Las Cruces council debates priorities for 2–5 year strategic plan; consultants to seek public input this summer

Consultants from Single Space Strategies presented a landscape analysis and needs assessment at a Las Cruces City Council work session on June 8, telling the council the strategic plan should be a practical two-to-five-year tool to set priorities, sequence investments and guide public reporting.

Brittany POS, vice president of data and research, emphasized that the document presented is a discussion draft and not a set of final priorities. "This report does not set final priorities," she said, describing the plan as a bridge between long-term vision documents and near-term action that should help the council allocate staff and financial resources.

The consultants highlighted several recurring themes from their research and meetings with staff and community members: rising housing costs and a shortage of rentals, aging infrastructure and maintenance backlogs, an economy concentrated in health-care jobs with lagging wages, gaps in broadband and transportation, and ongoing behavioral-health and public-safety needs.

Councilors used a facilitated round-robin to react. Councilor McClure urged better public communication about existing plans and actions; Councilor Bencomo pressed for aligning priorities with the resources available; Councilor Karen and several colleagues said economic diversification and workforce retention should be a high priority; and others flagged housing diversity, permitting timelines and organizational capacity as key near-term tasks.

Councilors also focused on outreach design. The consultants said they plan six district public meetings (one per council district), multiple focus groups and a broad survey this summer. Janelle Johnson, who facilitated the session, and Single Space Strategies recommended plain-language materials, examples that illustrate how infrastructure and policy choices affect everyday life, bilingual meetings and partnerships with community schools to reach underrepresented residents.

Councilors asked the consultants to surface trade-offs for public conversations—growth versus stewardship of existing assets, downtown vibrancy versus auto-oriented development, and perceptions of public safety versus measurable safety improvements. "We need to be clear about what residents will see in the near term," one councilor said.

The consultants said they will use council feedback to refine outreach questions, draft prioritized outcomes and return with a near-final plan later in the fall. Public engagement is expected to inform final recommendations that staff will review for budget and implementation feasibility.