Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What obligation does the developer have to ensure the TIDD is successful?
A: The Westland-SunCal TIDD requires the developer to recruit new taxpaying businesses to help pay for public services --
The idea behind the Westland-SunCal TIDD (tax increment development district) as unanimously approved by the Bernalillo County Commission, is to require the developer of a planned community to recruit enough new taxpaying businesses to permit the development to "pay for itself." This includes paying for all governmental services necessary for residents, and paying for all constructed infrastructure, even that which would ordinarily be funded by the state and local governments.
Q: How does the state benefit from the Westland-SunCal TIDD?
A: The Westland-SunCal TIDD provides a revenue surplus above costs to government agencies --
The Westland-SunCal TIDD provides to the state a more attractive financial package than any other TIDD, whether previously authorized or currently proposed. A revenue surplus above costs for the state and local governments is projected at all points in the development of the Westland-SunCal TIDD.
Q: How will the TIDD affect the local economy?
A: The Westland-SunCal TIDD will generate new jobs --
The Westland-SunCal TIDD will bring to New Mexico new jobs, thousands of jobs in the near-term, tens of thousands in the longer term, which the developer will be responsible for recruiting.
Q: What incentives are there for the developer to ensure the TIDD meets its objectives?
A: No developer reimbursements unless new jobs are created and increased tax base results --
There will be no payment or incentive of any kind to Westland-SunCal unless and until the news jobs appear and create the tax base necessary to permit the development to "pay for itself."
Q: Some people claim the TIDD will raise taxes and reduce services. Is this true?
A: The TIDD will not increase taxes nor decrease governmental services --
The Westland-SunCal TIDD will not increase the taxes of, nor decrease, the governmental services to residents outside the TIDD.
Q: Will infrastructure funding take priority over other government services?
A: Government services must be paid for before any developer reimbursements happen --
Before any payment can be received by the developer, the taxes generated by the new jobs must be sufficient to cover that payment, plus pay for all government services required by residents of the TIDD, without impairing governmental funds available to serve New Mexicans outside the TIDD.
Q: For what purposes can the developer use the funds obtained via the TIDD?
A: The developer only receives funds to reimburse it for installed public infrastructure --
The only payment or incentive the TIDD procedure makes available to the developer is the reimbursement for amounts previously paid by the developer for installing public infrastructure.
Q: What benefits will the TIDD bring to our community?
A: The Westland-SunCal TIDD helps fulfill environmental and social objectives --
The Westland-SunCal TIDD is designed to meet environmental and social objectives: reducing the need for commuting, preserving open space, reducing water use, providing efficient heating and cooling, and constructing reasonably-priced housing.
Q: What effect does a TIDD have on growth?
A: TIDDs foster smart growth and help prevent urban sprawl --
The most likely alternative to planned TIDD development is unplanned residential sprawl, which would not be accompanied by enough jobs to be self-supporting. Such unplanned sprawl would divert funds away from the public services provided to existing neighborhoods.