RCLC takes issue with impact study

By Tris DeRoma
Monday, August 17, 2020 at 11:13am

A year-old study that has recently come to the attention of the Regional Coalition of LANL Communities is causing much hand wringing among members of the coalition.
The Los Alamos Regional Coalition of LANL Communities is hoping to gain more insight into a section of a year-old, University of New Mexico regional study that claims communities in northern New Mexico would be better off economically without the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

The Regional Coalition of LANL Communities is requesting more information from the University of New Mexico’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research, the entity that carried out the study, and has also arranged for the director of the bureau to discuss his findings with the RCLC on Aug. 21.

At a recent meeting, the coalition honed in on a particular part of the study that seemed to state that many northern New Mexico communities would be better off economically if the Los Alamos National Laboratory was not around.

While the study, using the latest 2017 figures, readily acknowledged that LANL contributed a substantial amount to state and local government financially, much of that revenue depended on how tightly tied the communities were to LANL economically.

“Areas with a large number of businesses that are vendors to LANL, such as Los Alamos and Bernalillo counties, do well because they receive GRT (gross receipts tax) on sales,” the study states. “On the other hand, residential communities are more likely to run deficits because they incur the costs of services to households, but collect relatively little from property taxes. In New Mexico, deficits can be compounded because counties are not eligible to receive taxes on the income of residents.”

Coalition members asked their outgoing executive director, Eric Vasquez, to invite the authors of the study to an upcoming meeting to shed further light on their findings.
They also directed Vasquez, to look into the costs of the coalition doing its own independent study on how LANL impacts surrounding communities before he leaves office in September.

Coalition member and Los Alamos County Councilor David Izraelevitz didn’t think that part of the study made sense.

“I am concerned about the logic behind the expectation that the laboratory is a negative to the region,” Izraelevitz said at the meeting. “I’m as curious as anyone to explain the reasoning behind that.”

Town of Taos Councilor Darien Fernandez, a coalition vice president, said it’s important they have a better understanding of the study before they make any judgments.

“I do think it is relevant for all of our communities to get a better understanding of the report, and in addition, consider a definitive report of our own, so we have more information to look at because of this issue,” Fernandez said. “I think it is central to the direction that we want to take as a coalition in working together to make sure the region has an equitable benefit.”

The study came out in June of last year and was authored by BBER Director Jeffrey Mitchell, John Betak and BBER Research Scientist Juilian Baca.

Another part of the study laid out LANL’s overall impact in northern New Mexico.
“Directly and indirectly, LANL’s operations support 19,122 jobs in the region, equal to 79% of the statewide total with a total payroll of $1.57 billion, more than 86% of the state totals,” a statement in the study said.

In total, LANL generates $2.45 billion in sales for businesses in northern New Mexico, the equivalent of 15% of the gross product of the entire region.

The study also noted that LANL, directly and indirectly is responsible for the creation of 24,169 jobs, $1.89 billion in labor income and revenues of $312 billion to businesses in the state.

“I think it’s a good idea and that we probably need to dive into the data, what the impacts are, where these numbers came from,” RCLC Chair Henry Roybal said.