Los Alamos County Council Chair Sara Scott listens to the discussion on the council’s budget during the annual hearing Monday evening in Council Chambers. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com

Staff Report

Los Alamos County Council unanimously voted to tentatively approve the council’s $419,546 budget during the Monday night budget hearing.

Council discussed several budget adds-on but they were not included in the tentative approval. They were placed as “parking lot” items and will be discussed later in the hearings as part of funding for Progress through Partnering.

Los Alamos County Councilor Pete Sheehey proposed earmarking $25,000 to fund a  request from the Nature Conservancy for the Rio Grande Water Fund. Councilor David Izraelevitz suggested setting aside $25,000 for regional forest management projects within the Progress through Partnering Program.

Izraelevitz also suggested a budget add-on item in the Partnering for Progress fund.  He said he would like Los Alamos to participate in the 2020 U.S. Census.

He asked for a $25,000 add-on in the Progress in Partnering fund. How the money would be allocated would be discussed in the future, Izraelevitz said, as well as whether this would be either a contractual or in-house service.  He added this would be a one-time expense.