Water board recommends tax increase

CLOVIS — When you put skin in the game, you have to anticipate a flesh wound or two.

Clovis city commissioners acknowledged that Monday in their roles on the city’s water policy advisory board, which by a 7-0 vote recommended a tax increase to help fund completion of the interim groundwater portion of the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System.

Clovis Mayor David Lansford, who chairs both the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority and the water policy advisory board, said the authority’s best approach is to fully fund the interim pipeline project.

That would take $90 million, with $30 million from the state and $40 million from the federal government. But Lansford believes the other entities won’t act unless the authority is the first one to “put skin in the game” with its $20 million share.

Otherwise, Lansford said, the authority will have to keep getting a few million dollars every year and take decades inching toward completion.

The project, most recently estimated at $527.4 million, has two components. The authority is first working on an interim groundwater pipeline project connecting the authority’s communities so ag producers can sell water to municipalities. Next would come connection to the Ute Reservoir, designated as the project’s main water source.

Lansford said since he was elected back to the mayor post in 2012, his focus has been ensuring a stable municipal water supply until the pipeline reaches the reservoir.

“Time is not on our side,” Lansford said. “We either have to get behind this infrastructure effort, or we’re going to have to default to paying ag people not to use their water. We may have to do both.”

Regarding how to pay for it, Erik Haragan of RBC Capital presented a series of solutions, including:

• Mill levy increases that don’t require voter approval

• General obligation bonds that do require voter approval

• A combination of the mill increases and general obligation bonds

• A gross receipts tax authorization from the state Legislature

• The selling of city assets.

Lansford eschewed the final option, noting that he believes the city’s most attractive assets — its landfill and wastewater treatment plant — are also its most important revenue creators.

Members felt the mill levy increases were the best option to send to the full Clovis city commission, which must approve any final decisions. Haragan’s presentation showed options to fund debt service of $15 million, $20 million, $25 million and $35 million. Additional money would be set aside for the likely purchase of water from local ag producers.

If a debt service of $15 million were approved, the owner of a home valued at $100,000 would pay $51.80 more per year in property tax.

If the debt service were approved for $20 million, that tax hike would be $69.07 annually; $86.33 annually for $25 million and $120.87 annually for $35 million.

Board member Chet Spear, who also chairs the Curry County Commission, noted that it was bad optics when the commission went to voters unsuccessfully three times on funding jail renovations and then raised taxes anyway to pay for the renovations.

Spear abstained from the final vote, noting he didn’t feel approprate voting as a county commissioner on potential property taxes only Clovis residents would incur.

Commissioner Sandra Taylor-Sawyer understood that raising property taxes wouldn’t be a popular decision, but noted she shouldn’t be making decisions based on whether or not she’ll win re-election — a point on which fellow commissioners Chris Bryant and Fidel Madrid agreed.

“We’ve done studies and talked about it and done studies,” Taylor-Sawyer said. “It’s something we need to move forward with.

“We need to make decisions in the best interests of the future or our community.”

Regarding how the city of Portales would cover its portion of around $4 million, Lansford said the city owns its own water system and can raise a conservation fee it already has in place.