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Resident and firefighter Gary Ponce urges caution on property-tax increase to fund emergency-services administrator
Summary
During public comment on May 19, Gary Ponce, a Bluff homeowner and firefighter, urged council members not to approve a property-tax increase for an emergency-services administrator without a comprehensive plan, citing a prior figure he was told ($83,232) for a legal maximum and noting Bluff's outsized share of county TRT revenue.
Gary Ponce, a Bluff homeowner who identified himself as a firefighter (but not speaking for the department), used the public-comment period on May 19 to oppose a proposed property-tax increase intended to fund an emergency-services administrator.
Ponce argued the town should have a comprehensive strategic plan for emergency services before creating a new administrative position. “I believe that the increase which funds a position, absent a comprehensive strategic plan for addressing our fire and EMS needs, puts the cart before the horse,” he said, urging council members to explore alternatives to new taxes and to consider whether existing revenues could be reallocated.
Ponce told the council he had consulted state tax officials previously and that they had told him Bluff could raise about $83,232 in property taxes “given our demographics”; he acknowledged that the figure could be out of date. He also highlighted Bluff’s tourism-driven tax contributions, saying the town contributes more than 16% of San Juan County’s TRT revenue and therefore has a stake in county discussions about EMS funding.
The chair responded that his own calculations suggested the town’s property-tax capacity could be substantially larger in theory, saying, “my number suggests, you know, we wouldn’t probably ever want to do this, but if we needed to, we could raise 420,000 ish dollars a year in property tax if we had to,” and said staff would run the numbers later and explain how property-tax capacity is tied to taxable value.
Council members thanked Ponce for the comments and said the town will discuss the issue further during the upcoming open house and the formal budget hearings; staff noted the tentative budget will be available at the open house and the first public hearing on the tentative budget is scheduled for June 2.
