{"id":2299,"date":"2007-09-28T11:54:00","date_gmt":"2007-09-28T17:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/09\/rail-runner-tax-snafu-could-hamper-spaceport-funding\/"},"modified":"2007-09-28T11:54:00","modified_gmt":"2007-09-28T17:54:00","slug":"rail-runner-tax-snafu-could-hamper-spaceport-funding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/09\/rail-runner-tax-snafu-could-hamper-spaceport-funding\/","title":{"rendered":"Rail Runner tax snafu could hamper spaceport funding"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The newest snafu over whether to raise local taxes to pay for operation of the Rail Runner<\/a> could harm the state\u2019s ability to secure approval in Sierra and Otero counties for a similar tax to help fund Spaceport America<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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

In addition, the question of how to come up with millions each year to operate the commuter train when federal money runs out in 2009 threatens to further strain the state\u2019s finances as it tries to complete the two massive projects and come up with some $500 million for needed road construction and maintenance.<\/p>\n

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

State Transportation Secretary Rhonda Faught<\/a> publicly proposed earlier this week<\/a> implementation of a local gross receipts tax in Bernalillo, Santa Fe, Sandoval and Valencia counties to come up with $25 million a year to pay for the train\u2019s operating costs. The state has provided some $400 million for acquisition and construction of tracks and trains, but the federal government agreed to pay for the first three years of operations.<\/p>\n

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

In this election season, the presidential candidate and Gov. Bill Richardson<\/a> quickly put out a news release saying there will be no tax increase.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cGov. Richardson is not interested in a tax increase,\u201d said spokesman Gilbert Gallegos. \u201cThe\u2026 expansion will move forward as planned, and the governor expects to consider different options, other than a tax increase, to pay for its operations in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cDifferent options\u201d appears to be code for additional state money for a project that is never projected to be solvent. The discussion of how to pay for operations comes as the state is extending the line<\/a>, which already runs from Belen to Bernalillo, into Santa Fe<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>, which will increase operating costs.<\/p>\n

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

If not for the train, why a local tax down south<\/st1:place>?<\/span><\/p>\n

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

The funding plan for the spaceport includes local buy-in through a gross receipts tax. Voters in Do\u00f1a<\/st1:placename> Ana<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placename><\/st1:place> narrowly approved a 1\/4 increase in April, but county commissions in Sierra and Otero counties haven\u2019t even scheduled elections. Though the majority of the local funding was to come from the more populated Do\u00f1a<\/st1:placename> Ana<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placename><\/st1:place>, that money can\u2019t be spent until a tax district is created \u2013 and that requires approval of a tax increase in at least one of the other counties.<\/p>\n

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

Commissioners in Sierra and Otero counties have stated their intentions to hold elections, but there\u2019s a political reality to face: The more liberal Do\u00f1a<\/st1:placename> Ana<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placename><\/st1:place> barely approved the tax. It\u2019s going to be an even tougher sell in those counties.<\/p>\n

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

Many spaceport tax opponents have questioned why, since the spaceport is a state project, officials didn\u2019t seek a statewide tax increase. The state has been quick to counter that it has pitched in well over $100 million through legislative appropriations.<\/p>\n

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

There is also a local buy-in for the Rail Runner. Communities have to build their own train stations. But that didn\u2019t require increased tax burden on residents of those counties.<\/p>\n

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

\n

The governor\u2019s unwillingness to agree to a tax for a Northern New Mexico project when he supported a similar tax for one in Southern New Mexico is certain to be used by opponents as an argument against the proposed increases in Otero and Sierra counties, making the campaign to secure the final piece of funding for the spaceport even more difficult. Southern New Mexico has always felt \u2013 for the most part, justifiably \u2013 that it gets the shaft from Santa Fe<\/st1:City><\/st1:place>.<\/p>\n

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

Many will wonder why they have to pay increased taxes for the spaceport when those who benefit from the commuter rail don\u2019t have to pay increased taxes for it. That argument was used by opponents during Do\u00f1a<\/st1:PlaceName> Ana<\/st1:PlaceName> County<\/st1:PlaceName><\/st1:place>\u2019s tax election, but the governor\u2019s renewed opposition to a local Rail Runner tax will provide additional fuel.<\/p>\n

\n

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

To top off that frustration, the state is spending on the commuter rail more than three times what it has committed to the spaceport.<\/p>\n

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

Bigger problems<\/span><\/p>\n

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

But there\u2019s a larger reality here. Both projects were driven by a governor who swept into the Roundhouse in 2003 looking to build a platform for a presidential run. Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> cited the state\u2019s economic growth in this week\u2019s presidential debate when he said he could make social security solvent through economic development alone.<\/p>\n

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

As Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> attempts to leave the state, one has to wonder whether the political will remains to see the projects through to fruition. Many question whether that determination even should exist.<\/p>\n

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

The train\u2019s funding is stretched. In rejecting the tax plan, the governor provided no alternatives for coming up with the annual $25 million. In addition, two recent fatal accidents south of Albuquerque<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> highlight another reality the Richardson Administration didn\u2019t plan for \u2013 increased use of the tracks necessitates upgrades of aging crossings.<\/p>\n

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

How many upgrades? How will those projects be funded?<\/p>\n

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

Lawmakers are going to be asked for more money for the spaceport as well. They\u2019ve already been told the Spaceport Authority will need more than $3 million next year to operate as it expands and begins construction. State officials also want another $15 million they sought but didn\u2019t get for a road to the spaceport earlier this year.<\/p>\n

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

And what if the taxes in Sierra and Otero counties aren\u2019t approved? That\u2019s another $10 million the state will have to find to meet the spaceport\u2019s cost estimate of just under $200 million. If construction is further delayed, that cost estimate could rise.<\/p>\n

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

Looming over all of that is the fact that lawmakers don\u2019t know how they\u2019re going to come up with the $500 million they need for road construction and maintenance, and an increasing worry that the state budget has grown beyond its britches in recent years.<\/p>\n

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

Richardson<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> had the vision \u2013 or, depending on who you talk with, the foolishness \u2013 to sell these two projects, but he doesn\u2019t plan to stay in the state long enough to see them through to fruition. If he wins the presidency or decides to leave the governor\u2019s office for another job, and as the spaceport and commuter-rail funding questions become increasingly difficult, what\u2019s going to happen?<\/p>\n

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

Though it\u2019s still expanding, the Rail Runner is already operational and will be difficult to shut down. For that reason, and because the other project is hidden away in the desert hundreds of miles from Santa Fe, if lawmakers think a project has to die, they may be more likely to kill the spaceport.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The newest snafu over whether to raise local taxes to pay for operation of the Rail Runner could harm the state\u2019s ability to secure approval in Sierra and Otero counties for a similar tax to help fund Spaceport America. In addition, the question of how to come up with millions each year to operate the […]<\/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-2299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2299","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=2299"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2299\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}