Local municipalities and schools prepare for tighter days ahead

    CIBOLA COUNTY - State Representative Ken Martinez said last week that “whether you've been in the legislature for 30 years of for only four years, this special session (held earlier this month) was the toughest ever. The upcoming Legislative session in January will be even more challenging, however, now we know what we are facing.”

    According to reports, the state is looking at a $510 million deficit. Comments from legislators all over the state more than hint at the possibility of raising taxes in January along with expenses being cut once again. Legislators met in special session recently to balance the budget for the remainder of the year in which many expenses were cut.

    Words coming from state representatives and senators are ironic because little more than one year ago the state was ready to hand out rebate checks because of a large surplus.

    Local municipalities have been preparing for more than a year for what is to come. Hiring is less and managers in both municipalities in the county are watching their expenses.

    Grants City Manager Bob Horacek informed the city council recently that the city is in good shape and prepared for a tough two to three years.

    Milan Manager Marcella Sandoval has reported to the trustees that the village will simply adjust as the state does what it needs to do even if it means cutting personnel and services.

    The Grants/Cibola County School District's financial officer informed board members that the schools have an emergency reserve of $140,000 that is available if needed.

    Superintendent Kilino Marquez noted that the district already cut 20 positions last year and informed the board that it may come to a point of affecting the community by cutting some activities, “including sports,” he said. “We could look at narrowing down the seasons.”

    The financial officer told the board earlier this month that the district has been able to weather the storm this year but next year's budget could be a challenge.

    Two legislators were present at the New Mexico Press Association conference this past weekend, one a democrat representative and the other a republican senator. Both agreed that the state would be facing the most difficult economy in more than 60 years. The republican primarily spoke on expenses being cut while the democrat favored tax increases. The democrat representative went to the extent of remarking on the opportunity of taxing large corporations such as Wal-Mart. “The state's tax policy is really out of balance,” he said.

    Both agreed that the state has overspent since Gary Johnson's administration. State expenses grew 3.2 percent during Johnson's administration each year while it has grown 6 percent each year under the current administration of Governor Bill Richardson.

    The senator commented that projects such as the movie industry, on which the state spends $100 million, have “little return and very little accountability.”

    The representative emphasized that the state is coming up on 100 years of statehood and really needs to start thinking about how the legislative sessions work. “We receive reports from staff, how do we know they are not one-sided,” he said.

    Bob Trapp, Jr., of the Rio Grande Sun, asked the legislators if there was a possibility of re-looking at the gaming compact between the state and the tribes in order to gain more revenue, “The casinos are sucking the money,” he remarked. The possibility is unlikely as a compact was recently signed and is valid through 2013.

    A task force of 40 persons was recently set up by the governor in order to gain information about what special interests want in regard to what the state is facing in the upcoming legislative session. Advisors on the task force include tribes and pueblos, dairy producers, bankers, chambers of commerce, building contractors, miners, real estate agents, insurance agents.

    When asked about what to expect in legislative session, the republican said, “My hope is that we deal with just the matters at hand and not deal with extra stuff. The democrat said he expects the governor to make it a legacy session, “The governor will want to leave his mark, for his legacy, so I see other items being highlighted besides the budget.”