Walt Rubel Commentary: County asking for a blank check on bond

I suspect I’m like most voters in that I don’t usually pay as much attention to the bond issues as the other races on the ballot.

In general, I tend to support new investments into the community, especially when it comes to schools. But I don’t like writing a blank check. And I feel like that is what the county is requesting with one of its two bond issues this year.

Not Question 2, which calls for up to $35 million in bonds to update and renovate the County Fairgrounds, including conversion of the old speedway into an amphitheater. That’s an easy one for me. I think the fairgrounds are an underappreciated and underutilized asset, where a lot of buildings are starting to show their age. And, I think we have long needed a concert venue that is something between the Pan American Center and the Rio Grande Theatre.

It’s Question 1 where I feel like the county is asking for a blank check. It calls for up to $105 million in bonds for “recreational centers, community centers, parks, trails and water/wastewater systems.” Individually, I support all of those things. But before I sign the check, I’d like to know what I’m buying.

The county can’t tell me because they don’t know. Information on the county website explains that if the bond passes, “the Dona Ana County Commission will work with county departments and community input to finalize project priorities.”

So, they urgently need the money now, and then they’ll decide later what for? Maybe there will be upgrades to the senior center in the small community where you live; maybe not. It’s vote now and find out later.

There’s an awful lot of trust built into that equation. Volters are trusting the County Commission to earnestly seek public input, then honestly respond to the will of residents; rather than simply spend the money on pet projects that have been predetermined.

My trust in this County Commission has been shaken by its blatant disregard of public input on the Project Jupiter data center. That was rushed through against the will of residents and without a fraction of the study and deliberation needed for such a massive and potentially damaging change.

It’s easier for voters to support the school bonds each election because new bonds are replacing old ones that expire in the coming year. That means the bonds are “tax neutral.” If they pass, our taxes will stay the same.

That’s not the case for the county. They are asking for new bonds, which would require new taxes to support them. According to the county’s website, the average voter will pay an additional $15 a month in property taxes if the bond is approved.

That’s not much. But when you stack it on top of all the other taxes and fees paid to the county, it starts to add up. And for what? Nobody can tell us for sure,

Public infrastructure investment should not be like buying a box of Crackerjacks where you pay first then open the box to see what prize is inside.



Walter Rubel can be reached at [email protected] 

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