approved R-102, the budget resolution recognizing the additional funds needed to implement the agreement. Miss Davis called the roll for both measures; each passed by recorded “yes” votes from Councilors Culbreth, Linnentine, List, Tyler, Dabson and Weimer.

Votes at a glance

- D-51 (advice and consent to draft collective bargaining agreement between the City of Rio Rancho and the Rio Rancho Police and Communications Association): approved (unanimous recorded vote: Culbreth — yes; Linnentine — yes; List — yes; Tyler — yes; Dabson — yes; Weimer — yes). Motion/second not specified on the public record.

- R-102 (budget resolution to recognize funding for CBA changes): approved (unanimous recorded vote: Culbreth — yes; Linnentine — yes; List — yes; Tyler — yes; Dabson — yes; Weimer — yes). Motion/second not specified on the public record.

What happened next

City staff and the union said they will proceed to implement the agreement on the stated effective pay period. Staff noted the recurring nature of many adjustments and said they had identified funding in the unreserved ending general fund balance and confirmed the recurring expense could be funded from recurring sources. No legal or ordinance citations were presented during the discussion.

Funding and practical details noted in the meeting

- Anticipated total cost of enhancements in remainder of FY2026: approximately $1,400,000 (presented by Loyola Martinez). - Additional recurring funding needed beyond already-budgeted 4% base increases: approximately $950,389; source: unreserved ending general fund balance. - Effective date if approved: pay period beginning Sept. 22, 2025. - Substantive contract changes discussed: overtime threshold lowered to 40 hours/week; promotion eligibility revisions; changes to fitness testing and incentives; increased uniform allowance; on-call compensatory time increases for specialty units; contingent retention incentive; new longevity plan for non-sworn MOS; dispatch supervisor 5% pay adjustment to address compression.

Next steps and context

Staff recommended approval at the meeting and the governing body adopted both the CBA advice-and-consent item and the related budget resolution. Council members emphasized the agreement’s role in recruitment and retention and said they would monitor budget impacts as part of regular financial oversight.