City to raise fines for speeding

By Eric Maddy
The SCORE

Rio Rancho’s financially-strapped city government got more bad news this month as revenues were off nearly $2.5 million over projections through the end of March.

Gross receipts taxes are off 7.1 percent and other revenues were down 12.2 percent through the same period, according to a report presented to the Governing Body as part of the consent agenda at Wednesday’s meeting.

Governmental bodies are required to report quarterly to the state Department of Finance and Administration. As part of the consent agenda there was no discussion of the report as part of the meeting, as items on the consent agenda are passed as a block unless a specific councilor requests it be separated.

The report said the city received $1,371,179 less in gross receipts than expected and $1,131, 252 less in other revenues. Property tax collection and franchise fees were up slightly, leaving the city short $2,449,872 of revenue projections, which is 6.6 percent less than expected.

The same report showed projected expenditures are down $1,738,734 during the same time frame, leaving a shortfall of $711,498. The 2009-10 budget, which received the first of two positive votes required for passage on Wednesday, includes an amount to cover the shortfall, finance director Dick Kristoff said.

One area where the city is looking to raise more money is by charging more for speeding tickets. Under Ordinance 30, which was approved 5-0 on a first reading, fines for speeding would be dramatically increased.

The penalty for “basic speeding,” which is identified in the ordinance up to 10 miles per hour over the limit, would be increased from $50 to $159. Here is the rest of the scale, according to the ordinance:

* 11-15 mph over, from $60 to $209.

* 16-20 mph over, from $80 to $259.

* 21-25 mph over, from $100 to $309.

* 26-30 mph over, from $150 to $359.

* 31-35 mph over, from $175 to $409.

* More than 35 mph over, from $225 to $459.

All fees include a $39 court cost, police chief Robert Boone said.

According to an agenda briefing memorandum for the council, the penalty assessments have not been revised since 2003 and have traditionally been updated every five years. The Rio Rancho police department said its fines are “considerably lower” than Albuquerque, Las Cruces and Santa Fe, according to the memo, and the proposal is “comparable” to Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

Based on speeding citations issued in 2008, the city estimates it will raise approximately $162,500 if the new fine schedule gets final approval in two weeks.