Commuter Rail Train Will Cost Residents Whether They Ride or Not

By Joshua Akers

Journal Staff Writer

Thursday, December 9, 2004

A commuter rail service is going to cost New Mexicans in the middle Rio Grande Valley whether they ride it or not.

Gov. Bill Richardson's planned commuter rail system will need to be fed tax money to run long term, but how much will be up to local officials and residents.

Mid Region Council of Governments executive director Lawrence Rael said Wednesday that maintaining phase one of the commuter rail service— from Belen to Bernalillo— might require a tax increase in the future.

A new state law allows local governments to increase gross-receipts taxes by up to a half-cent to pay for mass transit.

"We are not going to need a half-cent to run the commuter rail in phase one," Rael said. "We may use that mechanism, but we won't need a half-cent."

MRCOG, which is spearheading the commuter rail effort, is asking local governments from Belen to Bernalillo to join the Mid Region Transit District to maintain and improve the coming commuter rail line.

The ability of local governments to join together to create regional transit districts was established by the Legislature in 2003.

The North Central Regional Transit District was formed earlier this year to serve Santa Fe, Española, Los Alamos and many of the pueblos in the area.

In addition to rail, transit districts can manage almost any mass transit system, from buses to park-and-rides.

This year, lawmakers approved a bill allowing district members to increase gross-receipts taxes by up to a half-cent to pay for transit services.

"The services provided to local governments are services they want and that the RTD (regional transit district) can provide cheaper," said Chris Blewett, MRCOG's director of transportation and planning services. "How much it costs depends on what they (a city or county) want to get out of it and how much they want to put toward it."

The transit district itself has no taxing authority, and each member government would have to put a tax increase before the voters.

Bernalillo and Valencia counties, as well as Belen, Bosque Farms, Los Lunas and Los Ranchos, have all voted to approve a contract to join the Mid Region Transit District.

The district must still be approved by the state Department of Transportation; this is expected to occur in January.

Any government applying for membership after the district is formed must be approved by two-thirds of the district's members.

How much each member of the district will pay and whether tax increases will be necessary for that member will not be determined until they have chosen a level of service and the cost of that service has been determined.

Albuquerque, Bernalillo, Corrales and Sandoval County have yet to join the district. Rio Rancho city councilors were unanimous in turning down the district in September.

Albuquerque recently received the transit district contract and is researching the proposal, according to City Council staff.

The city approved negotiating the terms of the transit district with MRCOG earlier this spring.

The setup of a regional transit district is similar to regional flood boards such as the Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority. The governing board's authority would stretch over multiple municipal and county boundaries.

Member governments are given a set number of representatives on the board based on population size.

Under the current Mid Region Transit District contract, Albuquerque would have seven directors and the village of Los Lunas would have one.

MRCOG estimates that it will cost between $8 million and $12 million a year to run the commuter service between Belen and Bernalillo.

According to 2002 tax data prepared by the Legislative Council Service, a half-cent gross-receipts tax increase in Bernalillo County would bring in more than $10 million a year.

If one adds in all of Sandoval County at more than $2.6 million a year and Valencia County at more than $500,000, a train service could be run at the high-end estimate with about $1 million to spare.

The Legislature approved $75 million for the train earlier this year.

That money will pay for eight new stations, a maintenance yard, four engines, eight passenger cars and track and signal improvements along the 46-mile-long route between Belen and Bernalillo.

Last week, Sandoval County gave MRCOG $10 million for a train engine, two rail cars, a station in Bernalillo and track improvements.

In exchange for the cash, Sandoval County and cities within its borders won't pay anything for five years if they join the Mid Region Transit District.

MRCOG is working to acquire federal money to operate the train for the first three years. After that, it will be up to the members of the transit district.

Rail service between Belen and Bernalillo is expected to begin in November 2005. The second phase, from Belen to Santa Fe, could occur sometime in 2008.

"You won't see any RTD mandates of this or that. The RTD is the local government," Blewett said. "If a government joins and doesn't want a lot of mass transit, that's fine."