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The Santa Fe County Board of County Commissioners has voted to withdraw from the North Central Regional Transit District (NCRTD).  “We believe there are better ways to provide for Santa Fe County’s transportation needs” said Commission Chair, Paul Campos.

Reasons behind the Board’s decision include the following:

• the NCRTD has not demonstrated a need for the substantial revenue that a gross receipts tax levy would generate;
• if operations of the Railrunner are ultimately funded from the gross receipts tax, the possibility exists that taxpayers in Santa Fe County will experience double taxation --- a gross receipts tax levy in favor of the NCRTD and a separate gross receipts tax levy to benefit the Railrunner project;
• transportation in Northern New Mexico would be governed by multiple jurisdictions with no assurance that those jurisdictions will work together to achieve a coherent and efficient transportation system;
• if the NCRTD's current proposal for a 1/8% gross receipts tax is approved by the voters, Santa Fe County residents will provide $4.6 million a year in tax revenue for the District but receive only $3.3 million in transit services, and the rest will be a subsidy for the other counties in the District;
• NCRTD has failed to provide compelling reasons for additional revenue and has failed to provide a concrete plan for improving its transportation services if the new levy is approved;
•  new taxes should only be undertaken if strictly necessary to serve a compelling governmental need;
• it would be more cost-effective for the County to contract directly for its transit service needs through entities such as the City of Santa Fe rather than through a third party;
• discussions between Santa Fe County and the City of Santa Fe have yielded promising alternatives to the proposal of the NCDRT to accomplish Santa Fe's transit needs;

County and City staff will continue to investigate other options to satisfy Santa Fe County's transit needs, including, but not limited to, creating a Santa Fe Regional Transit District with the City of Santa Fe through the Regional Planning Authority or other appropriate entity, undertaking intergovernmental agreements or transit service agreements to accomplish needed connections with the Rail Runner project with the City of Santa Fe, the New Mexico Department of Transportation, the Mid-Region Council of Governments (MRCOG), the Mid-Regional Regional Transit District or the North Central Regional Transit District, or any other appropriate options.

This decision will have no impact on any transportation services provided by Santa Fe County.  Decisions regarding possible collaboration with the City of Santa Fe and the details of the future of transportation in Santa Fe County will be made in the coming months.  Any new tax initiative will need to be passed by County residents before March of 2009.