Voters in the Ciudad Soil and Water Conservation District are deciding on a proposed mill levy in the general election. If passed, the levy could generate up to $6 million annually to fund conservation programs aimed at protecting natural resources.
The district covers nearly half the state’s population and the question appears on Bernalillo, Sandoval and Santa Fe county ballots. The mill levy would help safeguard drinking water quality and waterway health, reduce wildfire risk in the Sandia and Manzano forests, restore habitats along the Rio Grande, promote healthy soil practices, conserve open spaces, and provide education for natural resources.
“We have, for our entire existence as a conservation district, been dependent on grant money, intergovernmental agreements with counties and cities to get our job done,” said Steven Glass, chair of the Ciudad Soil and Water Conservation District. “That’s what the mill levy is all about, providing us with a reliable annual income that we can budget and be confident that we can keep our programs going, even if the grants disappear, even if the interagency agreements fall apart, we can keep these great programs we have on the ground going.”
According to Glass, the 0.25 mill levy would result in approximately $16 annually in property taxes for the average homeowner, based on a taxable property value of $160,000 within the conservation district’s boundaries, which include Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Corrales and a portion of Bernalillo.
Although the maximum the levy can generate is $6 million, according to Glass, the board plans to initially avoid levying the maximum amount, opting to assess their income needs and management capabilities first. They will have the option to adjust the mill levy each year by submitting a resolution to the Soil and Water Conservation Commission, which will provide flexibility to meet its evolving needs.
Established in 1944, the Ciudad Soil and Water Conservation District is one of 47 such districts in New Mexico. It spans most of Bernalillo County, a portion of Southern Sandoval County and a small portion of Santa Fe County, covering about 918,000 acres. Approximate boundaries are the Laguna Indian Reservation on the west, Isleta Indian Reservation on the south, State Highway 217 on the east, and State Highway 550 and the Bernalillo/Sandoval County line on the north and northeast. Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, multiple Land Grants, and the villages of Corrales, Los Ranchos, Tijeras and other East Mountain communities are all located within the district’s boundaries. Tijeras Canyon, which bisects the two mountain ranges via I-40 and Route 66, acts as the gateway between eastern plains and the Rio Grande Valley.