Decisions on how to spend public money must be made by public bodies. That’s the intent of our system of government, and it’s also, quite simply, what’s philosophically right.
That’s why the Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners made a wise decision on Tuesday by indefinitely postponing action on a proposal to give an
The money would have been fronted by the Verde Group to build a sewer system, arsenic treatment plant and other infrastructure; then, 20 percent of gross-receipts-tax revenue collected from three districts in the area – two industrial and one residential and commercial – would have gone to repaying the developer. Each district would have been governed by a five-person board.
In postponing action, commissioners were rejecting the Verde Group’s request to have three developers and two commissioners sit on the boards, which would have given majority control to the developer. Noting the precedent such action would set, Commissioner Bill McCamley said he “cannot vote in favor of a system that allows this amount of public money to be controlled by what amounts to a private board.”
All commissioners and county Manager Brian Haines agreed.
It was a difficult decision. In rejecting the plan, the county risked the possibility that the Verde Group will walk away from a project in which the county has already invested more than $11 million, most of it on a water and sewer system. Verde had its own valid point of view – its shareholders wouldn’t be happy if it fronted tens of millions of dollars to the county with no assurance it would ever be repaid, so it wants to control the boards.
Though current commissioners have integrity and are willing to work with Verde, until 2005 the commission was frequently bogged down in scandal and infighting. Verde’s shareholders would justifiably be nervous giving control of so much of their money to a board with such a history – a board whose integrity can change in any election.
Verde says it has also invested a great deal of money in the project and isn’t ready to walk away. So it’s back to the drawing board, and Verde and the county will try to find another way to come up with the funding for infrastructure.
It’s good to know that Verde and the county are committed to this project. Long have public officials and developers looked at the desert west of
Verde hopes to shift manufacturing in
Hopefully, the county and developer can come up with a new solution that allows development but keeps control of public money in the hands of a body that is accountable to the public.