A proposed bond issue received a positive response from the public at a hearing Tuesday night.

The City Council has until the end of November to decide whether the municipal election ballot next spring will feature questions about raising property taxes to fund public improvement projects such as a new fire station and park on the south side, bicycle and pedestrian trail improvements and river restoration.

Four people testified at the hearing that they favor asking voters to approve the plan for the city to sell $30 million in general obligation bonds. No one from the public spoke against the ballot measure, which, if approved, would cost about $70 a year — or just under $6 a month — for the owner of a $300,000 home.

David Herzenberg, a captain in the Santa Fe Fire Department, attended the meeting along with a dozen other uniformed firefighters.

Dispatchers are receiving an increasing number of calls for emergency medical services, car accidents, structure fires and other requests for public safety responders, but budgets for those agencies are not growing at the same rate, he said.

"We are being asked to do more and more with less or more and more with the same, year after year," Herzenberg said. "Therefore, our response times are increasing, which is increasing the time that it takes us to get care on scene for residents and visitors to the city of Santa Fe. ... This bond will go a long way toward creating better, more timely responses to people in need."

Craig O'Hare, an energy specialist with Santa Fe County, said he was speaking as a city resident, but also on behalf of County Commissioner Kathy Holian. O'Hare said the pair hope the city will consider allocating more of the potential bond money for energy improvements to existing housing.

"We got a lot of needy families out there at the low and moderate income level that are in homes that are very energy inefficient," he said, noting that more cash for those projects would also stimulate the small-scale construction industry.

Steven Mayes, an organizer with Move On New Mexico, said that organization was behind the bond effort.

"It's way beyond time when the city takes the lead on creating jobs because we know our governor is not going to do it," he said.

Officials say the federal and state contributions for things like buses and building renovations have dried up substantially and are not expected to rebound.

Councilor Carmichael Dominguez, chairman of the Public Works Committee, said he plans to hold another public hearing Monday at the committee's regularly scheduled 5 p.m. meeting. At that time, elected officials should have a fairly firm list of projects that the bond money could be spent on, he said.

Councilor Miguel Chavez was the only official at Tuesday's meeting to express opposition to the plan. Chavez said his main concern is low-income property owners who can't afford a tax hike, no matter what it is supposed to pay for.

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


POSSIBLE PROJECTS

Among projects on a tentative list for funding through a voter-approved general obligation bond:

• $5 million to renovate trails or plan and build new trail connections
• $5 million for a large park in the southwest sector in the Tierra Contenta development
• $3 million to build and equip a new fire station near the intersection of South Meadows Road and N.M. 599
• $3 million worth of park improvements not addressed in a 2008 park improvements bond
• $2 million to install broadband Internet connections at strategic locations in the city
• $2 million for renewable-energy projects such as photovoltaic solar collectors
• $2 million for improvements to more than 50 substandard arroyo drainage features in the city
• $15 million for renovations to the police department headquarters on the city's southwest side
• $1 million to buy land for affordable housing or to build houses or provide down-payment assistance
• $5 million for a transportation hub at the Santa Fe Railyard and improvements to the bus station at the Santa Fe Place mall

To view a complete draft list, visit www.santafenm.gov and select Departments, City Attorney, Legislative Services, then "General Obligation Bond."