Santa Fe's Mayor Coss Introduces Proposal to Strengthen City's Economy

Like the federal government, state, county and municipal governments are scrambling to devise and implement strategies to cope with the severe economic problems that are plaguing both the public and private sector worldwide. Officials everywhere are hard at work trying to create effective economic stimulus packages that match the times and local conditions. Here in New Mexico, Santa Fe Mayor David Coss released his proposal this week.

Mayor David Coss introduced a resolution at this week's City Council meeting to strengthen Santa Fe’s economy through investments in the local economy and infrastructure improvements. Yesterday, the Mayor's Office released the following statement about the proposal:

“From home foreclosures, lost jobs and drops in retail sales, we see that Main Street America is in trouble. As our city and nation face increasing economic challenges, it is imperative that we continue to move forward and not back away from the policies and principles that make Santa Fe great," states Mayor Coss’ resolution. “It is critical to address our city’s financial state with a holistic approach that strengthens our economy through enhanced partnerships with local businesses, nonprofits and community organizations.”

The resolution directs the City Manager to direct that the following actions be taken and investments made to move Santa Fe’s economy forward and provide jobs for residents:

1. Invest $400,000 in promoting the city’s 400-year anniversary status to attract additional visitors to our area.
2. Invest $500,000 in energy conservation and alternative energy to help homeowners and small business deal with climbing energy prices.
3. Act to gain increased economic benefit from our new community assets including the Santa Fe Community Convention Center, Railyard development and the Rail Runner Express.
4. Accelerate investment of $6 million capital improvement funding into upgrading City transportation infrastructure including roads, sidewalks and trails.
5. Adjust utility rate administrative structure to encourage conservation and economic development in the hospitality sector—hotels and restaurants.

The resolution is co-sponsored by City Councilors Rosemary Romero and Rebecca Wurzburger. Click to read the full resolution (doc). The resolution references the Mainstreet Stimulus Call to Action (pdf) issued by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

The City’s Finance Committee will meet at 5:00 PM on Monday, Nov. 17, 2008 to discuss the city budget.