BY THOM MASON
Director
Los Alamos National Laboratory

Next week, the Los Alamos County Council will consider two measures to increase the gross receipts tax rate paid by residents and businesses located within the county’s boundaries. I am writing to express my concern about this proposed increase because, as the budget at Los Alamos National Laboratory has begun to stabilize several years of growth, we did not anticipate this additional cost. 

The projected increase to LANL is expected to be roughly $13.5 million a year, or $135 million over 10 years. This proposed increase will have a direct impact on future hiring and programmatic activity at the Laboratory. I recognize that the state of New Mexico and Los Alamos County have benefitted from the significant growth in LANL’s budget and hiring over the last six years, and that, as our funding levels out, adjustments must be made.

To account for our plateauing budget, LANL has instituted hiring controls, adjusted budgets, aggressively deployed artificial intelligence, and is undergoing a review of our internal processes to identify efficiency improvements. These strategies are designed to maximize our programmatic dollars and ensure we keep the workforce stable. Some of these decisions were difficult but necessary to ensure long-term health of the Laboratory, allowing us to meet our mission milestones and continue to maintain a world class workforce. 

Increasing the gross receipts tax rate for the Laboratory and withdrawing $135 million from our budget over the next 10 years will have a negative impact on the county. I urge county leadership to look for efficiencies and new ways to provide services to close their budget shortfall. 

I am a firm believer that the Laboratory must continue to serve as an economic engine for Northern New Mexico. Given the wide footprint of our employee base in Santa Fe, Rio Arriba, and Los Alamos counties, I believe we can continue to do so into the future.