Las Cruces council approves NMFA bond application and amends GRT spending after hours of public comment

The Las Cruces City Council voted April 6 to authorize submission of a New Mexico Finance Authority application seeking bond proceeds of up to $20 million and to approve a municipal gross receipts tax (GRT) spending plan that the council amended after debate and public comment.

The council's action follows weeks of work sessions and public meetings used to prioritize projects that the GRT increase (0.325 percentage points) was intended to fund. Staff recommended a roughly 60/40 split between maintenance (deferred facilities, streets, fire and police fleet upkeep, ADA compliance) and new projects (training and capital projects). The NMFA application (resolution 26‑124) was approved on a council roll call.

Why it matters: City officials said the funding is intended to close a backlog of capital needs after decades of underinvestment. Cynthia Lamillo, the city's capital improvements program manager, told the council the CIP includes about 290 projects over five years and that fully funding them would require roughly $1.1 billion; she said about $186 million of those projects currently have no funding.

Councilors argued over priorities for the new‑project bucket. Some members and many public commenters urged that more money go to the library, recreation centers and parks; others argued that police and fire equipment and training are urgent. Councilor Harris moved an amendment that reduced the city's driving‑track contribution from the amount shown on the spreadsheet to $2.5 million and redirected $1 million to the city's deferred facilities and asset maintenance line. That amendment passed and the resolution to allocate GRT funds as amended passed on a subsequent vote.

“I move to reduce the, proposed budget here for the driving track to 2,500,000.0 and redirect that 1,000,000 to the deferred facilities and asset maintenance, line item,” Councilor Harris said during the meeting when offering the motion.

Residents who asked the council to prioritize community projects said they felt the earlier public engagement should carry greater weight. “Invest in our communities, parks, recreation centers, roads, libraries,” said Lucas Hernan, a District 2 resident who attended multiple public prioritization sessions. “Stop asking working families to choose between basic needs when there's already money being spent on the wrong priorities,” he said.

City staff explained how the bond application and the pay‑as‑you‑go (residual GRT beyond debt service) funds will interact. Leslie (finance staff) told council the NMFA application would seek net proceeds of about $20 million (not to exceed $22,150,000 including issuance costs) with maturities up to 20 years, and would be secured by the municipal GRT. The staff recommendation for the first two‑year cycle included $5 million for fire station improvements, $4 million for street maintenance/traffic calming, $2.4 million for fleet upkeep (two‑year total), and $600,000 for ADA facility work, with a $2 million pot available to close funding gaps on selected CIP projects or seed new projects such as a rec center.

Council adopted the NMFA application and accompanying project direction and approved the amended GRT allocation. The council also approved a separate resolution to extend a state purchasing contract for electronic fuel cards and an update to the procurement code.

Next steps: With council approval, staff will submit the NMFA application and continue design and financing work; the council will consider bond sale timing and the city’s go‑bond planning at upcoming meetings, including a May work session on the go‑bond effort. The amended GRT allocation will be applied to the projects discussed while staff refines project lists and schedules.