Council liaison: county passed broadband bonds, budget guidance mostly flat aside from salaries

Councilor Raney, the county council liaison report to the Los Alamos Health Council, said the county recently approved bond financing for a broadband project and expects another set of bonds to be proposed next year to support capital projects including fire stations and recreation facilities.

Raney said the county approved budget guidance for the coming fiscal year that is "mostly flat, except for salary and benefits," and that managers are not expected to propose new positions as part of the baseline guidance. "We did pass the bonds for the broadband project," Raney said, and added that other projects remain on a capital list and will be considered as financing and timing permit.

Raney also noted the council approved state legislative priorities, described as broadly supporting legislation that improves health and wellness for New Mexicans. He said some listed capital projects — including a cemetery project — already have separate funding and will not come to council for budget requests. Raney encouraged stakeholders to provide input on capital priorities as the county moves through its budget process.

The liaison report closed with a reminder that the inclusivity task force has offered cultural-awareness training and other free trainings for groups of five or more; attendees who asked about training logistics were told to contact task-force staff for scheduling.

No formal county policy was changed at the Health Council meeting; Raney's remarks were informational and the council followed with other agenda items.