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LAS CRUCES 鈥� The citizens of New Mexico鈥檚 second-largest city should expect reduced public library hours; waiting lists for some long-term senior care services; cheaper road repair; slower responses to potholes and damaged street lights; and other cuts to services, department directors warned as the city council approved a slimmer spending budget for the next fiscal year.

The city鈥檚 budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year, which begins July 1, represented a struggle across city departments to close a rapidly increasing gap between spending and revenue, one month after Finance Director Lesley Doyle warned the council the city was digging into general fund balances and needed to change course.

Monday, Doyle presented the council with a $586.3 million overall budget that held general fund spending increases below 1%, at $167.9 million.

The total budget is expected to increase as grant contracts are formalized, affecting special revenue and capital funds. The budget discussion focused on the general fund, which is nourished mostly through gross receipts taxes. 

Salaries, benefits and other personnel costs account for $125.6 million, or 74.8%, of general fund expenses, increasing $10.2 million over last year under the new budget. Operating expenses from the fund are estimated at $41.8 million, down $8.9 million from last year.

Doyle described it as 鈥渁 pretty flat budget,鈥� though she presented the costs to some popular public services and programs without flinching. Departments will also have to forget about filling 50% of currently vacant positions, for now, although current staff will still receive a 2% salary increase. An additional $2 million in revenue was saved, Doyle said, thanks to a smaller-than-expected increase in health insurance premiums for employees.

Doyle delivered the budget by moving some expenditures out of the general fund to the city鈥檚 Telshor facilities fund, which is endowed by revenue from Memorial Medical Center鈥檚 lease of public land. The fund has been accessed during emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and more recently has provided gap funding for certain projects and supported public programs.

The city would also phase out its funding of school crossing guards, which Doyle said are typically paid for by school districts rather than municipalities. For the current year, the city has budgeted $337,536 for crossing guards.

City Councilor Cassie McClure likened the budget to 鈥渟queezing blood out of a rock.鈥�

The cuts followed a mid-fiscal-year correction last winter, after the city discovered an error that resulted in an overstated general fund balance, requiring immediate measures to slow spending.

The one change council made to the budget proposal was to restore $60,000, reversing a proposed cut, to the city鈥檚 support of community schools, which provide a wide range of social services at public school sites. Several council members and Mayor Eric Enriquez said restoring the funding to $150,000 helped the schools fulfill a critical need. That expense, too, would come from the Telshor fund, Doyle said.

Doyle, along with City Manager Ikani Taumoepeau, said two new internal committees would continue to evaluate departments and identify ways to streamline processes, reduce expenses or enhance revenue, and continue addressing imbalances between spending and income.

鈥淲e are on the right track but there is still work to do,鈥� Doyle said.

Algernon 顿鈥橝尘尘补蝉蝉补 is the Journal鈥檚 southern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at adammassa@abqjournal.com.