Clovis mayor says city must raise mill levy for pipeline

Clovis Mayor Mike Morris says the city needs to increase its mill levy by one to pay a share of the cost of constructing the Ute Pipeline, because the Ogallala Aquifer is running out of water.

Morris spoke at the June 16 commission meeting about the critical need for the Ute Pipeline, which would provide a sustainable source of drinking water to the city. He addressed the proposal to increase the residential and non-residential property tax.

Morris said in an interview Thursday that the need for the pipeline is “extremely critical. We depend upon the Ogallala Aquifer, which is in decline and being mined at a rate that is unsustainable. It has been for decades. It is extremely critical that we address our water challenges because the sole source of our water is the aquifer and it’s going away.”

At this time, the city depends solely upon this groundwater source in the aquifer, he said.

“Being committed to a renewable water source is critical,” he said. The Ute Pipeline will provide this renewable water source.

“Providing funding is available…we could complete construction of the pipeline by 2029,” Morris said, noting the federal government is expected to continue providing funding in Fiscal Years 23, 24 and 25.”

The federal government in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act last year approved $1 billion to fund rural water projects and “we will benefit from that,” he said.

The Ute Pipeline, which will extend from the Ute Reservoir near Logan, will carry drinking water to the communities of Clovis, Portales, Elida and the city of Texico. The cost of constructing the pipeline will be paid by a 75 percent contribution from the federal government, 15 percent from the state and 10 percent from the local communities.

At the Clovis city commission meeting, an ordinance to raise the mill levy by one to help pay the city of Clovis’ share was introduced and the commission will vote on whether to approve the levy at its July 7 meeting.

The levy will provide $15 million to pay a substantial portion of the 10 percent local share to pay for the pipeline, the mayor said. The ordinance would increase the mill levy by $1 per $1,000 of taxable property value. For the average home in Clovis this would amount to $44 additional property tax a year, according to Morris.

The Ute Reservoir was built in 1963 for the purpose of providing a sustainable water source to the communities in eastern New Mexico, Morris said.

“We have always understood we (city of Clovis) could not accomplish this on our own,” he said. “We always knew we needed federal help,” given the communities’ tax base is not sufficient.

In 1999, the leaders of the community created a plan to accomplish this, he said. Although the quarter of 1 percent of the gross receipts tax in Clovis has been paying towards this, it will not be enough to fund the city’s share of the local matching funds.

The plan was to inject a larger amount of money into the contribution from Clovis at the point “when and if” the federal government’s share reached $40 million and the state of New Mexico’s share came to $30 million, he said. That point has arrived.

Several members of the community provided public comment at the meeting. Many asked if there was another way to fund this share because the timing, with the onset of high inflation, would work a hardship on less affluent members of the community.

Some asked if the city could extend the quarter of a percent gross receipts tax to cover that amount, so that visitors to Clovis would contribute to the $15 million.

Cindy Francesca asked, “Why not increase the sales tax again?

Morris said the city only has about another quarter of a percent left it can raise, because state statute sets a limit on the tax. Currently it is at 8.1875 percent.

“How high would you like this?’ Morris asked.

Frank Dalton said some New Mexico communities which ran out of water turned into ghost towns. He said he would like to see more study done on this.

“There’s not something I spend more time on,” Morris said. “We meet frequently and have examined all options.”

Josefita Griego said Clovis has a lot of poverty. “A lot of people are going to suffer.”

The mayor explained that the city plans to borrow at a low rate the $15 million from the New Mexico Finance Authority. The quarter of a percent gross receipts tax, which funds the city’s fire and police services, will service the loan payment and the property tax increase will reimburse the gross receipts’ fund.

“Nobody wants to raise property taxes, but water sustainability is a must going forward,” Morris said.

The gross receipts fund in and of itself will not be enough to pay the city’s share of the cost of constructing the pipeline, he said.

District 4 City Commissioner Megan Palla said the decision to increase the tax has kept her awake at night, considering the timing of the tax in this inflationary period. But the city “committed to doing this in 2019.”

Mayor Pro Tem Chris Bryant said he has heard from many residents about their frustrations on this issue.

But, Bryant said: “I want to be assured our citizens, their children and grandchildren, have a sustainable water supply for the future.”