Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
PORTALES — By a 594-207 count, Portales voters authorized the city to expand the use of Local Economic Development dollars to attract businesses.
Results are unofficial until a Monday afternoon canvassing by the Roosevelt County Commission.
The mail-in ballots were counted Thursday night.
According to the ballot, the city will be authorized to consider “retail business, arts and cultural districts, and cultural facilities as being eligible to utilize revenues generated by the Municipal Local Options Gross Receipt Taxes Act.”
The ordinance previously was in place for communities with less than 10,000 in population, but expanded this year to include communities of less than 35,000 in population.
The ordinance specifies that new businesses being incentivized through the LEDA funds need to fill needs not already served in the community rather than creating competition with existing entities.
Prospective new businesses would be evaluated for their anticipated local economic impact, including job creation, in a five-year period before receiving funds.
The city mailed out about 5,900 ballots to registered voters, with about 500 coming back as either unsigned or undeliverable.
Roosevelt County Economic Development Director Bill Hendrickson said he was “excited about the possibilities,” which could include bolstering succession plans for businesses otherwise closing with their owners’ retirement.
“Here’s a use of funds that possibly could be used to entice somebody to take over the business,” he told The News. “I think if we’re trying to keep a business going so we don’t have another vacant storefront, that’s just one of the things that I’m looking forward to.”
Hendrickson said Portales was the first city in the state to approve expanding the use of its LEDA funds subsequent to eligibility being extended to slightly larger municipalities. He hopes for the new ordinance to go into effect July 1.
Results of the mail-in ballot will be made official when commissioners canvas the votes in a meeting 1 p.m. Monday at the Roosevelt County courthouse. The commission will then recess and reconvene at the county law enforcement complex to tour remodeled areas and review a requested door modification.