Group: Incorporation costs too much

BERNALILLO COUNTY, N.M. (KRQE) - Several current and former Bernalillo County commissioners on Thursday spoke out against a proposal to incorporate the South Valley into its own city, saying it would cost too much for residents who they said are already having trouble making ends meet.

"Some of the folks who live in our community are the poorest folks in the entire community," said Commissioner Art de la Cruz said during a news conference. "It's difficult to make ends meet now; it's difficult for them to pay their taxes now. Now, we're being asked to make a larger, bigger government."

De la Cruz and other opponents cited a University of New Mexico study that shows property and gross-receipts taxes would have to go up and services, including law enforcement, would be cut if the area were to incorporate into Valle de Atrisco, the proposed name of the city.

Supporters, meanwhile, said claims of higher taxes are overblown and that creating the city would allow more local control of government.

A special election on the proposal is scheduled for Jan. 5. Only those who live in unincorporated Bernalillo County in the South Valley and the southwest mesa will be able to vote.

Valle de Atrisco would become the state's fifth-largest city, and would stretch from Interstate 25 onto the southwest mesa and Interstate 40 to Isleta Pueblo. It would not include areas that are already part of Albuquerque.