A POX ON A TAXING SITUATION … I MEAN TO SAY, “MORE THAN ONE”
by Chuck Ring
As things roll along, or not, in the transportation sector, it has just been announced that Santa Fe County and its partner in taxing (the City of Santa Fe) will pull out or have already pulled out of the North Central Regional Transit District (NCRTD). So, while the NCRTD has at least one flat tire an official press release from Santa Fe County explains how Santa Fe County and the City of Santa Fe will jack-up transportation while possibly hijacking Edgewood and the southern part of the county:
“Santa Fe County Withdraws from Transit District
Santa Fe – July 7, 2008 – The Santa Fe County Board of County Commissioners has voted to withdraw from the North Central Regional Transit District (NCRTD). “We believe there are better ways to provide for Santa Fe County’s transportation needs” said Commission Chair, Paul Campos.
Reasons behind the Board’s decision include the following:
- the NCRTD has not demonstrated a need for the substantial revenue that a gross receipts tax levy would generate;
- if operations of the Railrunner are ultimately funded from the gross receipts tax, the possibility exists that taxpayers in Santa Fe County will experience double taxation — a gross receipts tax levy in favor of the NCRTD and a separate gross receipts tax levy to benefit the Railrunner project;
- transportation in Northern New Mexico would be governed by multiple jurisdictions with no assurance that those jurisdictions will work together to achieve a coherent and efficient transportation system;
- if the NCRTD’s current proposal for a 1/8% gross receipts tax is approved by the voters, Santa Fe County residents will provide $4.6 million a year in tax revenue for the District but receive only $3.3 million in transit services, and the rest will be a subsidy for the other counties in the District;
- NCRTD has failed to provide compelling reasons for additional revenue and has failed to provide a concrete plan for improving its transportation services if the new levy is approved;
- new taxes should only be undertaken if strictly necessary to serve a compelling governmental need;
- it would be more cost-effective for the County to contract directly for its transit service needs through entities such as the City of Santa Fe rather than through a third party;
- discussions between Santa Fe County and the City of Santa Fe have yielded promising alternatives to the proposal of the NCDRT to accomplish Santa Fe’s transit needs;
County and City staff will continue to investigate other options to satisfy Santa Fe County’s transit needs, including, but not limited to, creating a Santa Fe Regional Transit District with the City of Santa Fe through the Regional Planning Authority or other appropriate entity, undertaking intergovernmental agreements or transit service agreements to accomplish needed connections with the Rail Runner project with the City of Santa Fe, the New Mexico Department of Transportation, the Mid-Region Council of Governments (MRCOG), the Mid-Regional Regional Transit District or the North Central Regional Transit District, or any other appropriate options.
This decision will have no impact on any transportation services provided by Santa Fe County. Decisions regarding possible collaboration with the City of Santa Fe and the details of the future of transportation in Santa Fe County will be made in the coming months. Any new tax initiative will need to be passed by County residents before March of 2009.
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Contact: Stephen Ulibarri – Public Information Officer – 505.986.6353 – sulibarri@co.santa-fe.nm.us
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A careful reading of the announcement and this article appearing in todays “Santa Fe New Mexican” (online version)
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/County-opts-out-of-transit-district
will point to the possibility of Edgewood gross receipts taxpayers once again funding a joint Santa Fe County/City of Santa Fe project or projects with next to no return for Edgewood area citizens and zero input regarding how the taxes will be expended. If it happens that this discussed referendum will be county-wide we’re betting that the Edgewood area will see the short end of the stick (or no stick at all) as has been the case in the past.
We plan to write much more on the taxing policies of Santa Fe County; how the policies mainly benefit the central and northern portions of the county and the City of Santa Fe and a revelation regarding the written comments on these type of taxing issues from at least one Edgewood governing body member.
2 Responses “A POX ON A TAXING SITUATION … I MEAN TO SAY, “MORE THAN ONE””
This is good information! Unfortunately, it’s hard to say what, if anything, County residents not in the Santa Fe (City) area can do. Perhaps it is time to reopen discussion of a new county composed of eastern Bernalillo and Southern Santa Fe Counties; the City of Santa Fe appears to wield far too much clout where issues affecting the entire County are concerned, and there have been similar remarks regarding the relationship between Albuquerque and eastern Bernalillo County.
Mike,
Thanks for the response. We hope you’ll stayed tuned to this blog to learn what you might not learn from other sources.
And John, you’re preaching to the choir regarding your remarks as to a new county. We can certainly show that we would make a viable county if the areas mentioned were to be included. Given that much of our gross receipts taxes and property taxes end up outside our area to the benefit of others way beyond our boundaries.