Las Cruces releases six‑year CIP with nearly $1 billion in identified needs; 185 projects unfunded

Cynthia Lamillo, Capital Improvements Program manager, told the City Council on March 23 that the city's six‑year Capital Improvement Program (CIP) documents year‑one funded projects and five outer years that remain largely unfunded, with an aggregate funding need approaching $1 billion across roughly 300 submitted projects.

Lamillo explained the CIP intake and evaluation process, which scores projects for planning alignment, community benefit (including equity and underserved areas), regulatory constraints and operational impact. She said the draft CIP currently shows about $66 million in bonds/loans, $33 million in state and federal grants, $28 million in capital outlay, $16 million in tax‑increment development dollars, $12 million from Telstra funds and a mix of fees and developer contributions; utilities impact fees and other enterprise sources also appear under utilities projects.

The presentation noted that 185 projects have no identified funding at this time, 43 are planned annual projects and several large multi‑year projects carry funding forward. Lamillo said the CIP spanned a range of small maintenance projects (re‑roofs, annual work) and major investments (public safety facilities, utilities and street reconstruction) and emphasized the importance of sequencing projects to manage capacity constraints.

She said the draft CIP document will be released March 30, with a public hearing and adoption scheduled alongside the budget in May; staff also plan a departmental highlight at the April 6 council meeting and will return with refined sequencing and funding detail before final adoption.

No CIP amendments were adopted during the work session; the presentation was informational and intended to support council prioritization ahead of the public hearing and vote.