The activities of the Capital Projects Program are grouped into the two following main functions:

Capital Project Management

  • Long range capital project planning, capital funding and grants management, capital projects implementation and lease management.

Capital Project Delivery

  • Implementing the design and construction of County infrastructure including roads, buildings, and water and wastewater facilities.

Sources of Capital Funds

County Sources

  • General Obligation Bonds (property tax-funded)
  • ¼ cent Capital Outlay Gross Receipts Tax
  • Assessment Districts

State and Federal Sources

  •  Annual Capital Outlay Billpassed by the New Mexico (NM) Legislature and signed into law by the Governor. 
  • NM Water Trust Board
  • NM Environment Department
  • NM Department of Transportation
  • Federal Community Development Block Grants(CDBG)

The 2 Largest Funding Sources for County Capital Projects

Capital Outlay Gross Receipts Tax

  • Generates approximately $8 million per year for projects.
  • FY 2013 -14 - $33 million is available including unused funds from prior years.

General Obligation Bonds

  • GO Bonds are paid for with property tax revenue and the bond cycle is every 4 years.
  • In November 2012, voters approved 3 Bond Questions including: $19 million for roads; $10 million for water and wastewater infrastructure; and $6 million for open space, trails, and parks

Identifying Capital Needs- The Infrastructure Capital Improvements Plan (ICIP)

The ICIP is developed through the following avenues of public input:

  • Town hall and community meetings, citizen committees such as the Road Advisory Committeeand in the future the new Capital Improvements Advisory Committee.
  • Board of County Commissioners bi-monthly meetings and Commissioners’ individual meetings with constituents.
  • A County-wide survey conducted in 2010 ranked citizen priorities in this order:  (1) Roads, (2) Water supply, and (3) Parks and recreation services.
  • Constituent interaction with County staff and suggestions received via this web site.

Prioritizing Projects

  • Public Works maintains a Master Listof potential Capital Projects gathered from the public input process discussed above. Currently the Master Listcontains over 230 projects totaling over $220 million.
  • The County Commission works with County staff each year to prioritize capital requests as part of the County’s ICIP submission to the NM Department of Finance and Administration (DFA).  The County’s submission is due annually by September 30 in order to be considered for capital outlay funding by the NM Legislature and Governor as part of DFA’ s Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan(ICIP).

Resolution No. 2013-73 – Establishing the Capital Improvements Advisory Committee Consisting Of At Least Five Members To Assist In The Establishment Of Impact Fees For Implementation Of The County’s Capital Improvements Plan As Part Of The Sustainable Land Development Code’s Requirements (PDF)

We need your input! Do you have a capital project need in your area? Complete this form and send it back to us!

Click Here to download and fill out the Capital Project Form (Microsoft Word format)