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Bernalillo County adopts community-benefits rubric for economic development; staff to refine rubric by March 24
Summary
The Bernalillo County Commission on Feb. 25 adopted a community-benefits economic development resolution that creates a scoring rubric, a small community-benefits fund tied to abatements and an advisory board; the steering committee will return recommended rubric refinements by March 24 and an implementation plan by April 26.
Bernalillo County commissioners on Wednesday adopted a resolution to integrate community-benefit priorities into the county'9s economic development policy, voting to use a formal rubric to evaluate projects that seek property-tax or gross-receipts tax abatements.
Commissioner Barbara Baca, the resolution'9s sponsor, told the commission the policy aims to "remain competitive in our efforts to recruit, retain, and expand businesses" while ensuring public incentives yield "community benefits" such as local hiring, workforce training and environmental protections. She described a recommended pilot that would dedicate roughly 5% of tax-abatement value to a newly created community benefits fund.
The decision followed more than two hours of public comment and a lengthy staff and steering-committee presentation. Dozens of residents and nonprofit representatives urged adoption. "This resolution changes that. It creates a clear scoring system," said Emma Yipa, who said she represents the Samia project and supported the measure because it would require firms seeking incentives…
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