T or C passes final budget for fiscal year 2026-2027
Nearly $84 million budget for a town with a population of 6,000 is a testament to infrastructure neglect and rising costs.
Read MoreT or C passes final budget for fiscal year 2026-2027
Up-fit of new police building is awarded to El Paso contractor
It's amazing how little money the city is spending on making the prior PNC Bank into a police building. That is largely thanks to City Manager Gary Whitehead, who digs out the best price using the design-build procurement method.
Sean Barnes settles with City of T or C
It must be tough and expensive to go up against the City of Truth or Consequences with its team of lawyers supplied by the New Mexico Municipal League's self-insurers fund, the city's insurer. Barnes settled for $45,000 and the city admitted no wrongdoing.
T or C’s development aspirations ignore water law and Texas v. New Mexico and Colorado at its peril
I wrongly assumed T or C had about 1,000 acre feet a year to parlay to attract development. The state lost a decade-long lawsuit to Texas and the city's unused water rights could be reclaimed, especially since it's wasting up to 47 percent of its water due to infrastructure neglect.
The uncertainty of water crisis and same water basics
Basic New Mexico water law will help you understand how the Settlement Agreement which ended the Texas v. New Mexico and Colorado lawsuit will affect your water use and your taxes.
Sierra County commissioners unanimously endorse 18-month moratorium to thwart data center at Spaceport America
Sierra County joins Santa Fe and Socorro counties with moratorium on new data centers before a record crowed at public hearing.
T or C’s water rights gives city a lot of say-so over development
The closure of the Hot Springs Basin three years ago has made Mark Twain's words even more applicable: "Whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting over." The city is not using about 1,000 acre feet a year of its water rights, making it a heavy weight.
Village of Williamsburg’s FY2027 budget is 90 percent capital projects
Can the village afford to take on so many capital projects? My analysis says "no," but the budget documents provided are scant.
4th G.O. bond issuance for water-wastewater-roads set for September
Residents approved $3 million in general obligation bonds in November 2022 that resulted in a new property tax of 3.50 mills. According to the city's website, interest and other charges will add $550,000 or 18.33 percent "interest." That's an expensive way to borrow, if correct.
Travelogue from Sichuan, China in 2009
Presentation this Wednesday July 8th at 6 pm at the Kingston Spit and Whittle Club.
In April 2009 , Bill & I had the good fortune to travel with a very small group of Belgians (9 people with Belgian guide) in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces on the edge of the Tibetan border.
Spaceport is still at the mother breast
Looks like the public is supporting a 21 year-old spaceport and still hoping it will reach adulthood, although it will likely take another 20 years to gain self-sufficiency, if ever. Does the public want to pay for a 41-year gestation period?
Texas v. NM Upshot
The settlement of Texas’ suit against New Mexico ended the legal proceedings that have so vaguely and abstractly hovered unnoticed over our lives, but the consequences of that settlement will be dominating our lives specifically, concretely (meaning economically), and most noticeably in the coming years.