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Steve Brockett is mayor of Alamogordo
In March of this year Gov. Bill Richardson announced that the state was providing $200,000 in economic incentive money to PreCheck, an Alamogordo company that performs background and credential checks for candidates that apply for jobs with health care companies nationwide.
PreCheck first came to Alamogordo in 2006 following a national search for a new home for their emergency backup data center. After much work by the governor, the state Department of Economic Development and the City of Alamogordo and its citizens, we were fortunate to be chosen to be that location. PreCheck has been and continues to be an excellent corporate partner for this community. They have built a multi-million dollar data center here and brought 40 new, well-paid jobs to a city that really appreciates them.
PreCheck now plans to relocate its entire corporate headquarters from Houston to Alamogordo. They will add 75 new employees during the next six months and several hundred more during the next two years. To help facilitate this opportunity for economic development, the state will try to provide $200,000 in capital outlay for next year, and the city will pay a total of $675,000 in incentives over the next 10 years if the company meets or exceeds mandated, pre-defined annual job goals for hiring and retention.
Alamogordo’s money for this jobs incentive program comes from a local gross receipts tax increment approved by Alamogordo voters several years ago that is designated specifically for economic development. This GRT cannot be used for any other purpose, per state law.
This may not be a big deal to larger communities in our state, or even smaller ones not dependent on the federal government, Holloman Air Force Base being the economic engine that fuels our local economy.
But it is certainly a big deal to us, and this GRT has been an excellent tool for bringing much needed employment to Alamogordo, including 1-800Flowers.com. I also would like to point out that this self-imposed, locally paid Alamogordo GRT benefits all New Mexico citizens because PreCheck and its employees pay state income and state gross receipts taxes that go directly into the state general fund.
Despite all of this, New Mexico political blogger Joe Monahan has found reason to take issue with PreCheck, the City of Alamogordo and Gov. Richardson. A bit of background is in order.
On March 17 the Alamogordo City Commission was asked by city staff to address a projected $650,000 budget shortfall, caused by declining general gross receipts taxes that fund more than 60 percent of city operations. This is the same situation that many other communities in our state, including Albuquerque and Santa Fe, find themselves in because of the economic downturn. Two of several cost-cutting options staff presented to us were layoffs and furloughs of municipal employees. Following lengthy discussion the commission tossed the recommendations back to staff, directing them to come up with other solutions. We then scheduled a follow-up meeting on April 7.
The next day the Alamogordo Daily News offered this headline in its lead story: ”Alamogordo Broke.” The following week on March 24 Monahan provided this on his blog site.
The Guv was boasting of a job expansion at Alamogordo as the session drew to a close. It was for PreCheck, a company that does background checks for prospective employees of health care companies. He says the firm’s expansion of its corporate headquarters to Alamogordo where it operates a call center will add 75 employees in the next six months and several hundred employees in the next two years. The company currently employs 40 at Alamogordo.
The state is putting up $200,000 to enable the expansion this year and hoping for another $200,000 in capital outlay for next year. When the company first located to NM, the Governor pledged $1.5 million in capital outlay to help. Also, in 2006, the city of Alamogordo gave the company $100,000 in cash and promised a total of $650,000 over five years.
Now comes word that the city of Alamogordo is going broke and looking at laying off employees as the economic recession takes hold in the SE NM county. Not that the cash appropriations to PreCheck are responsible, but it is a glaring case of how public officials set priorities.
The Guv’s office said the new PreCheck jobs will be high-paying. That’s a matter of definition. We checked with the company and were told most of the new jobs will be for reference checkers who work in the Alamogordo call center and make between $11 and $13 an hour.
By the way, officers and employees of PreCheck gave $11,700 to Big Bill’s presidential campaign.
On April 7, the city commission held the special meeting and voted to freeze existing vacant positions, reimburse the general fund for a street project subsidy, and reduce hours slightly at the library and family recreation center during off-peak hours in order to cut costs and make up the budget shortfall. We, to put it in Monahan’s own words, “set our priorities” and not a single municipal employee was given the pink slip.
Most governing bodies around the state have had to make difficult decisions that affect the livelihoods of municipal workers, and like them we may have to seriously consider layoffs and furloughs next year if the economy does not improve. But our recent action makes it clear that we fully support our outstanding city employees, both union and non-represented.
The Alamogordo Daily News headline didn’t surprise me; they have to peddle papers so they don’t have to lay off or furlough any more employees like so many other newspapers around the country have done. But Monahan’s belittling of PreCheck salaries and jobs (in Alamogordo and many other places around the state, $11 to $13 per hour plus benefits and a steady job are viewed well), the implication that our group of volunteer public servants (you’d laugh at the pittance we make per month) favor a local business at the expense of municipal employees and their families, and the innuendo that somehow PreCheck’s contribution to Bill Richardson’s presidential campaign factors in to all of this is disingenuous.
I recently sent Monahan the above information, and this is what he served up on his blog of April 15:
Back to Alamogordo again today where we have been going back and forth with Mayor Steve Brockett over that city’s cash outlay of over $650,000 to help call center PreCheck set up shop several years ago. The SE city now faces a budget deficit that could mean layoffs of city workers. In light of that, was the PreCheck deal a bad deal for the city? Brockett has now responded:
‘The incentive expenditure to PreCheck is actually $675,000 — if all job audits are met during a five-year period… The money comes from a gross receipts tax passed by local voters, specific to economic development. Money collected through this tax can be used only for this purpose. The budget shortfall came about as a result of declining gross receipts taxes that are not earmarked for specific purposes, and these taxes support more than 60 per cent of city operations. In short, PreCheck and the city budget shortfall have nothing to do with one another….’
Thanks, Mayor. PreCheck and the city budget shortfall may not be directly related, but we think this illustrates how New Mexico has to be careful when putting up big bucks to attract private companies. You can bet there are Alamogordo city workers clinging to their jobs who wish more of the gross receipts tax there was going directly into city coffers, not a profitable private company.
Monahan edited out a considerable portion of my response to him and published only a selected, small part of it, and then proceeded to conclude, in the face of the facts, that his own opinions ruled the day.
My personal belief is he is playing “Gotcha!” with Gov. Richardson by questioning and criticizing our economic development incentive and the largest company this program has ever brought to our community. That is an insult to my city, our citizens, PreCheck and all seven members of the governing body.
Must be good to never have to explain anything to an editor.
This city is not perfect, and neither is its mayor. We continue to face unique challenges as we attempt to grow our economy. But I will continue to do what I can in order to achieve economic development for this community, as well as provide our municipal employees piece of mind, a “glaring case” of concern shared by my fellow elected officials.
I also recognize that we’re small on the vast landscape called Monahan. That is understandable. I’ll continue to read Monahan. Like me, every now and again he gets it right. Just not this time.
So, here’s my challenge, Mr. Monahan: Link this commentary to your Web site and set the record straight with all of the facts, which you have declined to do so far.
If you are indeed the fair minded journalist you claim to be, this should be easy for you.
I’ll be watching and waiting.
