Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
It has been extremely important to me as mayor, and to the current City Council as well, that the City of Las Cruces remain on solid financial footing, that city services be continued without interruption, and that we do everything possible to support economic development and a good quality of life for our citizens.
That we have been successful in this endeavor in spite of a very difficult economic period for the state and country is testament to the hard work and foresight of the council, as well as to their willingness to consistently do the right thing for the people of Las Cruces, whatever pressures or misrepresentations they have to endure in the process.
Recent attacks have challenged our adoption of impact fees to cover the infrastructure required by new development, infrastructure that everyone agrees has to be paid for by someone.
Opponents of impact fees were quick to suggest charging current residents for these costs through increases in property or sales taxes. The city council instead decided to charge fees based on the additional infrastructure actually required, with those who directly benefit from the new development – the developers and new homeowners – paying a portion of those new infrastructure costs through impact fees.
Important to note
It’s important to note that the road and drainage impact fees apply only to new construction in new growth areas at the margins of the city. Second, the road and drainage impact fees are not scheduled to be implemented until January 2013, with plenty of time to postpone them if the building industry has not recovered by that time.
Third, the road and drainage impact fees do not represent additional costs to the developer/future homeowner, but rather a reallocation of costs that are already being collected for new development. Developers have always paid for the roads in their development, including a pro-rata share of major roadways that adjoin their subdivision. The problem has been that these costs are collected on piecemeal basis, so that it can take years for principal roads and arroyo crossings to be completed.
With impact fees, funds can be pooled into a cash stream that will enable the city to bond the construction of major roads and arroyo crossings in a clear and predictable way that is fair to all developers, and that doesn’t unfairly saddle current residents with an increased tax burden or the use of general city funds for uncovered infrastructure.
The public safety impact fee is the only one that will apply to new construction throughout the city, a fee dedicated to building the infrastructure necessary for the fire, police and emergency response services associated with an increased population. The new 911/police/fire facility on the East Mesa is an example of a project that can be financed through the public safety fee collected from new construction.
Misrepresentations
It is a misrepresentation for opponents of impact fees to call them new taxes. In fact, impact fees will help keep taxes lower for current residents, since new development will be required to pay for the facilities that are required to directly serve it, as opposed to raising property and sales taxes on all residents.
It is also a misrepresentation to claim that major retailers like Wal-Mart will avoid building a new facility in Las Cruces due to the requirement that they pay for the infrastructure that serves them. The public safety impact fee will cost Wal-Mart a one-time assessment of $73,500 for a 100,000 square foot building, which is a small price to pay for the kind of police and fire protection required for one of their large retail stores.
I know it’s an election year, but it’s disappointing that some of those who have pushed so hard for new growth in the city have been so reluctant to find the means to pay for it. Fortunately, the City Council and I have been willing to tackle this problem, ensuring a system that will keep taxes low while providing for the kind of roads, drainage and public safety that our people deserve.
This is good government in action, and I’m proud that we have made the best choice possible for the people of Las Cruces.
Miyagishima is Las Cruces’ mayor and is up for re-election in November.