A press conference was held today by Power Up Bernco in support of County Commissioner Barbara Baca’s resolution linking Bernalillo County’s economic development incentives to local job creation, small business investment and community benefits. The resolution requires that companies receiving public subsidies show how they will invest in the local workforce, support small businesses and protect the environment. District 3 County Commissioner Adriann Barboa talked about the significance of the resolution, “this will provide a rubric so that those tax breaks can line up with our other strategies, how we’re thinking about our long-term investments, what we’re building, what’s needed, we want to be able to keep up with the moving economic development trends.” The resolution also creates a Community Benefits Fund whereby companies contribute at least five percent of their tax savings through payments in lieu of taxes. The fund would help pay for workforce training, small business support and environmental priorities. Opponents of the resolution claim it would be a job killer. Commissioner Barboa replied, “everyone knows that NM is valuable. We are a place of innovation, of science, of creation, so to say that people are not going to want to come here because we’re asking them to actually invest in our communities, is absolutely ridiculous.” The Bernalillo County Commission will meet tonight to discuss the resolution.
