{"id":3130,"date":"2008-04-22T20:54:00","date_gmt":"2008-04-23T02:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/04\/sierra-tax-approval-moves-spaceport-closer-to-reality\/"},"modified":"2008-04-22T20:54:00","modified_gmt":"2008-04-23T02:54:00","slug":"sierra-tax-approval-moves-spaceport-closer-to-reality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/04\/sierra-tax-approval-moves-spaceport-closer-to-reality\/","title":{"rendered":"Sierra tax approval moves spaceport closer to reality"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Voters in Sierra<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place> have easily approved a tax increase that was critical to the future of Spaceport America<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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

The unofficial results, with all precincts reporting, are 2,046 votes, or 66 percent, in favor of enacting the tax, and 1,066 votes, or 34 percent, opposed.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cIt is a good day in Sierra<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placetype>, and all I have to say is, \u2018Thank you, Sierra<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place>,\u2019\u201d Steve Landeene, the spaceport\u2019s executive director, said in an interview. \u201cThey have really made a statement, and that statement is that they want the spaceport and the opportunity for a brighter future for Sierra<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place> and their children.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Today\u2019s vote means the gross receipts tax in Sierra County will be raised by 1\/4 of one percent, which will generate $2.3 million for construction of the spaceport. More importantly, it triggers the creation of a regional spaceport taxing district, which will allow the state to begin collecting a tax in Do\u00f1a<\/st1:placename> Ana<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placename><\/st1:place> that will generate an estimated $49 million for the spaceport.<\/p>\n

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

It also means voters in Otero<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place> will likely get to decide whether to raise the tax to help fund the spaceport. County commissioners there said they would put the question to voters in Otero<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placetype> if voters in Sierra<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place> approved the tax.<\/p>\n

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

And creation of a spaceport taxing district was a requirement tied to $15 million in state funding for the spaceport.<\/p>\n

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

Do\u00f1a Ana County Commissioner Bill McCamley<\/a>, who helped sell the tax to voters in that county last year, called today \u201ca great day for the people of Southern New Mexico<\/st1:place>.\u201d He was speaking by phone from a celebration in Sierra<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place>.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThe regional nature of this is something that does not happen in the United States<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> very much,\u201d he said. \u201cThe fact that we\u2019ve gotten these communities to coordinate and work together on this will really allow us to move forward in a lot of ways. It\u2019s very special.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Gov. Bill Richardson<\/a> credited McCamley last year with leading the charge for approval of the tax in Do\u00f1a<\/st1:placename> Ana<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placename><\/st1:place>. Despite a well-funded campaign for approval, voters only narrowly approved the tax there by a 270-vote, 1.6-percent margin.<\/p>\n

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

Turnout in Do\u00f1a<\/st1:placename> Ana<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placename><\/st1:place> a year ago was about 18 percent. Turnout in Sierra<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place> topped 42 percent.<\/p>\n

McCamley said the increased interest and the ease of passage of the tax in Sierra<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placetype> may be attributable to the tangible benefits the spaceport would have for Sierra<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place>. The spaceport will be located there, and the county will benefit from gross receipts tax revenue directly generated by the spaceport.<\/p>\n

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

In Do\u00f1a<\/st1:placename> Ana<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placename>, voters were asked to OK the tax based on the notion that the commercial space industry will be drawn to Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> because of its infrastructure and proximity to the spaceport.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cWhat matters is that it passed in both places. We can get our tax district worked out and move forward,\u201d McCamley said. \u201cIt allows us to take one more step forward. This thing is starting to look like reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

The next steps<\/span><\/p>\n

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

There are still hurdles ahead. Some of the funding for the $198-million spaceport has two conditions that have not been met \u2013 the securing of a commercial spaceport license from the Federal Aviation Administration and the signing of a lease with planned anchor tenant Virgin Galactic<\/a>. Both of those must happen before the end of the year under requirements placed on tens of millions of dollars in funding from the Legislature and Do\u00f1a<\/st1:placename> Ana<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placename><\/st1:place>.<\/p>\n

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

Landeene said he\u2019s optimistic, and called the margin of victory in Sierra<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place> \u201cbeyond what anyone would have imagined.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI\u2019ll take one step at a time, and this was one big step that we needed to get accomplished,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is huge. It\u2019s a great night, one filled with emotion.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> agreed.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI applaud the people of Sierra<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placetype> for taking this bold step and providing the most important endorsement of Spaceport America<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>,\u201d the governor said in a news release. \u201cWith Sierra<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placetype>\u2019s support, Spaceport America<\/st1:country-region> will become a reality, providing thousands of jobs and a new future for Southern New Mexico<\/st1:place>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Update, April 23, 9:55 a.m.<\/p>\n

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

Lt. Gov. Diane Denish<\/a>, in a news release, had this to say:<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI commend the voters of Sierra<\/st1:PlaceName> County<\/st1:PlaceType><\/st1:place> for seeing the economic-development and quality-of-life gains to be had with construction of the spaceport,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is how we grab onto the jobs of tomorrow and ensure our children will be able to stay in New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:State> and earn a good wage. In addition, the spaceport will attract the kind of high-return tourists who will boost our economy statewide.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Voters in Sierra County have easily approved a tax increase that was critical to the future of Spaceport America. The unofficial results, with all precincts reporting, are 2,046 votes, or 66 percent, in favor of enacting the tax, and 1,066 votes, or 34 percent, opposed. \u201cIt is a good day in Sierra County, and all […]<\/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-3130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3130","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=3130"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3130\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}