Booming industry rains cash on Hobbs

HOBBS, N.M. (KRQE) - It's one of the biggest money makers in the state, and the oil and gas industry is doing a lot for one southeastern New Mexico community.

KRQE News 13 learned where all that extra money is going and how it's saving taxpayers a lot of money.

City officials in Hobbs will tell you the oil and gas industries are the foundation of their booming economy, and they're bringing in a lot of extra cash for the city.

"Just a multitude of things that when you're having a high windfall profit year, that you can be able to do the capital projects with those increased tax revenues," explained Hobbs Finance Director Toby Spears.

With a $134 million budget, Hobbs has set aside $10 million for beautification projects. Nearly $5 million is set aside for sewer line replacements and $700,000 for park surveillance projects.

This year, construction is also in place on an extra 80 acres at Del Norte Park. The park work is a $4.2 million project, said to last about three years, and Spears said they're adding lots of things including tennis courts, lighting, soccer fields, a dog run and even an amphitheater.

"We also have about $2 million in equipment and vehicle replacements for fire department, police department and parks department," Spears said.

"There's also been master planning in the works for a multitude of years that are coming to fruition now because of an increase in GRT," Spears said referring to the state gross receipts tax, commonly called the sales tax.

This time last year, Hobbs received a record high check from the state for more than $5 million in gross receipts tax. This July, the city received more than $6 million.

And with a population of roughly 43,000 people, Hobbs is making enough to rival cities three times its size.

"When you're plush, what you want to do is you want to invest in the infrastructure," said Spears, which is why the city continues to offer and set aside money for housing incentives. "A lot of developers, with the volatility of the oil industry, they want to make sure that the assurances are going to be here for Hobbs."

No money is being borrowed for the projects they are working on, Spears added,.

"If you can manage and pay for things in cash, then over the long run it requires less borrowing in the future for the city," he said.

This is doubly good news for Hobbs: a lot of improvements without having to raise taxes, which means all the citizens in Hobbs will get to reap the benefits of a booming oil and gas industry.

Hobbs commissioners have also set aside more than $4.5 million for housing incentives to bring developers in and keep construction going.