GRANTS, N.M. – The Grants City Council voted Monday, Oct. 5, to pursue state funding to recruit and retain public safety personnel, with city officials emphasizing that any staffing investments must remain affordable after the grant ends.
Councilors approved Resolution No. 26-1572 on a 3-0 vote, authorizing an application to the Public Safety Workforce Capacity Building Program and execution of related agreements if funding is awarded. Councilwoman Beverly Michael made the motion, seconded by Councilor Rodarte. Councilor George Garcia was absent.
The city is preparing a combined application covering police, fire and emergency medical services. Applications are due Friday, Oct. 9, at 5 p.m.
Grants Finance Director Victor Villalobos told councilors that most of the application was assembled and that the city needed council authorization to proceed. In response to questions from Michael, he said Grants would seek support for both recruitment and retention.
Villalobos said approximately $49 million was available through the program statewide. That figure represents the available funding pool that Grants is trying to get a piece of.
According to the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration, the program can fund eligible new positions for two years and provide retention differentials of up to 15 percent of an eligible employee’s base salary. Applicants must demonstrate how those costs will be sustained after grant funding ends.
Long-term affordability was a central concern during the discussion.
City Manager Andrew Valencia said the Grants Police Department had received similar funding previously for stipends, but sustaining those payments had presented challenges. Mayor Erik Garcia asked how the city would budget for the current proposal and maintain its benefits beyond the initial funding period.
Villalobos said earlier funding helped add EMS positions over a three-year period, giving the city time to evaluate how recurring revenues could support those positions permanently. He said the city spent the awarded funds and completed the required reporting.
Valencia identified payroll as the city’s largest expense and said officials would not pursue the application if they did not believe the proposal could be sustained.
Fire Chief Mike Maes said the funding could benefit personnel across the participating departments. He said police and fire teamed up to work with Villalobos and Valencia to develop a coordinated plan.
Interim Police Chief Joe Galindo said officials participated in informational webinars and found that the current program differed from earlier stipend-based applications. He said that helped shape the combined approach involving police, fire and EMS.
For the police department, Galindo identified staffing as his immediate priority. Additional personnel would allow more officers on city streets and help create capacity for specialized work, he said.
Maes said the joint effort demonstrated cooperation among the departments. Councilwoman Michael and Mayor Garcia expressed support for this approach.