County Commissioners Pass Interim Budget But Take No Action on PERA Contributions

Summary

In a special meeting of the Board of Torrance County Commissioners on May 22, 2025, the commissioners addressed two of the three matters on their agenda. Specifically, they addressed the approval of the interim budget for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY2026) and Public Employees’ Retirement Association (PERA) contributions. Nonetheless, the only matter the commissioners resolved was the interim budget.

Actions

• Resolution No. 2025-19, which authorized budget adjustments to the FY2025 budget - unanimously deferred;
• Resolution No. 2025-20, which authorized a 56.25% “pick-up” of PERA employee contributions - no action taken; and,
• Interim Budget for FY2026 - unanimously approved.

Discussion

Leading into the discussion of the interim budget for FY2026, the county commissioners discussed vehicle blades (the debate could have been addressing snow plow blades or grader blades) with Torrance County Road Department Superintendent Leonard Lujan. Commissioner Ryan Schwebach stated he wanted a special fund to cover the purchase cost for these blades, which the county was leasing.

Torrance County Fire Chief Gary Smith said he had obtained a new diesel fire truck engine. Smith said the engine would be “re-chassised” or put into a new build. Commissioner Schwebach expressed gratitude to the Valencia County Fire Department, which assisted Torrance County in getting the engine through what Smith described as a “handshake favor.”

During the PERA and budget discussions, Commissioner Schwebach explained that the interim budget (and likely the final FY2026 budget) was designed to be flexible and that department heads could approach the commissioners and seek additional funding. Commissioner Kevin McCall expressed concern regarding the increase in county spending in the budget arising out of wage increases and increases in county coverage of employee PERA contributions.

“We're only up $238,000, yet what we're approving, or about to approve, I think, with reoccurring expenses, is just $714,000 alone. And that's the... the increase in wages and the PERA pickup, and then everything else that's in the budget. So it's got me spooked quite a bit, too, to know that we're half a million dollars.... We're adding a half million dollars more of expenses without the income.”

Later in the discussion, Commissioner McCall confirmed with Deputy County Manager and Finance Director Misty Witt that the county picking up 56.25% of the contributions to PERA for employees would cost the county roughly $19,000.00 “and some change.” Torrance County Clerk Sylvia Chavez spoke with the commissioners regarding PERA contributions as employee benefits that could drive recruitment and retention.

“So I think it's just a matter of education to our employees. I do the best I can to educate my employees, to let them know. I mean, I'm a vetted employee. I've worked for soon-to-be 20 years in the clerk's office. My entire career has been in the clerk's office. I have tried to… to let my employees know the value of a career, but they're just trying to provide for their families, so they don't know that. So I think not just hearing it from me, but hearing it from the commission as a whole to educate them, I think they would understand the decision that you're making.”

The commissioners did not put Resolution 2025-20, which addressed the pickup of PERA benefits, to a vote, nor did they decide to table it. Without formal action on the PERA matter, the commissioners debated the interim budget for FY2026. Commissioner Schwebach said he was concerned regarding the accuracy of budgetary numbers received from department heads, stating, “We're looking for any money that wasn't spent, because, I'll just say it, bullshit in, bullshit out. If we don't have accurate numbers and what's going on in a department, we don't know how to make that decision.”

Schwebach went on to say that the county expected an increase in income because he expected the cost of living to increase for residents. However, his statement did not clearly show how the increase in county income would affect the likelihood of employee raises.

“And so unless something changes in... in income, I mean, it's safe to assume we're going to have an increase in income, just like everybody has an increase the cost of living. So that's how, when we start talking raises down the road next year. That's where that comes in, because there's going to come a point where things get unbalanced, that… that's what I'm looking at in the overall scheme of things.”

Following this discussion, the commissioners unanimously approved the interim budget and adjourned the special meeting.