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Governing body reviews Facilities Master Plan and staffing roadmap, including Fire Station 8 and a new training facility
Summary
City staff presented the Facilities Master Plan identifying five priority projects (Fire Station 8, fire/rescue training facility, an operational annex, a multigenerational recreation center and a police/public-safety headquarters) and a FY25–FY30 staffing roadmap that trims initial requests to about 116 positions.
City staff presented the Facilities Master Plan and an accompanying staffing roadmap during the work session, highlighting five priority capital projects and a multi‑year plan for new positions.
The facilities presenter described the "big five" projects: Fire Station 8 (to respond to southern district call volumes), a fire and rescue training facility, an operational annex to consolidate fleet and maintenance operations, a multigenerational recreation center and a new police/public‑safety headquarters. The session included preliminary schedules and funding notes: staff said the city received $1,000,000 in capital outlay for Fire Station 8 and estimated construction costs at about $10,000,000 with roughly $1,700,000 more for apparatus; a ground‑breaking window of fall 2026 was presented as funding‑dependent.
On staffing, presenters said an initial list of roughly 180 requested positions was pared to a working draft near 116 positions for FY25–FY30. The plan includes staged public‑safety additions (15 firefighters to staff Station 8 in FY28 and incremental police and communications positions), growth‑driven additions in development services, utilities, parks and libraries, and several administrative roles to support organizational capacity. Staff noted Rio Rancho’s relatively low employees‑per‑1,000‑residents ratio and said the plan is a road map subject to annual budget decisions.
Councilors asked about communications staffing, school‑resource officer funding (the city currently covers 100% of SRO costs), and vacancy forecasts; staff said dollars from unfilled funded positions roll back into the general fund and scheduled a dedicated public‑safety work session for December.
