Title
Incorporated County of Los Alamos Ordinance No. 726 (Corrected) Adopting a Municipal Gross Receipts Tax of One-Half of One Percent to be Effective July 1, 2024
Recommended Action
I move that Council adopt Incorporated County of Los Alamos Ordinance No. 726, as corrected, and reject corrected Incorporated County of Los Alamos Ordinance No. 725; I further move that, upon passage, corrected Ordinance No. 726 be published in summary form.
County Manager's Recommendation
The County Manager recommends that Council adopt Incorporated County of Los Alamos Ordinance No. 726, as corrected, as a secondary alternative to Ordinance No. 725.
Body
On April 24, 2023, Council adopted the FY2024 Budget and included in their motion a directive to return to Council with two ordinances implementing a new one-half percent Gross Receipts Tax (GRT) increment for Council consideration: One ordinance going into effect January 1, 2024; and the other July 1, 2024. Ordinance No. 726 would make the effective date of the new GRT increment July 1, 2024. The FY 2024 adopted budget included this half cent new increment being effective January 1, 2024. The 6 month delay incorporated into Ordinance 726 would reduce projected revenue in FY 2024 by approximately $6.5 million.
As discussed at the April 2023 Budget Hearings, GRT revenues are expected to increase in the next few years. As LANL moves into the manufacturing phase of their increased pit production in a few years, although the LANL budget will remain high, their taxable expenses will reduce and GRT is projected to drop by approximately $15 million dollars annually. As shown on Attachment C General Fund 10-Year Projections, this additional GRT increment revenue is necessary to maintain desired operational service levels, catch up on deferred maintenance issues, and fund capital projects. Without this additional funding, significant reductions to current operational and capital plans would have to be made.
The County's current GR...
Click here for full text