Members of the Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners, in their dealings with a company that wants to build a
The El Paso-based Verde Group withdrew this week its request that the commission create three tax increment development districts to fund infrastructure in Santa Teresa. The decision was made after the company and commissioners reached an impasse on several key issues. Verde must now decide whether to seek funding for the project in another way, give in to commissioners’ demands or scrap its plans altogether.
Commissioners, in holding firm to their demands, are risking the project, which does have the potential to benefit the citizens of the county. But their demands are reasonable and made with the interest of the county and its residents in mind, and their decision to stand firm is the right one.
Commissioners first publicly took issue with the proposal last month, when final votes to create the tax districts were before them. Verde was insisting on controlling the governing boards, with three developers and two commissioners sitting on each board. Commissioners said that was unacceptable because the boards would oversee the spending of tax money.
Under the proposal, Verde would front the money to build infrastructure, including sewer and arsenic treatment systems, and the county would pay the developer back more than $200 million using 20 percent of the gross-receipts tax collected in the districts that would be created.
At the time, Verde said it would not agree to a board controlled by the commission, and commissioners stood their ground. Within days, Verde caved and agreed to boards consisting of three commissioners and two developers.
But another problem emerged: Verde had verbally pledged that 15 percent of the housing it built would fit the definition of affordable housing. But when it shared its final master plan with commissioners, the plan listed that as a goal, not a requirement.
Commissioner Bill McCamley told Verde that was a deal-breaker for him. McCamley, along with Commissioner Dolores Saldaña-Caviness, worked the deal with
The master plan became part of the discussion, along with creation of the tax districts, because Commission Chairwoman Karen Perez didn’t want to vote on creating the tax district boards without also formalizing the requirements of the master plan. Perez was concerned that the plan was proceeding too quickly and without enough public scrutiny.
Unable to win over commissioners, Verde decided to withdraw the tax district applications and go back to the drawing board to search for another way to make the development happen. Perez met with Verde and got the group to agree to hold a series of public meetings to get more input on the plan.
Commissioners stood up to a well-funded, out-of-state company that has been a big contributor to the governor and a political force in
In addition, most commissioners believe Verde is well-intentioned and is truly attempting to build a smart, planned development.
In spite of the political pressures and the desire to come up with a deal that will keep Verde on the project, commissioners have shown courage in demanding the best for their constituents. Hopefully, Verde and the county can find another way to make this deal work.