Sandoval County Board of Finance meets at 5:30 p.m. followed by the commissioner’s regular board meeting at 6 p.m. today in the County Commission Chambers, Bernalillo.
Commission on Senior Affairs at 10 a.m. today in the Placitas Senior Center.
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Community meeting led by Mayor Tom Swisstack from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. today at Mountain View Middle School, 4101 Montreal Loop (Council District 6).
Rio Rancho Public School Board members meet at 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 25 at the district’s board office, 500 Laser Road.
The Rio Rancho Capital Improvement Plan Citizen’s Advisory Committee meets at 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 25 at City Hall, 3200 Civic Center Circle.
Community meeting led by Mayor Tom Swisstack from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 26 at Colinas Del Norte Elementary School, 1001 23rd Ave. (Council District 3).
Rio Rancho Planning and Zoning Board members meet at 6 p.m. on Aug. 26 at City Hall, 3200 Civic Center Circle.
Rio Rancho Governing Body members meet at 6 p.m. on Aug. 27 at City Hall, 3200 Civic Center Circle.
County Planning and Zoning Commission meeting at 6 p.m. on Aug. 28 in the County Commission Chambers, Bernalillo.
Paseo del Volcan
community meeting
A public meeting to discuss the city’s Paseo del Volcan Extension Project will take place on Aug. 28 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Vista Grande Elementary School, 7001 Chayote Road NE off of Enchanted Hills Boulevard. At this meeting staff from the City of Rio Rancho Public Works Department, New Mexico Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, and project consultant HDR Engineering will provide information about this project and answer questions from those in attendance. For information about this project please visit www.ci.rio-rancho.nm.us/pdvextension.
Erosion Control Community Workshop viewing
An Erosion Control Community Workshop video is now available online via the city’s Web site at www.ci.rio-rancho.nm.us/rioranchouniversity. It is also airing on the city’s RioVision cable channels 15 and 22, and is available for check-out at both the Loma Colorado Main Library and Esther Bone Memorial Library. District 4 City Councilor Steve Shaw, District 6 City Councilor Kathy Colley, the Southern Sandoval County Arroyo Flood Control Authority, Chamiza Estates Neighborhood Association, and the Los Rios Neighborhood Association sponsored this free workshop, which took place this past June. Presentations by professionals in the field of erosion control, capturing rain water, and tours of homes in Rio Rancho are featured. RioVision is available to Rio Rancho Cable One subscribers. The workshop and home tours air on cable channel 15 Saturday through Thursday at 10:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m., and 9:30 p.m. daily. On Fridays, this content airs at 3:30 p.m. only. Cable channel 22 is programmed to run the home tours every day at 12:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Saturday at 1:30 p.m., Sunday at 11:00 a.m., Tuesday at 7:00 a.m., Thursday at 11:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. (workshop only), and Fridays at 10:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. This content is part of the city’s Rio Rancho University online video series. Edit House Productions, LLC produced the video content that is now available.
A little extra money
New Mexico state senators unanimously voted to give $55 million back to taxpayers to give them relief from high energy and food costs or for whatever they want to spend it on. The $55 million comes from a one-time surplus the state is projected to receive from the taxes on the high costs of oil and gas in the state.
But as the price of oil and gas continued to trend downward in recent days, the surplus projection was reduced. As a result, the Senate changed SB 24, Refundable Personal Income Tax Credit, from a rebate of $120.5 million to $55.8 million.
“Returning money to taxpayers when the state has a surplus because it has taxed too much is always a good idea,” Sen. John Ryan, R-Albuquerque, said. “I have proposed in another piece of legislation that we give back any surplus automatically to taxpayers if we collect over $100 million dollars over the budget. This is a good start. I hope we can consider the merits of returning the money automatically without having a special session.”
According to the bill, taxpayers whose adjusted gross income on their tax returns last year was less than $30,000 would receive a $50 rebate check. Those earning between $30,000 and $40,000 would receive $40, and those between $50,000 and $70,000 would receive a $25 rebate check. Approximately 18 percent of all tax filers whose adjusted gross incomes over $70,000 would not receive a check.
The cost of processing and sending the checks is expected to be one million dollars.
Sen. Rawson amends bill to include help for doctors
Senate Minority Whip Leonard Lee Rawson, R-Albuquerque, was successful in amending a House bill regarding electronic medical records to help physicians pay for the additional costs over five years. On a vote of 22 to 16, the Senate adopted Rawson’s amendment to provide a tax credit for the cost of the new electronic equipment as one way to compensate doctors, especially those along the border, who treat patients who cannot pay their bills.
“There is a tremendous amount of uncompensated care along the border,” Rawson said. “There are many doctors, especially those in and around Las Cruces, who treat patients but are not paid for their services when the patients cannot pay their bills. This will help our doctors out who help so many for free.”
Starting next year, if it passes the House and the governor signs, a physician who has purchased and uses equipment to transmit medial files electronically may claim a tax credit for the amount of the cost of the equipment. The credit can be deducted from the income tax liability over five years, with the maximum credit to be claimed not to exceed $5,000 in any one year. The tax credit would be limited to an amount of the value of uncompensated medical care provided by the physician in the taxable year. The credit would cover the cost of equipment, programs and licensing fees.
More money devoted to children’s healthcare
The New Mexico State Senate voted 38 to one to put $32.5 million more dollars into health care in New Mexico for kids, of the $32 million, $20 million will go to Medicaid for low-income families, and $10 million will go for services for developmentally disabled children and $2.5 million for behavioral health services. The bill the Senate passed is simple. It puts more money into health care programs for children, the disabled and those with behavioral health issues. Children will benefit when their parents sign them up.
“This is a wise use of the budget surplus,” Sen. John Ryan, R-Albuquerque, said. “I am pleased we have addressed some needs by adding money to ensure kids and people with disabilities and those with behavioral health issues get help.
I want New Mexico children to benefit from health care insurance,” Senator H. Diane Snyder, R-Albuquerque, said. “Today the Senate voted nearly unanimously to put millions more into health care that will benefit New Mexico children.”
“New Mexico is fortunate to be in a position to direct money into health care for more children,” Sen. Sue Wilson Beffort, R- Sandia Park, said. “Because our surplus continues to cause us concern, we have needed to exercise prudence on more sweeping expansion.”
Regarding reducing the number of kids waiting for service on the Developmentally Disabled Waiver list, information from the Legislative Finance Committee suggests 160 kids would be served while the HSD reports up to 450 kids would be served by the $10 million additional dollars for the disabled.
“We have over 4,000 kids on a developmentally disabled waiting list,” Senator Joe Carraro, R- Albuquerque, said “Many of these families have the most desperate needs. Any help we can afford to assist these families is long overdue,”
The lone senator who voted against the bill was Sen. Bill Sharer, R-Farmington. “There is no emergency. There is not a reason for us to pass legislation at this time. The Special Session was a waste of the taxpayers’ money.”
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