BY LWV OBSERVER CORPS

Editor’s note: Members of the League of Woman Voters of Los Alamos Observer Corps have been providing LWV members with reports on certain meetings in the County for many years. These reports have been included in the LWV’s monthly newsletter and now, at the invitation of the Los Alamos Reporter, will also be submitted to the Reporter for publication. The video of the full meeting may be seen at https://losalamos.granicus.com/player/clip/4469?view_id=2&redirect=true

The session was attended by Councilors Theresa Cull (Chair), Melanee Hand, Suzie Havemann, Ryn Herrmann, Beverly Neal-Clinton, David Reagor and Randall Ryti.

2026 Council Strategic Leadership Plan

Council approved its 2026 Council Strategic Leadership Plan by a 6–1 vote, with Councilor Reagor in opposition.

Purpose

The Council Strategic Leadership Plan is significant because it serves as a guiding framework that keeps County staff and the Council focused on the community’s most important needs. According to County Manager Anne Laurent, the plan is important for several reasons: 

• It helps shape budget guidance, ensuring that financial decisions align with the County’s long-term goals and community priorities.
• The plan identifies key management action priorities, giving staff a focused set of objectives to work toward.
• It outlines metrics that allow the County to measure progress and demonstrate accountability to the public.

The related action plans and performance metrics are available on the County’s Performance Metrics Dashboard, allowing the community to monitor how well goals are being met. https://www.losalamosnm.us/Home/Tabs/Whats-Happening/Performance-Metrics-Dashboard

For the most part, the final 2026 Strategic Leadership Plan adopted by Council is substantially the same as its 2025 plan. However, three of the plan’s objectives fostered substantive revisions and/or discussions. 

Fiscal Stewardship Objective

In the 2025 Strategic Leadership Plan, the fiscal stewardship objective is to:

• “Maintain fiscal sustainability, transparency, and compliance with applicable budgetary and financial regulatory standards.”

During Council discussion, some members expressed concern that the term “fiscal stewardship” was too broad and did not clearly describe Council’s expectations for decision-making.

Councilor Ryti suggested that a more useful and precise objective should emphasize the Council’s responsibility to make decisions based on discussion and evaluation of alternatives for any project or approach. He noted that this would better capture how Council intends to fulfill its fiscal responsibilities.

Councilor Havemann supported this view, observing that staff sometimes presented only a single recommended solution for a yes-or-no vote. For the Council to ensure efficient use of funding, she said, it is important that staff present multiple potential methods or approaches, along with their associated costs and benefits.

Councilor Cull added that even when alternatives are not presented in detail, staff should at least explain what options were considered, public comments received, and why certain possibilities were ruled out.

Councilor Neal-Clinton also noted that evaluating alternatives should include consideration of whether work should be contracted out or performed in-house.

After discussion, the Council agreed to revise the fiscal stewardship objective to make these expectations explicit. The updated objective now reads:

• “Evaluate alternative methods and approaches for expenditures and investments, ensure transparency, and comply with applicable budgetary and financial regulatory standards and fiscal sustainability.”

Local Business Objective

The 2025 Strategic Leadership Plan includes the following local business objectives:

• “Encourage the retention of existing businesses, facilitate the startup of new businesses, and assist in opportunities for business growth.”

A Council working group proposed replacing this wording with:

• “Establish tools and processes that are clear and support businesses’ navigation through County regulatory and approval requirements.”

County Manager Anne Laurent asked Council to revisit the proposed revision, explaining that “I think there’s frustration from a staff perspective on the expectations that are coming at staff.” Staff had become concerned that expectations fell beyond the County’s actual authority. She emphasized the need to consider:

• What is truly within the County’s sphere of influence,
• What the County can meaningfully control, and
• Whether the County can realistically “encourage” business retention or further streamline permitting beyond steps already taken.

Laurent cautioned that the Council’s wording should reflect what is possible, not simply what is desired. “I just ask that you take that into consideration as to what you mean… I think what’s possible and what’s expected may not match.”

The Council held an extended discussion on this issue.

Councilor Ryti pointed out the challenge of defining a measurable metric for the proposed replacement objective.

Councilor Havemann expressed concern that the revised language might set false expectations by implying that the County’s primary role is helping businesses “navigate bureaucracy,” when actual barriers may be unrelated to County processes.

In the end, the majority of Council members agreed that the existing objective should remain unchanged. Councilor Reagor, however, dissented, stating, “I think we need to say something stronger about small businesses.”

Environmental Stewardship Objectives

The 2025 Strategic Plan includes separate objectives for “Greenhouse Gas Reduction” and “Carbon-Neutral Energy Supply.” 

Councilor Ryti pointed out that the Climate Action Plan did not adequately address climate resilience because its original purpose focused more narrowly on emissions reduction and energy strategies. He advocated that the Strategic Plan should encompass a broader, more comprehensive approach to climate-related goals.

Council agreed with his recommendation to consolidate and expand the objectives by reframing them around the Climate Action Plan as a whole. This change also ensures that resilience is formally recognized.

The revised objective is:

• Climate Action and Resilience: Implement the roadmap for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, achieving a carbon-neutral energy supply, and increasing climate resilience.

This updated wording aligns the Strategic Leadership Plan more directly with the County’s long-term environmental goals and provides a clearer, more unified framework for future decision-making.