Logan property tax rates to rise

Residents of Logan will see hikes in their property tax bills while those in the House area will see a decrease after Quay County commissioners on Monday approved rates for 2018.

Homeowners in Tucumcari will see a slight increase in their property taxes, while landowners in the Tucumcari area will see no change.

Janie Hoffman, chief deputy of the county assessor’s office, said Logan property-tax rates will rise about 38 cents per $1,000 assessed value.

She attributed the increase to a collapse in lot values for the lawsuit-embroiled Ute Lake Ranch Subdivision. She said lots in that subdivision once sold for $100,000. Recent lot sales were closer to the $5,000 to $6,500 range.

Hoffman said House property tax rates will fall about 50 cents per $1,000 assessed value because the school district recently paid off bonds and retired its debt.

Hoffman said rates for Tucumcari nonresidential property will remain the same, while residential rates would rise 12 cents per $1,000 assessed value.

She said Quay County was assessed at nearly $213 million, an increase of $2.27 million from the previous year.

In other business:

• Commissioners approved a capital appropriation of $225,000 for renovations at the Quay County Detention Center in Tucumcari.

Detention Center Administrator T.J. Rich told the commissioners the facility was 30 years old and “starting to show wear.”

As renovations are being performed, Rich said jail officials may transport female inmates to another facility at a cost of about $65 a day in the short term and move male inmates into the vacated space.

Rich said he also would talk to judges and the district attorney’s office about the possibility of house arrest and electronic ankle monitors for a few female inmates to reduce costs during the renovations.

Rich said there was no timetable on when jail renovations would begin.

n Commissioners approved a cost-of-care agreement with Bernalillo County at $165 a day for juvenile inmates. Rich said the pact was necessary because Taos County recently “shut down” its facility and the Curry County facility was full. Quay County has juvenile-detention agreements with Chavez and Santa Fe counties, but Rich said he wanted another option.

n Commissioners approved terminating a franchise agreement with Comcast.

Plateau Telecommunications announced last week it will purchase Comcast’s assets in the Tucumcari market. The franchise agreement with Comcast covered “a few customers” outside Tucumcari city limits, county manager Richard Primrose said. He said the purchase won’t affect the service of existing Comcast customers.

n County Clerk Ellen White said an effort by New Mexico’s secretary of state to reimpose straight-ticket voting would be “detrimental” to passage of the county’s hospital tax extension in November. She said she feared straight-ticket voters would ignore voting on the hospital measure, which provides $200,000 a year to Dr. Dan C. Trigg Memorial Hospital in Tucumcari. The New Mexico Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments this week on whether straight-ticket voting’s return to the ballot is constitutional.

n Commissioners approved grant proposals for the Bard-Endee, Porter and Fire No. 1 fire departments. Bard-Endee is applying for $100,000 grant to help buy a new pumper truck. Porter is applying for $50,000 to buy new equipment. Fire No. 1, on Tucumcari’s west side, is applying for $100,000 to expand its fire station for office and training space.

n Commissioners discussed a proposed legal agreement with Rawhide Days organizers and made minor revisions to it. It would allow the county to waive fees for the annual festival’s use of the fairgrounds in exchange for a $1,000 deposit. Organizers also are considering a license that would allow alcohol sales on a section of the fairgrounds during the event.

n Primrose said road repairs on County Road AI will be finished by the end of this week. The road, which often is used by truckers to access Interstate 40 from U.S. 54, has been closed except for residents’ use.