Missed Deadline To Cost Socorro Thousands
EL PASO, TX – An ABC-7 I-Team investigation uncovered a bureaucratic oversight that will cost the city of Socorro thousands of dollars.
Socorro Mayor Trini Lopez has admitted the city failed to meet the deadline to file it’s budget. The city was supposed to have it’s budget filed with the county tax office on september 15th but did not do so until the 30th.
The city will now be forced to cut the tax rate it collects on properties. It may be good news for property owners but it is bad news for the city government.
Lopez says, that under state law, the city has had to slash it’s property tax for the fiscal year running from October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2008. The rate dropped from nearly 49 cents to 45 cents per$100,000of valuation.
City leaders estimate Socorro will lose out on close to $476,000 in uncollected revenue over the next fiscal year. Officials say the city’s annual budget is only about $6-million.
“That’s a lot of money for the city of Socorro … money is important if we want to provide better services to the city,” says Lopez, “if I don’t have money, I can do nothing.”
According to Lopez, residents are most likely to see the effects of the budget shortfall when it comes to paving and maintaining roads.
Arlene Perales, a Socorro resident, tells ABC-7 city leaders should never have to be in their current position. “They should have somebody else that is more responsible,” she says.
Lopez tell ABC-7 the budget has since been filed – but there is no way now to restore the lost revenue. City officials will have to keep an eye on expenditures to make up for the lost funds, he says. “We can make it up. I hope so.”
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Written and reported for broadcast by Martin Bartlett
Written for the web by Joe Villasana
