Saturday, August 16, 2008

Gross receipts tax issue, two zone changes hearings postponed

Julia M. Dendinger News-Bulletin Staff Writer; jdendinger@news-bulletin.com

The county commission's public hearing was rather truncated Wednesday evening after three of the four agenda items were removed from consideration.

Due to various legal reasons, two zone change requests and a request for an ordinance for a countywide emergency communications, emergency medical and behavioral health services tax were not heard.

The ordinance for the emergency communications and medical services tax was not heard because notification issues came into play.

In order for the commission to have a public hearing on a matter, the public must be notified two weeks in advance. Since the notification of Wednesday's hearing was published the Saturday before, county attorney David Pato said the public was not given sufficient notice of the hearing.

In order to meet notification requirements, the public hearing on the emergency communications tax will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 3, prior to the commission's regular business meeting.

The commission will vote on the ordinance at that same meeting. If the ordinance is approved, the tax measure will be put on the Nov. 4 ballot for a voter decision.

Pato went on to say that he did have some good news about the proposed one-quarter of a percent gross receipts tax. "After speaking with Taxation and Revenue, they did approve the specific percentages being added into the model ordinance," he said.

At a meeting the week before, the commissioners had proposed that emergency communications receive 60 percent of the revenue from the tax and emergency medical services receive the remaining 40 percent.

However, according to documentation provided by the State Tax and Revenue Department, the ordinance to put the tax on the ballot needed to be approved exactly as written by that department.

In speaking with them, Pato said the department felt the addition of the specific percentages was a reasonable change to the ordinance.

Zone change

requests delayed

Also tabled was a request for a zone change from residential to commercial to allow for the operation of a roping arena. The request was made by Guillermo and Amador Rosales of Meadow Lake.

The matter came before the planning and zoning commission at the end of last month. After hearing input from the applicant and residents of the area, the planning commission made a unanimous recommendation to deny the zone change request.

The request was then supposed to come before the county commission during its monthly public hearing. According to county regional planner James Aranda, the applicants and their attorney requested that the matter be tabled so they could gather more information for the commissioners.

"We just received this request today," Aranda said at Wednesday's meeting. "They ask that it be tabled without a set date for it to come back before the commission."

A second zone change request was also dropped from the agenda. Route 66 Community Multiplex, Inc. had also come before the county planning and zoning commission last month with a request to amend the zone map from outland district to commercial to allow for the operation of a motorsports facility.

After the company's presentation and several members of the public speaking in favor of the zone change, the planning commission unanimously recommended approval of the change.

Unfortunately, when county attorney David Pato reviewed the legal description that had been published of the 326 acres in question, he found an error. The legal description of the property that appeared in the newspaper, subsequent mailed notifications and public agendas indicated that the property was in the valley. The land in question is on the mesa, approximately 2.5 miles south of Meadow Lake.

Because of that error, Pato said the notice should be republished with the correct legal description and the matter referred back to planning and zoning.

"If it was advertised incorrectly, we can't move forward," said Commissioner Ron Gentry. The four commissioners present for the meeting agreed and asked that the zone change request be republished and sent back to planning and zoning. Commission chair Pedro Rael was unable to attend the meeting.

Transit tax heard

The one matter that did get a public hearing was a proposed ordinance for a county regional transit gross receipts tax.

Bruce Rizzieri, the regional transit manager for the Mid-Region Council of Governments, came before the commission to give a brief overview of what services the one-eighth of 1 percent gross receipts tax would bring to the county.

In addition to the continued Rail Runner service, Rizzieri said the tax would help provide transit services to both the Los Lunas and Belen train stations.

The implementation timeline, which begins in fiscal year 2010, shows the current dial-a-ride program being expanded to include the general public in the first year of the plan, as well as service from Rio Communities to the Belen Rail Runner station, the University of New Mexico-Valencia Campus and businesses along N.M. 304.

Also in the first year, the plan calls for service from Jarales, Bosque and Pueblitos to Belen and the Rail Runner station.

In the second year, the plan shows the establishment of a new route on N.M. 6 west of I-25 to the Los Lunas Rail Runner station and a new route along N.M. 6 and N.M. 47 to the station and UNM-VC.

Meadow Lake resident Bob Gostischa expressed dissatisfaction over the eastern part of the county being served only by expanded dial-a-ride services.

"Public transportation is needed in Meadow Lake and El Cerro and all the outlying areas of the county, just like it's needed in the valley," he said. "Dial-a-ride is not acceptable. It is not the same as public transit.

"We have over 7,000 people living out there who go to work just like everybody else. You need to treat our citizens like everyone else."

Rizzieri asked Gostischa to speak to him after the meeting. "I would be happy to meet with people and see what best meets your needs," he said.

A resolution that was passed by the Rio Metro Transit District board of directors last month says that if a majority of the voters in the transit district favor the imposition of the tax, the revenue will be used in equal portions for the management, operations, capital, planning, construction or maintenance of the Rail Runner and the regional transit district system.

If the tax question is approved in the Nov. 4 election, the tax will be imposed in July 2009 and the district expects to begin collecting revenues in October, Rizzieri said.

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