Commission introduces economic‑development rubric, proposes community benefits fund and advisory board

The Bernalillo County Commission moved to introduce a proposed economic‑development strategy that would standardize how the county evaluates projects seeking incentives and tie public support to measurable community benefits. Commissioner Barbara Baca, sponsor of the resolution, said the rubric — organized around workers, small business, community investment, environment and community engagement — is designed to create predictability for both developers and residents. "If you work with us and you use this rubric and you have these scores, you have the opportunity to have even a higher level of support and tax abatement," Baca said.

Steering committee co‑chair Michael Guerrero said the rubric grew from a year of engagement, polling and focus groups and is intended as a decision‑support tool to make the county’s incentive decisions more transparent and comparable across projects. Guerrero noted the rubric can be tied to outcomes and revised after testing: "If it scores really high, we can roll out the red carpet; if it scores low, staff can explain why they recommend otherwise and the public will understand the rationale."

The resolution also proposes a community‑benefits fund paid from a portion of payment‑in‑lieu‑of‑tax (PILOT) receipts tied to incentive deals; a working figure discussed in the meeting was a 5% pilot allocation for the fund. Economists and commissioners debated scale: Marcos Gonzalez, Economic Development Director, used the Mesa Film Studios IRB as an example — the project’s annual PILOT payment was described in staff materials as roughly $551,000 and a 5% share of that amount would be about $27,000 annually — and commissioners stressed the fund should be designed to meaningfully support apprenticeship programs, incubators and job training.

Debate among commissioners focused on whether and how to tie rubric scores to specific incentive levels, the appropriate role and authority of a proposed advisory board, tribal engagement, and how to measure long‑term outcomes. Commissioner Eric Olivas urged a progressive incentive structure — higher scores earn stronger incentives — and suggested the county ensure oversight and follow‑up so community commitments are enforced. Steering committee and staff agreed to reconvene the committee quickly and return a finalized recommendation to the commission. The commission approved the resolution for introduction and directed staff to work with the steering committee and return with an updated rubric and operational details for final adoption.