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Voting 'yes' on Las Cruces GO Bond questions will benefit community

Peter Goodman

Commentary:

Las Cruces voters will decide in November whether or not to approve $23 million in GO bonds.

I’ll vote “YES.” I recommend others do so. These bond issues benefit our community, at extremely small cost.

Here’s why (a) it isn’t the almost automatic “Yes” of prior years for me and (b) why I strongly recommend approval.

The$23 million includes $10M for a new firehouse, $2M for parks improvements, and $5M for the East Mesa Public Recreation Complex. More controversial is $6M for affordable housing. The new fire station will answer 900 calls a year and help the city maintain its ISO rating, which reflects how prepared a community is for fires. The station covers a rapidly growing district with nearly 4,000 buildings. The East Mesa funding will mostly for lights to facilitate evening games on various fields.

I’ll be honest. I’m an old guy trying to stay in shape, pickleball courts are insanely crowded, and if these GO Bonds would help with that, I’d be happy as a kid with a new Christmas bike. They won’t help. I’m pissed. Pickleball players lobbied hard and got stiffed. Pickleball courts get incredible usage.

But low-income folks who need affordable housing are in much worse shape than I. Further, the money can be re-used. It’ll go into the Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF), a revolving loan fund giving flexible, low-interest loans to qualifying borrowers. These loans only get approved if there are matching funds from the NM Mortgage Authority or other sources. Money we loan to Smith, we likely get back, with some interest, to loan to Jones or build with.

I worried that Mesilla Valley Public Housing Authority might run this. MVPHA failed to hire a manager for Desert Hope Apartments, then stonewalled reporters who asked serious questions. No public agency should be that arrogant.

But MVPHA won’t run this program. The City will, with an Advisory Committee looking over its shoulder, and public votes by City Council required for actions. MVPHA could be a grantee; but cooler heads note that the agency owns several other housing operations around town, apparently without making such blunders there. All projects will be competitively bid.

Affordable housing is an urgent matter. I disagree with folks who say it ain’t our business. It is. No, you or I didn’t create the problem;but the system we support and do okay under helped create the economic conditions that make buying a house so hard. So, sharing in on making things better seems right. And a higher percentage of homeowners improves a city. Affordable housing also creates local construction jobs and enhances community health and public safety.

Further, having neighborhoods with parks benefits us all, in many ways. GO Bonds are investments in Las Cruces. Low-cost investments.

People complain that the GO Bonds could jack up our taxes. They won’t. Rather, foregoing these GO Bonds would lead to a smaller allotment of our property tax going for debt service on the new bonds. While awaiting a straight answer from the City, my best guess is that the owner of a $200,000 home, paying $1500 in property taxes might save $80-$90 bucks annually if we vote “No,” ¼ attributable to the affordable housing.

If my $24 a year will help house someone – or several someones, they’re welcome to it. I’m delighted to help. Plus that fire station might help us save on home insurance – or even save lives!