City looking at $1 increase in water bills

August 19, 2001
By Christopher Schurtz
Las Cruces Sun-News

The Las Cruces City Council will likely approve an ordinance adding a surcharge to water and wastewater rates to reflect the electric rate increase by El Paso Electric Co. at its meeting Monday at 7 p.m. at City Hall.

But both increases will only add an average of $1.04 in the water and wastewater portions of most customers' monthly bill.

The increases come as a result of El Paso Electric raising its rates in June to reflect its costs related to its increased fuel costs to produce electricity.

The state Public Regulation Commission approved El Paso Electric's request in June for a $19.4 million increase in electric rates charged to its customers.

The city utility department calculated the city's increase in cost as a result of the El Paso Electric's increase, in terms of the cost of providing utilities, at $278,000.

The council will also consider a resolution allowing the city to charge funeral homes for police funeral escorts, a cost currently picked up by the city.

After a review of the city's role in providing police escorts for funerals, it was determined the city can no longer provide the escorts, due to the anti-donation clause in the state constitution and the city charter.

The anti-donation clause prohibits cities from donating goods or services to organizations, public or private.

The minimum cost to the city to provide funeral escorts is estimated at an average of $200 an escort. At least four police officers per escort are paid an overtime rate of $25 an hour.

The LCPD provided 356 funeral escorts last year, at a cost of $71,200 to the city. This year, the LCPD has provided 110 escorts, at a cost of $22,000.

The city will continue to provide escorts for funerals, but will no longer pick up the cost for the service, under the ordinance.

Also on the council's agenda is a zoning request establishing light manufacturing zoning for 44 acres of land located in the West Mesa annexation area near the city's west Mesa Industrial Park.

The request for a zoning change comes after an almost 10-year battle with the city that wound its way through New Mexico courts before ending up in New Mexico Supreme Court, which ruled in support of the property owners.

In 1993, the city refused to rezone the property as requested and the property owners, Ken Anderson and Fletcher Farms, immediately challenged the city's ruling.

In basic terms, the city had turned down the zoning request because the property owners intended to display billboards on the property.

The city maintained it wanted to keep the "scenic corridor" near the area free of billboards.

But the New Mexico Supreme Court upheld the property owners' contention the zoning denial was arbitrary and inconsistent with the city's own comprehensive plan that encourages industrial growth on the West Mesa.

They also said other properties in the West Mesa area were granted industrial or manufacturing zoning, without the provision of no billboards.