EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The City of Las Cruces says its overall operating budget will be down more than 12 percent compared to last year, but its general fund budget is expected increase.
The Las Cruces City Council met in a work session Monday, April 28, for two public hearings – the review of the City’s 2025-2026 fiscal year budget and the final hearing for the 2026 Capital Improvements Program.
The total operating budget for FY26 is expected to be $609.6 million, a 12.25 percent or $81.1 million decrease from the 2024-2025 budget of $694.7 million, the City of Las Cruces said.
The City projects 31 percent of the FY26 budget expenditures to be Enterprise Funds while the General Fund makes up 29 percent of the projected disbursements.
Personnel costs are the City’s largest expenditure in the General Fund at approximately $120.2 million, the City of Las Cruces said.
The FY26 General Fund is expected to increase $5.7 million from last year’s budget.
New positions and a projected general wage increase for non-represented (non-union) employees will add $10.4 million to the budget while operating costs and capital expenditures will decrease $4.7 million, the City said.
Expenditures in FY26 are expected to increase 3.4 percent to $174 million in the proposed budget.
It’s anticipated the City will see a decrease in revenue, by about 0.3 percent, in FY26.
Most of the City’s General Fund revenue, approximately 79 percent, comes from gross receipts taxes, which are similar to sales tax.
The City anticipates $166.5 million in revenue for the General Fund in the upcoming fiscal year, the City said in a news release.
Council also held a public hearing on the Capital Improvements Program for fiscal year 2025-2026. CIP prioritizes capital needs, helps identify potential funding sources and submits projects for legislative funding, the City said.
CIP uses several funding sources including grants, bonds and loans for infrastructure needs.
Funded projects for FY26 are projected at $191.6 million, or 14.36 percent more than the 2024-2025 CIP.
Cynthia Alamillo, CIP manager, said the primary reason for the increase is for projects with funding that will continue in FY26.
Most of the CIP projects, 120 of them, are carryover projects with a value of $175.6 million, the City said.
Both the FY26 Budget and the Capital Improvements Program FY26 plan will be considered by the City Council during a regular meeting scheduled for May 19.
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