I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
Get ready for a bumpy ride. New Mexico’s roads may be a rough patch. Projected revenues for the State Road fund are between $340 million to $360 million for the year that ends June 30, state transportation officials told state lawmakers Tuesday.
New Mexico taps the State Road Fund to unlock federal dollars for major construction projects. The federal government generally assumes 80 percent of the cost of each transportation project. But first the state must put up a share, a so-called match, usually 10 percent of the project cost, to trigger the larger federal share.
Fewer state dollars to put up for matches could mean fewer federal dollars flowing into New Mexico.
Fewer state road dollars translates into fewer federal funds flowing into New Mexico for big construction projects, said state Rep. Patricia Lundstrom, D-Gallup, who follows transportation issues closely.
Overshadowed by the huge shortfall in the state budget, the New Mexico State Road fund’s challenges came into focus Tuesday, when state transportation officials presented state lawmakers with the sobering facts.
Projected revenues are considerably lower than the $400 million projected at the start of this fiscal year in July.
“It’s bad,” Lundstrom said Tuesday of the State Road Fund.
Funded by state taxes on gasoline and special fuels – diesel, the State Road fund, the State Road fund is major source of revenue for the state Department of Transportation. The fund, like the state budget, has suffered from declining tax revenues.
As a result, the state transportation department already has trimmed tens of millions of dollars in recent months as a response to the revenue shortfall, according to a 12-page presentation handed out to state lawmakers Tuesday.
Personnel costs were reduced in this fiscal year’s quarter by $5.3 million, pushing the department’s vacancy rate – the number of jobs that are unfilled – to 15 percent. Any additional cuts “risk reduction in services,” the report said.
That said, the presentation goes on to report that the transportation department is planning another $5 million in personnel costs.
Almost $14 million has been eliminated for contract maintenance expenses, according to the presentation.
In addition to cutting personnel, the department has cut money for equipment purchases and field supplies this year by roughly $5 million and $4.6 million, respectively, the presentation shows. And it is planning to cut another $1.2 million from equipment.
Lundstrom said the State Road fund’s problems are nothing new. Lundstrom and others have warned other officials of the coming funding shortage. The problem of declining tax revenues has been compounded by the cost increase in materials needed to maintain and build roads, including asphalt and concrete, she said.
