Amanda Bowen, Las Cruces emergency manager, told the City Council on Dec. 8 that the city’s All Hazards Emergency Operations Plan (AHEOP) has been substantially rewritten to meet current federal and state standards and to protect disaster funding.

“The prior emergency operations plan dated back to 2011,” Bowen said, describing a revision process that began in May 2024 and ran through June 2025. She said the update produced a new base plan plus 10 functional annexes and 10 hazard annexes, added emergency operations center (EOC) job aids and community lifeline reporting tools, and strengthened accessibility measures to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Bowen said the AHEOP is intended as a coordination and governance framework — not a tactical manual — and that it is fully cross‑walked to FEMA guidance and the National Incident Management System (NIMS). She warned the council that without an up‑to‑date plan “we risked non compliance, delayed disaster funding, fragmented response,” and that a local emergency declaration remains legally required to request state and federal disaster assistance.

The presentation described next steps for adoption: stakeholder adjudication across all jurisdictions in Doña Ana County, state review and crosswalks, and multi‑agency training. Bowen also briefed the council on recent OEM accomplishments, including managing $16,000,000 in grant funds, regional exercises and interoperable radio deployments, and the planned move into a new EOC facility in May 2026.

Councilors thanked Bowen for coordinating after recent incidents and asked for periodic debriefs; Bowen said the office completed after‑action reviews for the family assistance and resource center following the Young Park shooting and that the city has a new cooperative reimbursement agreement with the county.

The administration plans to return with the final AHEOP for formal adoption and for public‑facing education and training to familiarize partners with roles and orders of succession the plan documents.