TIDDs

A bill that would allow a tax district in Las Cruces to issue tax-exempt bonds to help pay for revitalizing downtown cleared the Senate unanimously Monday morning.
The bonds would be backed by future state and local tax proceeds.

Political scandals, former elected officials getting indicted, electoral surprises and an occasional David toppling a Goliath–2009 had it all.

The development community appears to be targeting two of its most vocal opponents on the city council in hopes of gaining a development-friendly board, two Albuquerque city councilors charged Wednesday. Westland Development Co., a subsidiary of SunCal, has spent at least $10,000 on the race.

A large developer hoping to finance a huge mixed-used development on the Albuquerque’s West Side—with bonds based on future tax proceeds—is targeting its most vocal opponent on the City Council. A mailer sent to District 5 voters this week criticizes City Councilor Michael Cadigan, who is seeking re-election. Cadigan is a longtime, vocal opponent of the tax-proceeds scheme — called TIDDs for short — by which SunCal, the developer, hopes to pay for roads, water lines and other infrastructure for the development.

Rey Garduno just sent out a news release announcing that he will ask the Albuquerque City Council to pull his his bill out of the Finance and Government Operations Committee and put it on the agenda for tonight’s meeting. The bill would require the city to post on the Web detailed information about city contracts, IRBs, [...]

Veteran state lawmaker Rep. Mimi Stewart told Clearly New Mexico that the full extent of the campaign by Westland Development to pass the SunCal tax-increment development district, or TIDD, may never be known. Westland reported spending more than $230,000 on an advertising campaign promoting the TIDD.
“I think they spent a lot more than that. Because [...]

Gov. Bill Richardson is saying he is “seriously considering” making two failed proposals to leverage future taxes against future development a part of his agenda for a proposed special session this fall.

SunCal Corp. has filed a “lobbying advertising campaign” report with the New Mexico secretary of state, detailing $232,540 in advertising costs the company incurred to promote its legislative priorities during the session.
As was widely reported during the session, the company undertook a massive advertising campaign in support of its quest to obtain a tax increment [...]

Developers who want to convert Albuquerque’s dreary Winrock Mall into a showcase of New Urbanism, where people live, shop and work, got a big boost Wednesday.
Gov. Bill Richardson signed into law a bill authorizing $137 million in public bonds that will provide the developers money upfront to help pay for the infrastructure for Winrock Town [...]

Reporters and guests live blogged from the House Friday, lasting until after 3 a.m. Saturday. A stem cell research bill and the SunCal tax increment development districts (TIDDS) failed, while a TIDD for Winrock and campaign contribution limits passed. Read the details in the transcript by clicking on the headline.

The Santa Fe City Council approved a new ordinance allowing red-light cameras in the City Different, The Santa Fe New Mexican reports. A last-minute effort was defeated to amend the ordinance to make it easier for the city to cancel the program. The city can enter into a contract with a private firm to [...]

The state Senate just passed a bill by a vote of 29 to 9 to allow Westland Dev. Co. to issue tax-exempt bonds secured by 50 percent of state gross receipts tax revenue, 30.77 percent of Bernalillo County GRT, and 10 percent of county property taxes generated within Tax Increment Districts 2, 3, 4, and [...]

Getting something for nothing is always an attractive notion. But if the housing bubble and the Bernie Madoff scandal have taught us anything, it is that there are hidden costs to “free” money.

Two new development districts have been created to subsidize developments at Albuquerque’s Winrock mall location and in downtown Las Cruces — the first such districts created in city centers. But how much the move will cost the state remains unclear.

But Albuquerque and New Mexico needs to do some old fashioned, grassroots, bottom up planning. When Forbes magazine last week ranked Albuquerque fifth in the nation in requests for Obama’s New Deal economic stimulus package, it was news to most folks in the state. Five days later, the Journal, in a solid copyrighted piece by Dan McKay ran a list of the proposed projects that Forbes said would cost $2.3 billion and create an estimated 5,181 jobs.