Critics of a proposal that would increase sales tax in the unincorporated parts of Santa Fe County plan a phone drive this weekend to encourage voters to reject it.

The county Republican Party issued a notice Monday calling for volunteers to call registered voters who live outside the city limits of Santa Fe, Española and Edgewood.

At issue is quarter-cent fire protection excise tax that would add about 25 cents on a $100 taxable transaction and would take effect July 1, 2010, with no expiration date. The money can be used only for firefighting equipment and other capital expenditures such as fire stations.

An e-mail circulated by the party this week said, "We support our Fire Department, and the critical services they provide, but the county has ... an adequate stream of revenue from many sources to fund these fire department needs — If only they would prioritize their spending."

About 37,803 voters are eligible to cast ballots in the election. Early voting at the County Administration Building continues through Friday in downtown Santa Fe, but most votes are likely to be cast at neighborhood polling places next Tuesday.

County voters agreed to increase the gross-receipts tax rate for all county residents in the name of public safety in 2006, and the County Commission then allowed the fire excise tax that had been place for the unincorporated parts of the county to expire.

At the time, Fire Chief Stan Holden said no further tax increases were anticipated. In defense of the current effort, he argues that some of the countywide tax revenues for fire protection went to pay for the regional emergency dispatch center and other unanticipated costs.

Meanwhile, even at the time of the 2006 election, he said, the county was years behind on its replacement of aging fleet vehicles.

County Finance Director Theresa Martinez said both her department and the Fire Department have been advising the County Commission for "a couple of years" that the countywide tax now in place is not sufficient to fund fire and emergency-medical operations. In addition to state and federal grants, Martinez said, tax revenue is the only source of income for those services under current county spending policies.

Jim Bohlander, county Republican Party chairman, said the county — which has increased its total budget by 150 percent in five years — should make better choices in its spending instead of putting the burden on recession-weary taxpayers.

"We see no reason the county can't live within its means and find the funding within their current budget," he said, adding later, "The best resolution for everybody would be if the County Commission would call off this election and fund this as a designated capital commitment for the next couple of years."

He and other party leaders are looking for volunteers to meet at Hubbell Electro-Mechanical, 2818 Industrial Road, on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday to make phone calls urging "no" votes on the proposal.

The gross receipts tax rate in the unincorporated county is now 6.5 percent, according to a table provided by the state Department of Taxation and Revenue. The state's portion of the rate is 5 percent. Incorporated areas have higher tax rates. In Santa Fe, the rate is 8.0625 percent and in Española it's 8.3125 percent.

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