Rio Rancho proposes $452.3 million budget, $940 million infrastructure plan

Rio Rancho’s next budget puts the city’s growth pressure in plain view: a $452.3 million spending plan, a $940 million four-year infrastructure pipeline and a new Fire Station 8 built to cover the southern edge of town near Cabezon.

City Manager Matt Geisel delivered the recommended FY 2027 budget and capital program to Mayor Gregg Hull and the Rio Rancho Governing Body on April 15, then walked through the same package again at a work session April 21. The plan covers July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, and Hull has until April 25 to submit written comments before the first public budget hearing at 9 a.m. Friday, May 1, at Rio Rancho City Hall, 3200 Civic Center Circle.

The timing is especially sensitive because District 4 Councilor Paul Wymer, elected mayor in the April 14 runoff, is set to be sworn in April 30 and will begin his term May 1. Public comment is also scheduled for the governing body’s regular meetings on May 14 and May 28. The city plans a vote to adopt the FY 27 budget and capital program on May 28, with a final budget vote expected in July after FY 26 closeout adjustments are known.

The proposal is built around core city services and growth-related infrastructure. City materials describe the budget as structurally balanced and say recurring revenues are projected to outpace recurring expenditures over the next five years. The city also expects its ending fund balance to stay at or above its 25% reserve policy minimum for the next five fiscal years, even while forecasting gross receipts tax conservatively under a pessimistic scenario from the University of New Mexico Bureau of Business and Economic Research.

Among the most visible operating changes are funding for two police officers, two Real Time Crime Center operators, more radio equipment, road maintenance and added park and facility maintenance. The city also wants to add 21 positions, including nine firefighter/EMTs, one electrician, one communications manager, one payroll specialist, a deputy director for parks and recreation, a seasonal library worker and a receptionist for the Broadmoor Senior Center.

The budget would also authorize a 5% wage increase for employees, if collective bargaining allows it, along with a 5% increase in health insurance premiums. The pay adjustment would begin with the first full pay period of the new fiscal year, July 13, 2026, and carry an estimated recurring cost of $2.6 million in the general fund, $82,000 in the utility operating fund and $15,000 in the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau fund.

Fire Station 8 is one of the clearest bets on where Rio Rancho grows next. The city says the station was justified by heat mapping, years of emergency call data and projected residential and commercial development in southern Rio Rancho. The station site is slated near the southeast corner of Veranda Road and Cabezon Boulevard, close to Maggie Cordova Elementary School, and the city lists staffing and equipment needs of 15 firefighter/EMTs, one fire truck and one ambulance. Design is budgeted at $748,000, with construction estimated at about $13.67 million and expected to take about 15 months once it begins in spring 2026.