By Marty Mayfield
Commissioners began their May 12th evening with a budget hearing to establish a preliminary budget to send to the Department of Finance by June 1.
The bad news to the budget hearing included a possible drop in gross receipts revenues by as much as 4%. However Kathy Harris who spoke to the commission indicated that she had read a report that the economic scene was not that good for New Mexico and that a more realistic figure might be as much as a 10% drop in GRT. The other drop noted is in gas tax revenues.
To top that off the city is also looking at a 12% increase in health insurance costs this year. Insurance costs are going up in part on additional paperwork expenses. The other up in the budget is a 2.5% increase in salaries as negotiated by the union contracts. A fully revised budget will be presented to the commission at the May 26 meeting for their approval. PROPOSED INTERIM BUDGET FY16_20150513 PROPOSED INTERIM BUDGET ATTACHMENTS_20150513
The commission approved mutual aid agreements for Raton Fire and Emergency Services with Folsom EMS, Stonewall Fire Department and the US Army Fort Carson mostly for the unit at Pinon Canyon.
Raton Police Chief John Garcia presented a 15-minute report on the many activities the department is involved in and some of their future plans. The department has 14 officers working 12-hour shifts. Garcia is working to replace K-9 Aros hopefully by the end of August. He also spoke about the different crime stats noting that violent crime has risen 17% while property crimes have gone down with Larceny taking a 11% drop and property crimes down 9%.
Commissioners approved extending the grant agreement for pavement rehab work on First Street after the new water line is completed. They also agreed to pitch in $3,000 for expenses on the Tiger Grant application that the city of La Junta is spearheading to keep Amtrak on line through the region.
They also approved Budget Adjustment #8 with the exception of where the $3000 for the Tiger Grant will come from. It was initially expected to come from the lodgers tax but some clarification on whether those funds can be used for that is still needed. (Link to Budget Adjustment 8)
They tabled the Gordon Environmental request for the landfill professional services.
Mayor Mantz then opened the floor for discussion on the Local Economic Development Act ordinance. Tim Hagaman, Community, Business and Rural Development Representative with the Economic Development Division, got up and spoke about the board that the ordinance recommends and possibly how it should be organized. He suggested that the board be made up of people from the community not just specific organizations.
Others who spoke about the ordinance also indicated that community involvement was important and that there are a number of people who may have some expertise in a particular subject that the city should tap to help vet a business that wants to move to Raton. Due diligence was another issue that the speakers suggested community involvement would be important to have. The ordinance will have some changes made to the wording and brought back for another round of scrutiny before it can be passed.
Commissioners appointed Patrick Dyer to the financial advisory board.
City Manager Scott Berry noted that 600 tire bails will be removed from the landfill soon. He noted that the recycling center hosted first graders who he feels will be the best educators when it comes to recycling.
Berry noted that much of the water line installation was being done by directional boring which is less destructive since there isn’t a long ditch. Jason Phillips is continuing his work on environmental assessments and is hoping all will be complete in order to start work on Tiger Drive and First Street soon. The Multi-Modal center is also involved in the environmental assessments.
Commissioners will meet again on May 26 at 6:00 p.m. and will be heard on KRTN AM1490.
