Las Cruces voters approve GRT hike

The voters of Las Cruces approved an increase in gross receipts taxes that officials promoted as a needed source of revenue to cover gaps in Las Cruces infrastructure and public safety. 

Preliminary election results show that 23,845 Las Crucesens voted for the increase and 19,264 voted against the measure that raised GRT by about 32 cents for every $100 spent. 

The added revenue, which the city expects to be about $11 million per year, came as part of a push from a retooled Las Cruces City Council and new city manager who have used previously untapped sources of revenue to reduce a backlog of infrastructure projects.

Most notably, the council voted to spend a large portion of the Telshor Fund, a pool of cash received from a lease agreement between the city and Memorial Medical Center. The money was restricted to public health-related causes; but that was a one-time expenditure. As part of that proposal, City Manager Ikani Taumoepeau and Deputy Economic Development Director Chris Faivre suggested raising GRT to create a recurring source of cash. 

City councilors told the Bulletin in October that the money would be used to fund a variety of public health and public safety initiatives but would not be limited to a specific project. The council would have to pass an ordinance that outlined how and when the money could be used. 

With the passage of the GRT question, the council can further increase taxes by 21 cents for every $100 spent. This would not require a vote of the residents. Instead, the council could approve this with a majority vote of its members. However, when councilors spoke to the Bulletin in October, most suggested this was not something they wanted to pursue or that it was entirely off the table.