Two bills to help budget if passed

The state Legislature is close to passing two pieces of legislation that if signed by Gov. Susana Martinez will restructure the funding for law enforcement and fire departments, impacting the services they provide.

House Bill 4 was passed by both the House and Senate, and Senate Bill 111 is currently in the House Appropriations and Finance Committee. The bills are part of the state’s efforts to address the 2017 budget shortfall by sweeping funds from the law enforcement and fire protection funds.

“I am against House Bill 4 because of the impact it will have on law enforcement and fire departments state-wide,” said Mike Cherry, Quay County commissioner and former Tucumcari fire chief.

Cherry said the county’s 13 volunteer fire departments depend on the fire protection fund for their annual operating budget, with the funds being used for fuel, upkeep and purchase of equipment and the overall operation of each department.

“Departments across the state depend on these funds each year,” Cherry said. “Sweeping the funds will have a huge impact on first responder services.”

Cherry said the money allocated each year from the fund is collected from a tax on all fire insurance, including home owners insurance each year. He said normally the departments would receive a lump sum ranging from $80,000 to $150,000, depending on the department’s size and needs.

Cherry said $55 million will be swept from the fire protection fund and placed back into the state’s general fund even though the money may have been earmarked for another purpose by a department. He said many departments use the money to pay loans taken out for the purchase of equipment or vehicles. Many departments will take out the loan and pay it back with the allocation from the funds they anticipate to receive in June, Cherry added.

Cherry said some departments would receive permission from the state’s Department of Finance Authority to roll over some of the funding into the next year. He said this would help the departments make a major purchase that could include a new fire truck.

“Departments try to have some of that money in a reserve for the maintenance and upkeep of equipment,” Cherry said. “However, those excess cash balances could also be swept if the bill is approved.

Cherry said along with the sweep of the 2017 fire protection funds, the departments across the state will have to adjust their 2018 budgets to a new funding distribution system. Instead of receiving a lump sum, the departments will receive monthly allocations of the collected excise taxes. This means that departments may have to wait until the end of August, beginning of September to receive their July allocation from the fund, he said.

“The county is going to have to offset those operations cost for the departments during that time to ensure fire services are available,” Cherry said, adding that currently departments will be able to manage and respond to calls but if this form of funding continues, it will create safety issues in the years to follow.

“It’s going to affect the citizens of Quay County by impacting our ability to serve the residents,” said Russell Shafer, Quay County Sheriff.

Shafer said if signed, House Bill 4 will affect the sheriff’s department operations across the board, including its ability to purchase equipment for the deputies and pay for training. He said the law enforcement protection fund has been in use since the 70s and based on Quay County’s population, (less than 20,000) they received $24,200 annually that was not factored into the annual budget.

The sweep would return the $24,200 that was earmarked for Quay County and return it to the state’s general fund.

Shafer said a loss of these funds will be detrimental to rural agencies, because the funds don’t supplement the budget, but they help with the purchase of items. He said in the funding, $600 was allocated for each deputy to purchase new equipment like bullet proof vest and upgrade safety equipment. The sheriff’s department also replaced the emergency magnesium flares with led flares to prevent starting a wild fire. The fund also paid for additional training for the deputies, he said.

Shafer said to offset the loss of the funds, other line items and services will have to be cut from the budget.

“Law enforcement is being asked to do more with less,” Shafer said. “We have been working hard to be a proactive department with a visible presence in the county, and the state is making it harder for us to do that.”

Shafer said another fund that will be swept and will have a local impact is the E-911 fund.

“We are fortunate to have passed the dispatch tax in Quay County that will keep our local E-911 services operating,” Shafer said. “But when it comes to paying for repairs to the towers, equipment and upgrades to the system, we are not so fortunate.”

Shafer said the E-911 system has not been upgraded in five years but is due for an upgrade, according to the state's guidelines.

“The money that would pay for the upgrade and any repair cost for equipment will not be available,” Shafer said.