The need to provide police and fire services in a growing city is cited by officials as the reason for two big-ticket projects proposed in the Santa Fe municipal election.

Whether the city should build a new fire station and make more improvements to police headquarters, totaling $5 million, is one of three questions on the March 6 ballot. If approved, the measure would authorize the city government to borrow money that will be repaid through property taxes on homes and businesses.

Although voters have a say in whether the "general-obligation bond" property tax method pays for the capital projects in the near future, the city of Santa Fe is on the hook to provide safety services available for all the territory in its jurisdiction -- and that area is slated to get bigger by the end of next year due to planned annexations.

Questions remain for some, however, about whether the bond issue will help enough with preparations.

Backers say $1.5 million from this bond question would be earmarked for the final phase of planned improvements to the police department headquarters at Camino Entrada.

Santa Fe already has invested several million dollars in substantial changes to the police headquarters, using money from the state Legislature and from other bond issues to pay for landscaping and a renovated lobby.

Now, managers want to add 5,000 square feet to the facility. The improvements are necessary to "relieve cramped space for police department staff especially as annexation adds to their responsibilities," according to the city.

Police union president Adam Gallegos said not all officers believe this is the best plan right now.

"The majority of the police officers, their office is actually out there on the street," he said. "So [future renovation] really has no effect on your street-level officers."

Meanwhile, the Santa Fe Police Officers Association has been arguing with the city over wages and benefits in its labor union contract, he said, and many of the members feel that the police administration has been irresponsible with spending at a time when the city is trying to take money from the pockets of the rank and file.

"That hurts the support for the bond issue. I don't think it makes us totally against it," he said. "But it really leans us toward questioning it."

The second project funded through the proposed bond would be a $3.5 million fire station to be built near the intersection of South Meadows Road and N.M. 599 on land the city is leasing from the state.

The spot is currently outside the Santa Fe city limits but is part of an area slated for annexation before the end of this year.

Bond money would pay to build the facility and equip it with a fire engine, tanker truck, ambulance and other necessary tools, but won't cover recurring salaries for new full-time staff members to work there.

Fire Chief Barbara Salas -- with support from leaders of the fire labor union -- has been trying to get money for an additional station for several years with no luck. The last new fire station was constructed in Tierra Contenta about six years ago when the city also closed a station on Airport Road. Before that, Santa Fe last built a station 10 years ago near the Genoveva Chavez Community Center.

"The city has grown, but our department has not grown," she said.

The number of calls for emergency services has been increasing by about 9 percent annually, Salas said. That spells trouble for residents in need, even without adding annexation into the equation.

For example, on Thursday there were four times when emergency medical responses were requested but all of the city's ambulances were already busy, she said.

Compared with other parts of the city, Santa Fe's southern and western edges are getting slower responses from emergency service providers already. People who live in the county, but who will be city residents after the next phase of annexation, will begin paying city taxes and expecting city-level services.

"As soon as that bond passes, our intent is to purchase the vehicles right away," she said.

Salas said she understands the public perception that the city has not told residents how it plans to enlarge its public safety departments in response to annexation, but she wants people to know that the city manager has a plan for increasing staffing levels in time to properly man the new station, if voters approve the bond.

Officials hope to accelerate a design process based on recent station renovations and have the new station up and running by fall 2013.

The city commissioned a study by The University of New Mexico Bureau of Business and Economic Research on the potential cost of annexation. But that report has still not been discussed in public, and no other financial plans for dealing with the cost of a larger city have been formalized.

What is formal is that more than four years ago, the City Council entered into a legal settlement with a developer and the Santa Fe County Commission that laid out a timeline for how land would come under the city's control for the next 20 years. The agreement calls for the county to continue providing police and fire service in the newly annexed areas for up to three years after the transfer.

After the 2013 annexations are complete, the document says, the city won't add any territory until 2028.

Santa Fe Mayor David Coss said he's confident the city can take over public safety in the annexed areas as scheduled.

"The plan is to grow into meeting the safety needs in that area and in conjunction with the county," said Coss. "We believe it's doable."

Contact Julie Ann Grimm at 986-3017 or jgrimm@sfnewmexican.com.

Question: "Shall the City of Santa Fe issue up to $5 million of general obligation bonds to acquire, design, construct and improve buildings and equipment for police and fire protection public safety purposes?"

Key projects: Construction of a southwest fire station, renovations to police headquarters

Estimated tax impact on a $300,000 house: $12 a year (Two other bond questions will appear on the ballot, $14 million for parks and trails and $3.8 million for environmental projects. If all three questions are approved, it will bring the total estimated tax increase to $54 for the same home.)

Big picture: The city of Santa Fe is already repaying general obligation bonds it issued after voters approved $30 million in spending for parks improvements in 2008. The principal now stands at $27.7 million. Under the current repayment schedule, which calls for the first bond issue to be retired in 2028, the borrowing will cost taxpayers $10.4 million in interest. If all three new proposals are approved, the city's total general obligation debt would be at about $50.5 million and wouldn't be paid off for 30 years. The general obligation bonding capacity is $144 million.

For more information: The city has posted spreadsheets and other details about the bond proposals on its website at www.santafenm.gov. Click on "March 6 Opportunity Bonds" on the left.