Sierra County to vote April 8 on spaceport tax

Voters in Sierra County will decide on April 8 whether to approve a 1/4 percent increase in the gross receipts tax to help fund Spaceport America, the Albuquerque Journal is reporting.

The election will be held just over a year after voters in Doña Ana County narrowly approved a tax increase to help fund the spaceport. Sierra County’s commissioners voted 3-0 on Thursday to schedule the election.

The tax, if approved, would only generate an estimated $2.3 million for the spaceport, but another county must join Doña Ana in creating a spaceport tax district before the money from either county can be spent. The tax money generated in Doña Ana County is expected to provide about $49 million for the spaceport, or a quarter of its total cost.

The tax is expected to be a tough sell in the more conservative Sierra County, but the county’s manager, Janet Porter-Carrejo, sounds hopeful.

“We’re cautiously optimistic about this and we certainly hope the voters will get out and vote for our community and the possible economic development opportunities,” she was quoted by the Journal as saying.