By Julie Ann Grimm
The Santa Fe New Mexican (New Mexico)
Copyright 2006 The New Mexican
As Santa Fe County considers a tax hike to fund emergency-medical services, it’s gearing up for talks about how the money could be used to benefit residents on both sides of the Santa Fe city limits.
County Commissioners next month expect to discuss a resolution that would put a quarter-cent increase in the gross-receipts-tax rate on the Nov. 7 general-election ballot.
County officials face concerns about a short-staffed and underfunded Fire Department, which provides paramedic services within a 2,000-square-mile area. If voters approve, officials say the new tax could free money for other health programs, including care for the poor.
“We need this additional funding for the rural communities that I represent,” Commission Chairman Harry Montoya said Tuesday. “The unfortunate reality is: How are we going to ensure the safety and welfare of people in the county?”
The tax would be imposed countywide, including inside the city limits, and generate about $9 million annually.
County Fire Chief Stan Holden said most of that money is needed to double the size of his department and bring it up to industry standards for response times. Also, about $2.5 million would be earmarked for the city and county’s joint 911 dispatch center, now funded through money from each jurisdiction based on call volume.
However, city Fire Chief Chris Rivera told county commissioners Tuesday that the city won’t encourage voters to support such a plan. “We have an obligation to inform taxpayers what this money will be used for,” Rivera said. “City residents are going to be taxed, and that money will be used primarily in the county.”
Rivera said Mayor David Coss authorized him to attend Tuesday’s commission meeting and advocate that the county promise to dedicate half the new tax revenues to the city as its “equitable share.” Many emergency calls on the fringe of the city limits already are handled by city crews, and that wouldn’t change, he said.
Commissioner Virginia Vigil said the county is willing to negotiate on how the future tax money would be divided, but it’s not to that point yet. “I think it’s really too early in the process to take such a strong stance,” she told Rivera.
County Manager Gerald Gonzá lez pointed out that county residents pay plenty of municipal taxes when they shop at city businesses, and those funds mostly support city programs.
Commissioner Jack Sullivan expressed concern about announcing an intent to adopt the tax without a clear idea of how the funds would be divided. “As a voter,” Sullivan said, “I’m going to want some specificity as to what the money will be used for.”
County resident George Collins told commissioners he appreciates the idea that new taxes might be needed to pay for a larger emergency department. Collins said it recently took paramedics nearly a half-hour to respond to a call to his home northwest of the city, and in that time, a loved one died.
“I don’t know for sure whether a quicker response time to my home would have made a difference,” Collins told commissioners, while noting that industry standards indicate 12 minutes is an appropriate response time. “We feel strongly that it is the responsibility of the county to provide adequate (emergency) medical services for its residents.”
If the commission approves putting the tax question on the November ballot and more than half of voters agree to it, the new increment would be levied beginning next July 1.
The next step required in the process is a declaration of intent to impose the tax and announcement of a public hearing. For the measure to get on the ballot, the county needs to pass a resolution before mid-September.
TAX RATES
Gross-receipts-tax rates in various parts of New Mexico:
7.875 percent — Santa Rosa
7.75 — Red River
7.625 — city of Santa Fe
7.1250 — Las Cruces
6.9375 — Los Alamos
6.8750 — Albuquerque
6.3125 — Santa Fe County
5.9375 — Doña Ana County
5.6875 — Bernalillo County
WHO GETS THE MONEY
Gross-receipts taxes add about $7.63 to every $100 of affected spending within the city of Santa Fe, which excludes some food and medical costs. The state collects the money from businesses and shares the revenue with city and county governments on the following basis:
$5 to state of New Mexico
(5 percent tax rate)
$1.81 to city of Santa Fe
(1.8125 percent)
81 cents to Santa Fe County
(.8125 percent)
In unincorporated areas of Santa Fe County, taxes add $6.31 to every $100 of taxable spending, with the revenue divided as follows:
$5 to the state of New Mexico
$1.31 to the county
HOW THE MONEY IS USED
Following is a breakdown of how various levies that make up the gross-receipts-tax rate are earmarked.
Countywide, including
Santa Fe city limits:
.125 percent — General fund or roads
.125 — Medical care for the indigent
.125 — Emergency-medical services and other health-care needs
.0625 — Currently earmarked for new courthouse
.25 — Capital outlay for buildings and infrastructure
.125 — Correctional facilities
Outside city limits only:
.25 — Fire-protection excise for operations and emergency-medical services
.125 — Infrastructure
.125 — Water and wastewater
Inside Santa Fe city limits:
1.25 — Municipal general use
.25 — Infrastructure
.25 — Capital outlay
.0625 — Water and wastewater
Source: N.M. Taxation and Revenue Department