Request to change West Side tax district OK’d
Approval comes despite some concerns
SANTA FE — The state Board of Finance narrowly agreed this week to loosen some of the restrictions it imposed on a developer that requested creation of a new tax district on Albuquerque’s West Side.
The approval came even after the board’s attorney expressed concern about the changes and called the request “problematic.”
Two top legislators — Rep. Patricia Lundstrom and Sen. John Arthur Smith, both Democrats — also objected to amending the deal, arguing that the changes required more analysis.
At issue is creation of a tax district that would allow about $51 million in future tax revenue to be diverted and used to reimburse Western Albuquerque Land Holdings, which would front the cost of roadway improvements around Interstate 40, near 98th and 118th streets.
Earlier this summer, the Board of Finance authorized the tax district, but with a series of conditions before the developer could be reimbursed, including construction of a $250 million medical center by Presbyterian.
The board on Tuesday voted 3-2 to reduce the required medical investment to $100 million. The board also loosened the criteria for what kinds of costs can count toward the $100 million.
Representatives for Western Albuquerque Land Holdings said they expect the medical center to be built in phases. The company, they said, shouldn’t have to wait until the construction hits $250 million before reimbursement is allowed, and the
deal wouldn’t go forward without the reduction, they said.
Presbyterian Healthcare Services, meanwhile, told the Board of Finance that it doesn’t plan to invest $250 million, but that $100 million is a reasonable expectation. Presbyterian, in a letter, gave no indication that it expects phases beyond that.
Albuquerque City Council President Ken Sanchez, who spoke in support of the request, said the city had based its own tax incentives for the project on the $100 million level. The tax district, he said, is essential for bringing much-needed jobs and medical services to neighborhoods west of the Rio Grande.
“Albuquerque’s West Side is in dire need of medical facilities,” he said.
But Assistant Attorney General Sally Malavé, who serves as the board’s legal counsel, questioned the changes. She told board members that the state economists who examined the deal had based their analysis on the developer’s projection that a $300 million medical center would be built.
And even at that level, she said, the economists had recommended rejecting the deal.
Malavé said the board was approaching the limits of its legal discretion by disregarding the economic analysis provided by state economists and relying on the assertions by the applicant.
“You’re just taking things at their word,” she said, “and I think it’s problematic.”
The majority of the board wasn’t convinced. Gov. Susana Martinez, a former prosecutor, suggested Malavé’s point went to the merits of a decision the board itself had to make, rather than representing legal advice.
And Martinez said the board routinely takes action after weighing materials submitted by applicants.
She joined board members Robert Aragon and Michael Brasher in favor.
Voting “no” were board members John Kormanik and Adelmo “Del” Archuleta.