County buyout program for flood-damaged homes is imminent, officials say; residents ask for help saving cabins

Lincoln County Manager Jason Burns told the Village of Ruidoso council on March 10 that funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) have been confirmed and obligated and that agreements to secure the money are expected within days.

“We have been confirmed and obligated the funds from NRCS,” Burns said, describing the program as a voluntary property-buyout effort intended to create a floodway and permanent green space to reduce future flood damage. He said the program will operate as a 75/25 match, with the county sponsoring the local match and the county’s capital-outlay commitments contingent on final state budget approvals.

Burns outlined prioritization criteria that rank affected properties from 1 to 5, with priorities 1 and 2 (homes that are destroyed or have significant damage) scheduled to be funded first. He said appraisals will be performed using pre-flood values from 2024. “The appraisals will be done at a pre flood appraisal value,” Burns said.

The program, Burns said, will be comprehensive: homeowners will submit applications, the county will evaluate eligibility, conduct appraisals and, if an offer is accepted, handle demolition and restoration of the property to green space. “There will not be a deadline on applications,” Burns said; the county intends to stretch funds to reach as many eligible properties as possible.

Residents at the meeting urged the council and county to coordinate quickly. Mary Helen Johnson described repeated sewer backups and unstable ground near a family cabin that dates to 1938 and said the cabin could be lost if access and mitigation are not addressed. “I’m here to ask you to please help us save our cabin,” Johnson said, telling the council paving and barriers installed after the flood have worsened the condition and repeatedly destroyed driveways.

Councilors asked how ownership would be handled after a buyout. Burns said the county would initially acquire property parcels and that final ownership arrangements would be determined as the program advanced. “The county will currently [retain ownership], and then as we get through the end of the program, we will be allowed to determine final ownership after,” he said.

Burns said the county has a proposed contract for program administration but has not signed it; he emphasized a schedule keyed to the state budgeting and legislative process and said stakeholders’ meetings would be scheduled as soon as state approvals are confirmed. Councilors and staff requested a public rollout and stakeholder meetings next week if state budget approvals arrive, and Burns said the county would return with more detailed procedural guidance when agreements are finalized.

What’s next: Burns said the county will publish application and eligibility information, hold public meetings in multiple locations, accept voluntary applications, and begin prioritizing properties once appraisals and program agreements are in place. The council did not take any formal vote on the program at the March 10 meeting.