89.9 FM Live From The University Of New Mexico
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Santa Fe County Holding Special Election Today

@jbtaylor via Flickr
/
Creative Commons License

Santa Fe County is holding a special election Tuesday to decide whether to raise the gross receipts tax to fund behavioral health services.

If voters approve the measure, taxes in the county will go up one sixteenth of one percent. Officials estimate that will add up to about $2 million a year, which will go to pay for behavioral health services as well as more public safety positions.

Part of that money would go to a new behavioral health center the county plans to open on Galisteo Street, that will offer much-needed detox and treatment services to people going through addiction. Those services have been scarce in Santa Fe and northern New Mexico, and existing treatment centers in the area are often at capacity.

If the tax increase passes, it would hike the city of Santa Fe’s tax rate to 8.5 percent. Polling closes Tuesday evening at 7 p.m.

Ed Williams came to KUNM in 2014 by way of Carbondale, Colorado, where he worked as a public radio reporter covering environmental issues. Originally from Austin, Texas, Ed has reported on environmental, social justice, immigration and Native American issues in the U.S. and Latin America for the Austin American-Statesman, Z Magazine, NPR’s Latino USA and others. In his spare time, look for Ed riding his mountain bike in the Sandias or sparring on the jiu-jitsu mat.
Related Content