Regular Finance Committee Meeting - Second Monday Tue, Sep 8, 2026 ยท Finance Committee https://santafeminutes.space/meeting/944-finance-sep-8-2026 == Executive Summary == The Finance Committee met on 09/08/2026, approving its agenda and a modified consent calendar. A key discussion centered on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. This MOU, supporting Executive Order 2025-358, aims to combat drug trafficking and violent crimes, involving police personnel and resources. The committee approved a $750,000 budget amendment for police overtime, inventory, and equipment, with the understanding that the state will fully reimburse the city for all expendable items and equipment purchased under the agreement. The Interim Chief assured the committee that the city would consult with the state to confirm reimbursement eligibility before making purchases, preventing any overspending. All approvals, including the agenda, the amended consent calendar, and the MOU, were unanimous. Additionally, the Chair announced ongoing efforts to enhance the city's Financial Impact Report (FIR) process, potentially by adopting the state's template, to provide more comprehensive financial information. == Key Decisions == - Approved the agenda with one item pulled for separate discussion. - Approved the consent calendar as amended. - Approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, including a $750,000 budget amendment for police overtime, inventory, and equipment, with the understanding of full state reimbursement for expendable items. == Motions & Votes == - Approval of Agenda โ€” Passed unanimously - Approval of Consent Calendar (as amended) โ€” Passed unanimously - Approval of MOU with New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (Item N) โ€” Passed unanimously == Public Comment == No public comment period. == Topics == - Homeland Security MOU - Police Overtime Budget - FIR Process Improvement - Regional Public Safety Strategy == Full Transcript == Okay. We gotta get this meeting started. Are we live? We are live. Okay. I'd like to call this meeting to order. Can we get a roll call, please? Councilor Cassutt? Here. Councilor Castro? Presente. Councilor Garcia? Here. Councilor Bustamante? Here. Councilor Faulkner? Here. We have a quorum. We're going to approval of the agenda. Anything from staff? Nothing from staff. Move to approve. Second. All in favor? Aye. Onto the consent calendar. Any changes from staff? No. There was one item I had pulled off consent, Item N. Okay. Move to approve it as amended. Second. Roll call, please. Councilor Castro? Yes. Councilor Cassutt? Yes. Councilor Garcia? Yes. Councilor Bustamante? Yes. Councilor Faulkner? Yes. That has been approved. We have presentations. None, it looks like. No presentations. Okay. So now we're on to the item of consent. Item N. Oh, public comments. No one in the chat. We do not have any attendees online. Okay. Now on to the consent calendar. I'm with Castro. Councilor Castro, I will turn it over. Thank you very much. And as Chief Valdez comes down, I just had a quick question about, so this is a contract from State Homeland Security to help with different agencies around, helping personnel and also equipment. And so I will turn it over to Chief to explain a little bit about the contract and also our participation. So on the top, the question is, are we going to spend above and beyond what we get reimbursed? Madam Chair. Thank you, Chair and Council. Yes, I apologize that the caption does need to be read into the record. Oh, yeah. That's before we can. Thank you, Councilor Cassutt. Item N: Request for approval of a Memorandum of Understanding with the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to support Executive Order 2025-358 with police personnel and resources to address crimes related to drug trafficking, violent crimes, and public safety threats. We do have Ben Valdez, Interim Chief. Request for approval of budget amendment request in the total amount of $750,000 from the Department of Finance Authority to the police overtime inventory exempt equipment and equipment and machinery non-exempt accounts. Okay. I'll turn it over to you, Acting Chief. Thank you, Madam Chair and Councilor Castro. So for this MOU, whatever we spend on expendable items or for equipment, that's what the amount's going to reimburse. And before we make those purchases, we're speaking with the state and letting them know what our intention is and make sure it's a permissible item to be reimbursed. So it's not going to be something that's going to be over the amount that we have for our budget. And then once it comes back, it comes back into the budget. Perfect. Thank you, Chair. And just to be clear, so we are being part of a regional strategy. We are going to be expending some of our costs, but those costs will be reimbursed by the state of New Mexico. And I have no further questions. Thank you. Any other committee questions? Move to approve. Second. Roll call, please. Councilor Castro? Yes. Councilor Cassutt? Yes. Councilor Garcia? Yes. Councilor Bustamante? Yes. Councilor Faulkner? Yes. Approved. And the next item is matters from staff. No matters from staff. Alright. Matters from the committee. Nope. I have one matter as Chair. We are working on changing our FIR process, and hopefully, it will be in a, we'll be in a place where we can get a lot more information from the departments. We are looking at the state template that they use for the FIRs. Our FIRs are not that great by comparison, and so I'm working with the City Attorney and the Director and staff to get this FIR situation in a better position for the public and for our uses in the city. And with that, our next meeting is when? September 28.