Los Alamos County · issues
Civic issues
Topics getting the most attention in Los Alamos County public meetings, ranked by how frequently they come up.
Personnel Rules revision
HR plans to start revising the county's Personnel Rules in July — a lengthy process that will come before this board and require County Council approval. A required compensation market study (done every four years) is also on the way, with an RFP expected in FY2027.
Rising vacancy rate and transit operator turnover
The county's vacancy rate climbed to 7.95% after a wave of retirements, and transit operator positions have turned over constantly for a decade — partly because the Lab and trucking jobs pay more. HR is planning a targeted market study for transit and recruitment policy changes, with any pay fixes landing in FY 2029.
APPA benchmarking ratios and underlying financial health
The board was scheduled to discuss its budget, which funds public art projects and maintenance across the county.
County communication and fiscal stewardship
The county website got a major overhaul, the Rept videos have saved ~400 staff hours, and the community survey drew 620 responses. Financially: clean audit, a $40M broadband bond and a fresh $35M bond for Fire Station 4.
DPU FY2027 Budget Preview
The board reviewed draft financial guidelines and debated how much money the utilities manager can spend without board approval. This affects how quickly the utility can respond to needs — and how tightly the board keeps watch on the checkbook.
IPRA/eDiscovery Software Modernization
The county pulled over 4.2 million records and spent over $800,000 on outside IPRA help in three years. A new five-year, $3.4 million AI-assisted contract with CDS aims to speed up records requests, cut outside consultant costs, and reduce legal risk — with human review still required before release.
Standardizing member terms to January–December
A proposal to align all Health Council member terms to a January-through-December calendar was up for discussion and possible action. No outcome is on record.
Charter Amendments on November 2026 Ballot
Council advanced three charter changes to the November 3 ballot: extending board term limits from two to three terms, removing party affiliation requirements for most boards, and deleting the requirement that utility operating profits transfer to the general county fund.
Proposed reduction of Health Council membership to 11
Staff proposed shrinking the council from 15 members to 11 and standardizing terms to January–December to ease scheduling and administrative burden. Members tabled action to November, after the election, when two related charter amendments could change the calculus.
Ambulance Billing Write-Offs
A routine annual cleanup: about $31,800 in utility bills more than four years old that liens and collections couldn't recover get written off, with the county performing slightly better than the national average for similar utilities.
Revenue transfer process and county charter question
A charter question on this fall's ballot could end the practice of transferring 5% of gas and electric revenues to the general fund and having Council send them back to utility projects. Staff explained it would simplify accounting and give utilities more flexibility, but would change budgeting.
Water rate ordinance correction (No. 02-387)
The proposed water rate increase was pulled from the agenda over procedural issues and will restart with introduction in August, delaying any rate change by about a month.
APP Funding Ordinance Revision
The current ordinance takes 1% (or half a percent for roads) from capital projects to fund public art, but it's unclear how to apply that to bond-funded projects. Staff and Finance are working on clearer language, possibly with a set annual budget instead.
July 2026 power purchase costs
Wholesale power prices are about double what they were three or four months ago, so the board approved a July-only purchase of up to $4.725 million. Councilor Havemann pressed on how much the delayed ECA is costing ratepayers.
Utility rates, reserves, and financial policies
The program helped 70 households with $23,138 this year. Staff proposed raising the minimum benefit to $22 and maximum to $174 to keep pace with roughly 11% in coming electric, gas, water, and sewer rate increases, and will study fairer calculations for middle-income households.
Community performance dashboard
The county launched a redesigned online dashboard of performance metrics — housing maps, permit wait times, tourism trends, public safety stats — that residents can explore directly. Councilors suggested adding goals and behavioral health data.
Microsoft Enterprise Agreement and IT infrastructure
The $2.5M three-year deal covers M365, server licensing, a Teams Calling phone upgrade, AI capacity under a forthcoming governance policy, and room upgrades. Councilors probed Linux costs, desktop phone reduction, and network failover.
Betty Ehart Senior Center HVAC Replacement
The senior center's failing evaporative/boiler system will be replaced with an all-electric heat pump system for $3.67 million in construction within a $5 million budget. Senior programs move to Fuller Lodge during construction, with congregate meals cooked in White Rock.
Contract employee salary adjustments
The county manager, utilities manager, and county attorney get raises of 4%, 3.5%, and 3% following closed-session evaluations.
Five-year plumbers and pipe fitters labor agreement
A new five-year union contract covering GWS, water production, and wastewater staff raises pay to stay competitive with LANL, adds an alternate standby crew, and extends rest periods after 16-hour shifts from 8 to 10 hours.
New single-rate pay for casual and temporary county employees
The county replaced the old graded scale for casual and temporary workers with a single rate set at step one of the comparable regular position. It's a significant pay bump for most seasonal staff, meant to help the county compete for entry-level workers.
Charter amendment on utilities profit transfer
The board endorsed asking voters to delete the charter requirement that leftover utility profits go to the county general fund. In recent years Council has returned those funds for utility projects, but isn't obligated to keep doing so; removing the provision eliminates that risk.
Gas rate increase fails; utilities ballot measures advance
The Board of Public Utilities voted unanimously to send a gas rate increase to council — roughly 16% effective on bills in year one and 11% in year two — driven by warm winters cutting sales, infrastructure and compliance costs, and historical underpricing.
10-year Budget Plan and Reserve Policies
The board reviewed cash reserve guidelines from 2016 that require up to 90% of some funds' annual revenue in reserves — targets staff said haven't been met in a decade. Options would lower operating reserves from 180 to 90 days. The board asked for a ten-year look at when reserves were actually needed.
Ordinance 755 — boards and commissions rules
Ordinance 755 would loosen rules on terms, party balance, and time requirements so the county can retain experienced board and commission members instead of losing them when terms expire.
$30,000 Budget Increase for Digital Collections
The County Council passed a modest library budget increase this spring, including $30,000 more for digital collections like OverDrive and Hoopla — good news in a market where publisher access models make e-books and audiobooks pricey.
Lodgers' tax revenue below projections
Revenue is roughly on pace with budget but tracking below original projections because the federal government shutdown kept visitors away from the parks. Summer months could still close the gap toward the $500,000 mark.
FY27 county budget and gross receipts tax increase
Council adopted a $351 million budget (down from $368 million) and raised the gross receipts tax to 7.6875% starting July 1 — a change shoppers will see at checkout. Public Works gets a $63 million share.
Deferred capital projects and $35 million bond issuance
The county is delaying a $35 million bond issuance to fall 2026 and pushing back several capital projects, including fire station work, to keep the budget balanced amid lower revenues.
Councilor conference travel approved over dissent
Council approved up to three councilors attending NACo conferences (including Hawaii) and the NM Counties conference — Councilor Cull voted no, citing budget timing and optics.
Fleet management software upgrade
The county is spending up to $1.2 million over five years on AssetWorks software that adds GPS tracking to its ~675-unit fleet — better dispatching in emergencies and snowstorms, idle-time monitoring and route savings.
EV Fleet Expansion Metrics
A request was made for county EV fleet metrics comparing fuel use versus electricity as the county's electric fleet grows. It's an early look at whether electrification is paying off for taxpayers.
Elected official compensation adjustments
Four separate ordinances were set for public hearings adjusting the pay of the County Council, County Assessor, Probate Judge, and Municipal Court Judge. Pay for elected officials is set years in advance by law, so these changes wouldn't take effect for current officeholders.