Santa Fe County Commissioner Jack Sullivan will make a last-ditch effort today to spare county taxpayers a tax he says is poorly thought-out and unnecessary.

The tax is a one-eighth-cent gross-receipts tax being proposed by the North Central Regional Transit District to fund expanded bus service in Santa Fe, Los Alamos, Rio Arriba and Taos counties.

Sullivan said he supports public transportation in general, but details about how Santa Fe's approximately $4.5 million portion in tax revenue would be spent are vague. And according to Sullivan, the county doesn't need that much money to meet its current transportation needs. As a result, Sullivan said, county taxpayers could end up subsidizing programs that don't benefit them.

Sullivan said he's also concerned that if the Legislature approves a mandatory transit district to fund the Rail Runner Express commuter train, Santa Fe County residents could face double taxation for virtually the same services. "It's bad timing," Sullivan said. "We don't have a good service plan and we don't have the Rail Runner tax issue resolved."

State law will not allow Santa Fe County to opt out of a taxing request agreed to by the Transit District board, Sullivan said. So, Santa Fe County's only option is to drop out of the transit district altogether. "We might as well do it ourselves and be in charge of our own destiny," Sullivan said.

Sullivan has publicly opposed the tax for months, with some success. His arguments resulted in the amount of the proposed tax being reduced from a three-sixteenth-cent tax to the one-eighth-cent tax. But, Transit Board director Josette Lucero said most board members support the tax and want to move on. "We've already gone back to the drawing board twice," Lucero said.

Lucero said Taos County, which originally had misgivings about the tax, has placed the item on its May agenda for approval.

"He's going against the majority and just throwing a monkey wrench in it," said Santa Fe City Councilor Miguel Chavez, who represents the city on the Transit District board. "We've already reconsidered and then we are going to reconsider again? It seems a little redundant."

Commissioner Mike Anaya, who represents the county on the Transit District board, said Sullivan needs to take a longer view of the issue and not get bogged down worrying about which county pays for what.

"Regional transit is the way of the future," Anaya said. "That means we have to come together and drop the boundary lines between the counties. ... We need to start thinking as regions, not as individuals. If we collect more taxes in our area, it's OK to help out those other counties. What good is the Rail Runner if you can't bring people to it?"

The Santa Fe County Commission will hear Sullivan's proposal today at 10 a.m. at the County Commission Chambers, 102 Grant Ave. If Sullivan fails to convince his fellow commissioners to withdraw from the transit district, county voters could see the tax issue on the ballot in November. If he succeeds, the county will need to look at how to handle county transportation needs on its own.

Contact Phaedra Haywood at 986-3068 or phaywood@sfnewmexican.com.