{"id":1204,"date":"2007-02-05T16:16:00","date_gmt":"2007-02-05T22:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/02\/commission-formalizes-april-3-spaceport-tax-vote\/"},"modified":"2007-02-05T16:16:00","modified_gmt":"2007-02-05T22:16:00","slug":"commission-formalizes-april-3-spaceport-tax-vote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/02\/commission-formalizes-april-3-spaceport-tax-vote\/","title":{"rendered":"Commission formalizes April 3 spaceport tax vote"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Following almost two hours of public debate, the Do\u00f1a Ana County Board of Commissioners formally approved a resolution today that will allow voters to decide on April 3 whether they want to increase the gross receipts tax 1\/4 percent to help fund Spaceport America<\/a>. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

On a vote of 4-1 with Oscar Vasquez Butler<\/a> in opposition, commissioners voted to send the question to voters.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Commissioner Bill McCamley<\/a>, one of the primary supporters of the spaceport tax increase, said voters should approve the tax if they want the spaceport to be built. The money raised by the tax will be significant not just because it helps with construction, but also because it proves to companies that this community is committed to the project.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Without such a commitment, companies will go elsewhere where they will receive it, he said, and a spaceport won\u2019t ever be built in Southern New Mexico<\/st1:place>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about this community saying we\u2019re going to put our money where our mouth is,\u201d McCamley said. \u201cYou cannot say, \u2018I support the spaceport but I don\u2019t support the tax.\u2019 If there is no tax, there is no spaceport.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Commissioners intend to place safeguards on the tax to ensure that, if the spaceport doesn\u2019t meet certain goals, they can rescind the tax increase. The commission plans to put the same restrictions on the tax money that the state Legislature put on the $115 million it appropriated last year: The state must obtain a license from the FAA to operate the spaceport; it must sign a lease agreement with Virgin Galactic, and the cost of the spaceport must be $225 million or less.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Commissioners tabled an additional resolution that puts in place those safeguards, however, to give their legal department time to craft language that will give the commission the power to rescind the tax increase, should voters approve it and the spaceport later fail to meet goals.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

They plan to vote on that resolution at their Feb. 13 meeting.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Will the spaceport combat poverty?<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Tax increase supporters and opponents spoke at length before the vote to approve the election, but there was little new information to add to the debate that has been playing out in public for months.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Las Cruces Mayor Pro-Tem Dolores Connor<\/a> and Councilors Gil Jones<\/a> and Dolores Archuleta<\/a> were among those who urged the commission to approve the resolution that would allow voters to decide whether to increase the tax.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cThe spaceport is more than just about local jobs and recreational ventures into space,\u201d Jones said, adding that it has the potential to be the future of an industry that ensures the security and prosperity of the United States<\/st1:country-region><\/st1:place>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI am here because we have such a high poverty level, and we need to break it,\u201d Archuleta said. \u201cPlease vote for this.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Though many said the economic development of the spaceport will create jobs and better educational opportunities, opponents of the tax increase argued that the money could be better spent on infrastructure needs, and said spending it on the spaceport will do nothing to combat poverty.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Vado resident Mitch Boyer said those who live in Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> might have the freedom to spend money on a spaceport because they already have infrastructure and services, but rural residents need more money to pay firefighters and build roads.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the priority to the people in the rural communities,\u201d Boyer said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Not all from rural areas agreed with Boyer. Hatch Mayor Judd Nordyke said members of that town\u2019s council unanimously approved a resolution in support of the tax increase last month.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cWe see the spaceport as an opportunity for our citizens to find some greatly needed jobs,\u201d Nordyke said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Butler<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> acknowledged that the spaceport might create new jobs, but said many young people would still leave the county to work elsewhere, and the county should focus on paying firefighters and building infrastructure instead of on economic development.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cThis tax is on the rural residents of Do\u00f1a<\/st1:placename> Ana<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placename>,\u201d Butler<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

He said it is important to look to the future and how communities will improve, but said \u201cwe can\u2019t possibly look at the future without looking at our present state.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a lot of needs,\u201d Butler<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said. \u201cI have some serious moral issues with this.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

McCamley argued that those needs can\u2019t adequately be addressed without economic development that increases the county\u2019s tax base and improves educational opportunities that will decrease citizens\u2019 dependence on government.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Letting voters decide<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Commissioner Dolores Salda\u00f1a Caviness<\/a> said she also saw her vote as a moral issue: She said she had a duty to let voters decide whether to approve the tax increase, rather than taking the decision out of their hands by voting against the resolution. She called on people who agree and disagree with the tax to vote on April 3.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cYou all are going to have a chance to vote, and if it happens, great, and if it doesn\u2019t, so be it. We\u2019ll go forward,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is my job, and this is the democratic process at its best.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Commissioner Kent Evans<\/a> acknowledged the risks of the spaceport venture, but said the county\u2019s planned resolution to put safeguards on its money will mitigate the risks.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cHistory shows us that we can indeed go boldly forward on a continuing mission of progress for all humanity,\u201d Evans said. \u201cWe are investing here in something real and something magnificent.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Commission Chairwoman Karen Perez<\/a> isn\u2019t convinced, and expressed serious reservations about proceeding without having answers to many questions.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m feeling a little bit railroaded here. I\u2019m feeling a lot railroaded,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Perez said, however, that she doesn\u2019t believe anyone is hiding anything. She said many of her questions simply don\u2019t have answers.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI think the fair statement is, \u2018We don\u2019t really know, because it\u2019s a new industry,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Before voting for the resolution, Perez said she\u2019ll let voters decide whether they have enough information to approve the tax increase.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Concerns raised about historic trail<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Another issue raised was the fact that spaceport infrastructure will be built on or near El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail, a congressionally-designated trail cared for by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the National Parks Service. The trail was used by Spanish settlers as a trade route that spans thousands of miles, but the area near Upham, where the spaceport would be built, is some of the most well-preserved because so little infrastructure exists there.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The federal agencies have expressed concerns with that changing, and Mesilla resident Pat Taylor shared those concerns, and his own, with commissioners today.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really concerned that we\u2019re losing site of what our history is about,\u201d Taylor<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said. \u201cI can\u2019t tell you how important this is to New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> history.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

McCamley and other spaceport supporters pledged to work with Taylor<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> and others to find a balance. He said the spaceport can\u2019t be moved \u2013 finding new land would require a swap with the federal government that could take several years and slow down the process until it\u2019s too late because another community has built a spaceport.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

He also argued that the trail existed for economic development and, since the spaceport has the same purpose, it honors the memory of the trail.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

McCamley pledged to be \u201cthe first person and the loudest person\u201d to fight for state protection and money to fund the necessary infrastructure to protect the trail.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Following almost two hours of public debate, the Do\u00f1a Ana County Board of Commissioners formally approved a resolution today that will allow voters to decide on April 3 whether they want to increase the gross receipts tax 1\/4 percent to help fund Spaceport America. On a vote of 4-1 with Oscar Vasquez Butler in opposition, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1204\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}