The pace of annexation could slow down if a few city councilors have their way.

Three members of the City Council are sponsoring a plan to renegotiate a settlement agreement with Santa Fe County and private developers that called for the city to expand its jurisdiction by thousands of acres before the end of 2013.

The city Public Works Committee on Monday talked about the measure introduced by city Councilor Patti Bushee and co-sponsored by Councilors Rebecca Wurzburger and Chris Calvert, but postponed a vote until more information is available.

Bushee says the prescribed plan is too fast, especially given changes in the economy since the 2008 settlement.

"I just feel like the original phasing of the annexation was a little overly ambitious and that the city needs to work with the county to create a smooth transition," she said in an interview.

The proposal would not affect annexation happening as part of the large Las Soleras mixed-use development between Cerrillos Road and Interstate 25 on the southern edge of town.

Calvert, a member of the Public Works Committee, said at the meeting that he supports the idea because he wants newly annexed city residents to have the same services as the rest of the city.

"I think the main intent of this resolution is to acknowledge the budget constraints that the city and county are both operating under now," he said.

Councilor Carmichael Dominguez, chairman of the committee, said he wanted to defer a decision until a report on the annexation was available from The University of New Mexico's Bureau for Business and Economic Research, perhaps in a few weeks.

"If this is really an attempt to keep annexation from happening, I cannot support it," he said.

The city-county annexation agreement put to rest a half-dozen lawsuits over jurisdiction and called on the city to annex nearly 10,000 acres in three phases.

The first and smallest annexation agreed upon in the settlement comprised about 1,900 acres and was executed in 2009, when the city limits were expanded to include areas described as "the doughnut holes," because they nearly were surrounded by city boundaries already.

The next phase, scheduled for annexation by the end of next year, is the largest of the plan. It includes land north and south of Tierra Contenta and on either side of Airport Road as far west as N.M. 599. The final phase, slated for completion by the end of 2013, includes areas along Hyde Park Road and out to the boundaries of the Santa Fe National Forest on the city's north and east sides. Together, those changes will add about 8,000 acres to the city, home to nearly 15,000 people.

Providing emergency services such as fire and police protection is among the new responsibilities the city will have to fund. Fire Department Chief Barbara Salas issued a report in 2009 asking for no less than $14 million to prepare her department for the additional territory.

Police also say they need dozens of new officers and millions of dollars in new equipment for the task. The county sheriff's department will maintain a presence in annexed areas for about three years after the transition, according to the settlement.

County Attorney Stephen Ross said he has been aware of city concerns, but since nothing formal has come to the county, no discussion about renegotiation has occurred.

Staff from the city and county have been discussing transition plans for wastewater, water and solid-waste services in recent months, Ross said. Still mostly up in the air is the plan for public-safety services, which is on the table next, he said.

Only one member of the five-member governing body, Commissioner Virginia Vigil, was on the board during the settlement agreement and has remained in office.

She plans to meet soon with Mayor David Coss and other city councilors to learn more about the issue, but said Monday she's not in favor of wholesale changes to the plan.

"If we have to renegotiate our agreement, it's going to have to be for some really dire and extraordinary circumstances," she said. "Part of the problem is that everybody reacts to the economic downturn, and my sense is that specifically because of the economic downturn, we need to stick to our agreements more so than ever."

Contact Julie Ann Grimm at 986-3017 or jgrimm@sfnewmexican.com.