Las Cruces city officials encourage public to vote in $35.6 million GO bond

Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima encouraged the public to vote in the city’s $35.6 million GO bond when ballots are sent out Tuesday.

“We have a lot of people living in the community, with them they bring their children and we’re running out of places for them to play football, basketball, soccer,” Miyagishima said. “Also, our four-legged friends have an increased population as well.”

It will be the city’s first GO bond in nearly 25 years and the first mail-in ballot, the city reports.

“This is the first time where we’ve held an election where every voter will be voting at home,” said Doña Ana County Clerk Scott Krahling. “As the mayor said, every eligible voter will receive a ballot in the mail.”

The bond is comprised of four items:

$16.9 million for parks and recreational fields $9.8 million for a new stray animal and adoption center in addition to administration offices on the site of the existing facility. $6.2 million to replace Fire Station No. 3, which was built in 1967 $2.7 million walking jogging and biking trails.

If the bond passes, Las Cruces residents will see an increase in their property taxes, detailed below:

Full Value

Assesed Value

Annual Property Tax Increase

$100,000

$33,333

$70.00

$125,000

$41,667

$87.00

$150,000

$50,000

$105.00

$175,000

$58,333

$122.00

$200,000

$66,667

$140.00

“This kind of a loan from the general public to the city will cause a lot of people financial problems,” said Greg Shervanick, a concerned resident from Las Cruces. “It’s a spiral-type of financing in which the property-tax owners in the city have no control over the length of time (the projects will take).”

“These facilities will be built as quickly as possible,” the mayor said, adding that the city owns most of the property already. “The City of Las Cruces has a really good track record. In fact, one year, we built city hall, our aquatic center and the convention center within a two-year time frame.”

Residents can vote on each individual item, the mayor said. Krahling said in addition to the mail-in ballots, there will be accessible voting tablets at the government center to accommodate residents with visual disabilities or citizens without a home address.

Las Cruces residents have until 5 p.m. on Tuesday to register to vote in the election. Ballots must be mailed back or delivered in person by August 21st, Krahling said.

“We’ll get it done quickly and correctly,” the mayor said.