Some winners, some losers in legislative allocations

With a big basket of surplus dollars, the New Mexico Legislature was relatively generous in allocations for projects in Lincoln County, but not all survived the governor's veto.

According to a capital outlay project summary provided by the Legislative Counsel Service, the governor vetoed $225,000 for a 12th Judicial District Attorney office in Ruidoso.

County commissioners said they were disappointed to see Gov. Michelle Lujan-Grisham vetoed $300,000 for the Lincoln County Medical Center replacement hospital, a county hospital in Ruidoso.

The governor nixed $10,000 for Capitan Depot Museum improvements; $5,000 for the Capitan Public Library improvements and $5,000 for improvements to the Carrizozo Public Library.

Corona didn't fare any better with vetoes of $5,000 for Corona library improvements, $5,000 for Corona municipal improvements and $12,000 for Corona water improvements.

The grand total of vetoes for entities in the county was $567,000.

The report noted that the governor did approve $500,000 for renovations at the Horton Complex in Ruidoso, where village offices are to be consolidated.

Village Manager Debi Lee said $576,600 came through for improvements to the Alto Water Treatment Plant, the first priority on the village's capital improvement list. The village forestry department also received about $172,400 for fuel reduction and fire mitigation on municipal property to bring it into compliance in the same way private property owners are required, she said. Another $49,200 survived for the senior center, although some confusion still exists about the exact dollars, Deputy Manager Ron Sena said.

More:Hospital funding shortfall added to Lincoln County's infrastructure legislative wish list

More:Future of Horton Complex in Ruidoso could include a judicial center for all courts

Lujan Grisham approved $287,800 for a sewer cleaning truck in Ruidoso Downs; $50,000 for expansion of the county detention center in Carrizozo; $90,000 for reconstruction of Capitan water department building and $91,000 for expansion of the fire station at the community of White Oaks.

At a recent council meeting, Ruidoso Councilor Tim Coughlin thanked State Rep. Zach Cook — a Republican who represents District 56 that includes the village and serves as village attorney — "for the amount of money you bring back from the state into our communities. It will be handy for all entities benefiting."