The Raton City Commission met in regular session on Tuesday, September 24 and heard a positive financial report from City Treasurer Michael Anne Antonucci and some positive news from the Raton Water Works.
As of August 31, the city’s General Fund held a cash balance of $2,814,323.24 with available cash of almost 2.4 million. the collected Gross Receipts Tax thru September was $714,741 which was 2.03% above the projections for the period. A big boost in the GRT collection came from the first check received from the newly instituted HB 6 distribution of $6,319.68. HB 6 became law on July 1 and the far-reaching tax bill included imposing a GRT on internet sales, and reducing the administrative fee from 3.25 to 3.0%. It will take the state 2 years to implement destination-based sourcing which provides that sales would be deemed to take place at the buyer’s location instead of “out-of-state”. The State will send $24 million annually from the General Fund to local goverments who receive a portion based on population. Raton’s population is listed as 6,885 according to NM Tax/Rev.
Raton Water Works General Manager Dan Campbell also had more good news concerning Raton Water Works as the American Water Works Association awarded the Raton Treatment Plant the Outstanding Water Treatment Plant for Medium-sized city in the Rocky Mountain Section for 2019. Campbell reported to the commission that the $3 million Water Treatment Plant upgrade is about 50% complete. In his report, commissioner Ron Chavez noted that Lake Maloya is about 2 feet below the spillway, which is very good for this time of year.
Mayor Neil Segotta and city Manager Scott Berry attended the recent American Association of Private Railcar Owners Convention and reported that all in attendance were very aware of the southwest Chief situation and were very sympathetic to keep the long-distance routes going. All 35 mayors along the route have formed a caucus and plan to lobby aggressively to keep the train running. Berry also reported The Passenger Rail Association donated $10,000 to Colfax County for their SW Chief efforts.
Berry and Public Works Director Jason Phillips attended the 2019 Community Development Council’s CDBG confab and Berry reported they are very optimistic that Raton’s $750,000 CDBG request for downtown paving improvements will be approved
In other action, the Commission approved the proposal for engineering services for Engineering Analytics. The $12,800 will be used to study the frontage road on the east side of I-25 between Hiways 72 and 64/87. Numerous crashes near the existing bridge and speeding complaints will have EA evaluating the requirements for signage and safety and will propose changes necessary to improve safety and comply with standards. Part of the analysis will include Rio Grande Street in the downtown area, to see if a one-way between First and Second Streets is feasible.
The Raton Humans Society’s event form for Pet Fest on October 5th was approved and the resolution authorizing the certification of the City’s 2019 Capital Asset Inventory was postponed until the next meeting which will be on Tuesday, October 8 and will be broadcast on KRTN AM 1490.
