South Valley nears incorporation vote

BERNALILLO COUNTY (KRQE) - In two months South Valley residents will decide if they want their part of Bernalillo County to become its own town.

“I think it's time,” Deborah Hall said on Thursday.

Hall said if it were up to her the South Valley would already be incorporated. It’s been a long time coming, she added.

Hall has lived in the South Valley for years near Coors and Gun Club SW. Her house sits right in the middle of the proposed new town to be called Valle de Atrisco.

The town would stretch from Interstate 25 onto the southwest mesa and from Interstate 40 down to the Isleta Pueblo. It would not include sections that are already part of Albuquerque.

In January voters within the boundaries of the proposed town will send in their ballots by mail.

But before that takes place they were given an opportunity to have their questions answered in an open forum on Thursday night at Rio Grande High School.

Hall was one of the panelists.

“The pro is that we can control development," she said.

Hall said that can be done with the new town's own mayor and their own town council.

However, along with the added independence there will be additional responsibilities.

The town would be responsible for its own public services including infrastructure like roads, traffic lights and sidewalks. It would also have to provide police, fire and rescue services.

Hall said at the beginning the new town would more than likely contract those services out.

"We will be contracting with either the county or city until we can afford our own police force," she said.

And that gets to the biggest argument over the incorporation. There's a difference in opinions on whether the South Valley can afford it.

“Incorporating the South Valley is a mistake,” Richard Luna said. "It's going to cost us all. Taxes and fees increases are inevitable for the South Valley people.”

Proponents think the money will be there.

“We have crunched the numbers," Hall said. "We've worked very hard on a budget, and we think we can do it without raising property taxes."

Mail-in ballots will be sent to voters in December and must be returned by Jan. 5. If the proposal passes Valle de Atrisco come to life with 53,000 people.