Think of the spaceport’s benefits and vote for tax

This is the ninth in a series of guest columns debating whether Doña Ana County voters should approve a 1/4 percent gross-receipts tax increase to help fund Spaceport America.

By Bill McCamley

As a professional economic and community developer, I would like to respond to recent concerns regarding the spaceport gross receipts tax:

• Public funding for economic development is nothing new. Tax funding pays for airports, seaports and – right here in Doña Ana County – roads and industrial parks that assist in developing jobs. Precedent has been set because of the benefit that communities receive.

• The spaceport project is worth one penny for every four dollars spent. With quality job opportunities, our citizens will have the ability to take care of themselves and their families. It will also give our young people a chance to stay, rather than leave for better work elsewhere.

• This project needs to be a priority for Doña Ana County. Local government revenues are directly proportionate to the wealth available in the community. Since our community is poor, we do not bring in much tax revenue; therefore, it is hard for us to “improve our roads, historic areas, schools, water systems, drainage and other infrastructure,” as one naysayer wrote we should do. I ask naysayers: Without this opportunity, where will we get the funding to improve these things?

Spaceport is one of few opportunities available

The only way to fix this situation is to increase the tax base by creating community wealth. The spaceport offers one of our only opportunities to do this.

Most questions, for instance, those regarding water rights, ranchers’ issues and power lines, were answered in New Mexico Economic Development Secretary Rick Homans’ presentation at a tri-county meeting in January. However, there will be questions surrounding this issue that cannot be addressed because no one in the world has built a commercial spaceport from scratch. We are at the forefront of this effort and will have to overcome problems that arise.

Comparisons to Huntsville, Ala., and Wichita, Kan., communities that have seized similar opportunities and improved their situations, are applicable. Though these communities have not used a gross receipts tax increase to assist private ventures, they have used other public assistance methods such as local tax exemptions, publicly backed industrial revenue bonds and infrastructure development. As someone who knows economic development, I can tell you that public incentives are a common tool to attract jobs.

However, Spaceport America is not a private venture. It will be owned by the state and operated based on an airport model. Once again, this is a very common occurrence, as anyone who has flown commercially can confirm. Virgin Galactic is the first company to show exactly how much it will pay in rent to use the facility. This is not a free lunch and Virgin, and anyone else, will pay fair rates for use of this publicly owned facility.

The statement, “I support the spaceport, but not the GRT” is false. Without the gross receipts tax increase, adequate funding will not be available to construct the facility, and companies will not have confidence that our community fully supports this industry. These two facts will force businesses to move elsewhere.

Think about the potential benefits

Many people focus on possible negatives. I would, however, ask county voters to think about the positive benefits Spaceport America will bring. The investment per person is small: on average, $2.50 per person, per month. The potential benefits are huge. Better jobs have been discussed, but educational benefits are even more important. Math and science education in our high schools, focusing on aerospace, will allow our children to attend New Mexico State University, receive a business or engineering degree focusing on the space industry, and get one of the many jobs that will be created. There are very few opportunities like this currently offered to students.

In life, it is easy to say “no,” because change is hard. But we need change. Nearly 20 percent of our families live at or below the poverty line. Our per-capita income is one of the lowest in the nation. We, as local governments, can not provide needed services because our tax revenue is so low. Our young people are leaving.

We will never break out of this cycle until we take positive steps to improve our situation. Voting for the spaceport on April 3 is one of those steps. I urge all people who are thinking of voting “no” to consider our situation and our lack of other options. NMSU is a great institution, but cannot by itself provide the economic stimulus to vastly improve the area. The same can be said for White Sands, which the federal government seriously considered combining with Fort Bliss a short time ago. Agriculture is a very important part of our community, but also offers limited growth potential. Call centers are not a viable, high-income option.

Respectfully, naysayers are wrong. This vote is a question of vision. A “yes” vote will give us the possibility to vastly improve the critical situations our community faces. A “no” vote will leave us with few options of enhancing ourselves for the future.

Please vote “yes.”

McCamley is the District 5 Doña Ana County commissioner, a co-chair of People for Aerospace and an occasional columnist for Heath Haussamen on New Mexico Politics.