At its Monday, Nov. 16, 2020 meeting the Las Cruces City Council approved a Resolution amending the City of Las Cruces’ 2019 Action Plan. Included in that action the Council executed an agreement and amended the City's Fiscal Year 2021 budget.
City Council’s approval of the 2019 Action Plan amendments and the execution of an agreement was required to comply with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulations. The Council’s approval of the budget adjustment was necessary to receive and expend funds for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnership (HOME) programs.
The City has been notified by HUD that it is eligible to receive and administer an additional $542,242 in funding under the CDBG program through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), also known as CDBG-CV. This is the City's second round of such funding. The City previously received $560,525 in CDBG-CV funding.
The City has prioritized this second round of CDBG-CV funds for the City of Las Cruces COVID-19 Housing Cost Assistance Program, which provides eligible City residents with financial assistance for paying rent or mortgages. The proposed amendment approved by the Council awards $607,767 to the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority (MFA) for this program. This includes $542,242 of additional CDBG-CV funding and previously awarded but uncommitted $65,525 in CDBG-CV funds.
The application deadline for the City’s COVID-19 Housing Cost Assistance Program has ended. However, for information about housing or food assistance programs call the City of Las Cruces Community Development Department, at 575/528-3022 or send an email to: fairhousing@las-cruces.org.
Additionally, the Council adopted a Resolution approving a sole source contract between the City of Las Cruces and Axon Enterprise for body cameras and data storage services for the Las Cruces Police Department (LCPD). The proposed contract will not exceed $1,814,474 during a five-year term and will satisfy the requirements of New Mexico Senate Bill 8 which mandates all law enforcement agencies to adopt a body-worn camera policy that requires all law enforcement personnel to use body cameras to record all interactions with the public.
Presently, LCPD deploys 140 body cameras in the field with an additional 10 cameras used as backups. City Council’s approval will increase LCPD’s body camera inventory to 214.