Recent City Council meeting includes praise, complaints and a new-look meeting room

RIO RANCHO – The Rio Rancho Governing Body was looking sharp on Jan. 23 when they met in the newly renovated boardroom to handle regular business.

The renovations came with new lighting, sound, cameras, security, seating and podiums. Despite a few glitches with the council members’ microphones, the new setup gave the proceedings an updated and professional feel.

The livestream product was also vastly improved. Sound and picture clarity were increased, and several new camera angles were introduced.

“I appreciate all of the hard work from the team,” said Mayor Gregg Hull of the new renovations.

One public commentor mentioned a possible screen setup for councilors attending remotely, and Hull explained one of the podiums will be replaced to match the others in the room, but otherwise the upgrades were all in good working order.

After introductions and comments on the renovations, the governing body took public comment. There weren’t many, but they were wide ranging, from appreciation to dissatisfaction.

The first to speak was Casey Robinson, who simply wanted to thank the governing body for protecting First-Amendment freedoms. He said he was taking pictures of government buildings recently and the police officers present did not bother him or try to make him leave.

Robinson would make another public comment later in the meeting, this time concerning short-term rentals.

Next, the board heard from an irate but respectful Ken Todd, a longtime resident of Star Heights 1.

Todd was upset at the lack of attention being paid to Star Heights 1 in terms of infrastructure and maintenance.

“This started all the way back in the AMREP days and we are still dealing with it,” said Todd. “This has gotten out of hand.”

Todd cited several examples to support his complaint including sewer, electrical, water and gas line issues caused by Comcast, which still have not been repaired.

Todd also feels the “Report Rio Rancho” site, a civic website dedicated to filing complaints and requests with the city of Rio Rancho, is either not working or too slow to respond.

“I’m a first-time speaker here,” said Todd. “But I finally had to say something. I look over and Star Heights 2 is doing just fine.”

Hull did take a moment to respond to Todd, acknowledging his concerns and asking for a list of Todd’s complaints.

“After [Comcast] went through there, we were really hard on them,” said Hull. “Please, get those complaints over to me.”

One other important piece of business for the governing body was approval of the 2024 audit, which was completed by Albuquerque-based accounting firm CliftonLarsenAllen (CLA).

CLA reviewed all of the city’s financial records and gave Rio Rancho a “clean opinion,” meaning the numbers match the books.

“It’s about as clean as it gets,” said Raul Anaya, a partner with CLA and the presenter of the company’s findings. “Well done and congratulations.”

Audits of the city’s financial records are completed annually.

Due to bylaws, the city of Rio Rancho can only use the same auditing company eight years in a row and then must find a new one. This is CLA’s final year as the city’s auditor.

“It was a real pleasure working with you and your team,” said Hull. “This is so important for the public trust. So, thank you for all you’ve done.”

The next Governing Body meeting takes place at 6 p.m. Feb. 13.