Grants, if they come through, may avert the need to impose higher rates. The city already increases wastewater rates by 5 percent and water rates by the amount of the Consumer Price Index every year in July. Even greater increases may not be needed.
Are you alarmed by rate increases in your city bill? Wait until you see the new ones proposed.
Different government agencies' grants/loans come with different requirements and costs/rewards that the city commission doesn't consider--at least not in public--which is the only place that counts.
A grant application for the parking lot renovation and solar-panel-covered parking canopy has been submitted, but more money is needed for the interior renovation.
T or C Mayor Rolf Hechler claimed it was morally if not legally right to break a law and he'd do it again in response to a pending ruling from the court. The divine right of kings is resurgent for this local leader voted in three times so far.
The larger issue is the city commission's disregard for the democratic principal of equality under the law.
Capital outlay money from state legislators or the governor comes with the least oversight and strings. Grants from U.S. legislators are nearly as hassle free. The city manager and more city commissioners participated in lobbying this year, receiving about one-third of what was requested from state legislators.
The city's electric system was milked of its excess cash for many years, but proved to be better maintained than the water and wastewater systems, a recent study showed.
The following description of an oil spill by a guest contributor is submitted anonymously by me, Kathleen Sloan, because this person fears retribution and violence, which has already been threatened.
T or C residents were clear, but city commissioners left it open whether the city will join the proposed private business/government alliance.
In addressing many years of neglect of its infrastructure, the City of Truth or Consequences is faced with a herculean task not unlike building the pyramids. The capital projects pipeline is long, with big projects taking five years or so…
Talon Septic, owned by Mark Shipley, has a discharge permit to dispose of 600 gallons a day of "domestic septage" on city land at the municipal airport, which the NMED will re-permit every five years. The city's 30-year lease will also be reviewed every five years.