Bayard city officials are considering changes to local solid-waste fees after the Southwest Solid Waste Authority notified Grant County municipalities that regional landfill charges are expected to double in September. The City Council is considering basing its solid-waste sanitation fee on the regional landfill’s operating charges and has asked Universal Waste Systems to explain the increase. Any resulting increase for customers would not take effect until November or December at the earliest.
The Sixth Judicial District Attorney has announced an ongoing crackdown on repeat offenders, with eight high-profile local cases accepted for federal prosecution by the New Mexico U.S. Attorney’s Office. The initiative represents a coordinated regional effort involving investigators from the New Mexico State Police, Grant and Luna County Sheriff’s Offices, the Silver City, Deming, Lordsburg and Bayard Police Departments, and the District Attorney’s investigative team. Through intelligence sharing and joint investigations, the agencies worked together to identify, track and apprehend the suspects as part of a broader zero-tolerance approach targeting habitual offenders throughout the Sixth Judicial District.
Luna County officials are raising concerns about a proposed change to New Mexico’s property-tax system that could shift responsibility for calculating and certifying certain property tax rates from the state to county assessors. County officials say the change could add significant responsibilities to assessor offices and raise questions about training, workload and the separation of duties involved in setting tax rates and assessing property. The proposal is currently on hold while state and county officials continue discussions.
