Councilors Ratify Selection of City Manager

Las Cruces City Councilors met in a Special Meeting Jan. 13, 2025, and approved resolutions that explained the process it took in 2024 to hire a new City Manager and ratified the selection of Ikani Taumoepeau to the position he’s held since April 1, 2024.

In December 2024, the New Mexico Department of Justice announced its opinion that Las Cruces City Council failed to decide the scope of its search for a new City Manager in an open meeting before selecting Taumoepeau as City Manager. The New Mexico Department of Justice announced the process was a violation of New Mexico’s Open Meetings Act.

The New Mexico Attorney General stated the Open Meetings Act violations could be cured, or corrected, by holding an OMA-compliant public meeting, summarizing the discussions and comments made outside of a public meeting and ratifying the actions during an open meeting.

City Council did that during its Special Meeting held Jan. 13, 2025. Each councilor summarized and capsulated their individual recollections of closed session meetings held in 2024 when deciding the City Manager’s selection process and the procedure they used that led to the hiring of Taumoepeau.

Councilors ultimately voted to ratify, or approve, the 2024 City Manager selection process and reaffirmed its vote to hire Taumoepeau as City Manager.

Video of Monday’s Special Meeting, and all City Council regular meetings and work sessions, can be viewed on the City’s YouTube channel.

The City will observe the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. City Council will next meet in regular session at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Council Chambers, 700 N. Main St.