{"id":761,"date":"2006-10-24T17:05:00","date_gmt":"2006-10-24T23:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2006\/10\/voters-to-decide-whether-to-hike-tax-for-spaceport\/"},"modified":"2006-10-24T17:05:00","modified_gmt":"2006-10-24T23:05:00","slug":"voters-to-decide-whether-to-hike-tax-for-spaceport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2006\/10\/voters-to-decide-whether-to-hike-tax-for-spaceport\/","title":{"rendered":"Voters to decide whether to hike tax for spaceport"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Do\u00f1a Ana County Board of Commissioners voted today to support the creation of a spaceport taxing district and to ask voters to approve a 1\/4 percent gross receipts tax increase to help fund Spaceport America<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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

On a vote of 4-1, with Oscar Vasquez Butler dissenting, the commission voted to direct staff to begin the process that will end with an election, which will likely be held on April 3.<\/p>\n

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

\"\"<\/a>\u201cThe investment that we would make with this tax would repay this community God knows how much. It would be a phenomenal boon,\u201d said Commissioner Kent Evans, who has been involved in trying to bring the commercial space industry to the area for 20 years. \u201cI think it\u2019s going to be a phenomenal enterprise. I think it\u2019s a whole new page in history.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Three commissioners came to the meeting skeptical about the proposal, but Commissioner Bill McCamley, who made the presentation, was able to convince two, Paul Curry and Dolores Salda\u00f1a-Caviness, to vote for it.<\/p>\n

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

McCamley has prepared a presentation that details the history of the space industry in Southern New Mexico<\/st1:place>, the spaceport proposal, the studies, the potential benefits and the risk. In addition to the commission, he has presented it to the board of the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance and the student body and Board of Regents at New Mexico<\/st1:placename> Sta<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place>te<\/st1:placetype> University<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place>, and has received the endorsements of all three groups.<\/p>\n

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

\"\"<\/a>McCamley pledged to personally give the proposal to every government and many other groups in the county before the commission votes in January or February to formalize the date of the election.<\/p>\n

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

McCamley\u2019s proposal would ask voters to approve the tax, which would generate between $6 million and $6.5 million each year in the county, with 3\/4 going to the spaceport. McCamley proposes that the other 1\/4 go to the creation of spaceport academies in each of the county\u2019s three school districts, but there was some debate about that point, which commissioners will resolve at a later date.<\/p>\n

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

The tax would amount to 25 cents on every $100 spent in the county, and would expire in 20 years. Essentially, a special taxing district of the state would use the money to repay bonds that are sold to help pay for the initial infrastructure at the spaceport.<\/p>\n

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

McCamley said approval of the tax would do more than provide needed funding.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cIt makes clear that the community is committed to this and sends a message to companies who would consider coming here,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have the chance to put your money where your mouth is.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\"\"<\/a>The commission meeting revealed that the tax will be a hard sell among some groups in the county, particularly in the south where fewer see the benefit. During the meeting Butler<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> questioned, criticized, and at least once snapped at McCamley during exchanges between the two.<\/p>\n

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

Butler<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> is upset that his peers didn\u2019t approve his proposal at the last meeting to impose an immediate halt to growth in and around arroyos in response to this summer\u2019s flooding. The commission instead voted to study the issue \u2013 a proposal made by McCamley \u2013 and to decide in a few weeks how to deal with flooding and development.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cWe\u2019re flying off the ground and yet, as (Public Works Director) Jorge Granados said, we can\u2019t even get out of our homes because of washed-out roads,\u201d Butler<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said. \u201cWe have a state of emergency right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Butler<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said he fears public funding of the spaceport might be a violation of the state\u2019s anti-donation clause, and said the county\u2019s money would be better spent on a flood-control system, roads or other infrastructure.<\/p>\n

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

And he suggested that, like with the proposed moratorium on growth, the commission create a task force to study the spaceport before it acts.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI do have a concern that we\u2019re kind of rushing to judgment, and yet you\u2019re not proposing a task force,\u201d Butler<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> told McCamley. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing here to give your proposal any substance.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Evans pointed out that the state has had a task force to study and help attract the space industry to Southern New Mexico<\/st1:place> since the 1980s. McCamley, during his presentation, spoke of two studies that have estimated economic development that would result if the spaceport is successful.<\/p>\n

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

County Attorney John Caldwell said there is no anti-donation issue. Public money is being used to fund creation of a state-owned, state-run spaceport, which will be leased to tenants such as Virgin Galactic. McCamley compared that to airports and seaports, which are commonly funded by tax dollars.<\/p>\n

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

As for the concern that money could be spent better elsewhere, McCamley and Caviness said the spaceport has the potential to create jobs and bring in additional money that the county can spend on improving infrastructure.<\/p>\n

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

\"\"<\/a>\u201cI also think, because of this, it will be a brighter future for us. To some extent, we are encumbered with being visionaries,\u201d Caviness said. \u201cWe have to put our visionary hats on and try to see the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

McCamley did not play down the risk involved. The worst case scenario, he said, is that \u201cyou have a facility that no one uses.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

But, he pointed out, the state has already invested more than half the money needed to build the facility. Legislators and the governor have committed $115 million already, and will be asked to approve another $25 million in January.<\/p>\n

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

The state has put three requirements on the spending of its money: There must be a signed, 20-year lease with Virgin Galactic, the proposed primary tenant of the spaceport; an official estimate must predict the cost of the facility at $225 million or less; and the state must obtain its FAA license.<\/p>\n

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

McCamley proposed, and commission accepted, that the county\u2019s tax increase, if approved by voters, would not go into effect unless the same conditions are met.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThere is a risk. What we\u2019re trying to do is mitigate that risk,\u201d McCamley said. \u201cEveryone thinks risk, risk, risk. Look at the possible benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Evans agreed.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cIf we don\u2019t run with this, we\u2019re making a big, big mistake and I think this county will forever regret that,\u201d Evans said.<\/p>\n

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

McCamley was asked why the county has to come up with additional tax dollars for the project, when some of the $115 million the state has already committed came from county taxpayers.<\/p>\n

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

McCamley compared it to the commuter rail project in Northern New Mexico<\/st1:place>. The state paid for the track and trains, but each community had to pay for its own station. Communities in the area around the spaceport are being asked to pay more because they\u2019ll benefit more, he said.<\/p>\n

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

McCamley said Sierra and Otero counties are considering similar tax-increase proposals. The citizens of at least two governments have to approve tax hikes for the spaceport and the creation of a special taxing district to administer the money before it becomes a reality.<\/p>\n

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

McCamley said Virgin Galactic has invested more than $200 million in developing the technology to launch paying customers into space. Though at first, McCamley said, the rich will be the primary users of the spaceport, in the future it will become a hub for people to travel around the world and into space.<\/p>\n

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

But more immediately important, he said, are the economic benefits, and that\u2019s why he\u2019s proposing that 25 percent of the tax money be given to the school districts. McCamley and others envision a continual program \u2013 from high school to college and on to internships with space companies \u2013 that gives youth the opportunity to stay in the area with good jobs in the space industry.<\/p>\n

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

\"\"<\/a>Curry said the 25 percent that comes back the community should instead be spent on roads that will be strained by increased traffic as a result of the growth of the commercial space industry.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI feel like the public schools have enough money already,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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

That issue will be worked out at a later date. State law requires the county to spend its 25 percent on space-related expenditures, and Caldwell<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said the commission will have to approve a separate resolution to formalize what it will do with the money.<\/p>\n

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

Curry also asked that, if local governments are going to give money to the state\u2019s spaceport authority to build and operate the spaceport, the local governments be given seats on the board of the authority. Currently, all authority members are appointed by the governor.<\/p>\n

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

The other commissioners seemed to agree, and McCamley said he would propose that to state officials. It would require a statutory change by the Legislature and governor.<\/p>\n

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

Before the commission voted, Republicans Mack Haley and John Zimmerman, who are both running for seats on the commission, urged its members to approve McCamley\u2019s proposal.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cIf we don\u2019t pass it, we\u2019re missing a great chance,\u201d said Zimmerman, who is running against Butler<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>. \u201cI fully support this initiative, 100 percent.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Haley, who is running against Democrat Karen Perez for the seat currently held by Curry, agreed.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI think it\u2019s a risk we can\u2019t afford not to take,\u201d he said. \u201cI think you\u2019re doing it the right way in taking it to the voters.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Perez was not at the meeting. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Do\u00f1a Ana County Board of Commissioners voted today to support the creation of a spaceport taxing district and to ask voters to approve a 1\/4 percent gross receipts tax increase to help fund Spaceport America. On a vote of 4-1, with Oscar Vasquez Butler dissenting, the commission voted to direct staff to begin 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-761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/761","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=761"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/761\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}