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The city responded with ahiring freeze, cutting someemployee positions and put-ting several capital projects onthe back burner.
Spears said many of the capi-tal improvement projects wererenewed after a mid-year budg-et review last week.
A majority of the city’sincome is generated throughgross receipts taxes — moneycharged on goods and servicessold within the city.
City finance officials intro-duced an unexpected $10 mil-lion jump in revenue to citycommissioners during a worksession last week and pitchedseveral projects including ren-ovating several parks, re-paving several streets andinstalling new street lights.
City manager EricHoneyfield said the unexpect-ed $10 million over the project-ed budget is both a blessingand a curse.
“Now that we’re flush withcash, I have to decide who getsmoney and who doesn’t,” hesaid.
Spears said he estimatedthe 2010-11 budget based onthe previous year’s revenueand came up with the figures.The extra $10 million, hesaid, could not be counted ona year ago.
“That’s the volatility of theoil industry, one year we’re at$42.6 million and the next, it’s$33 million,” he said.
But before Hobbs officialsbegin planning for 2011-12,Honeyfield has an extra $10million to pour into projects —and a few personnel positions.
Three of the city’s high-pro-file personnel vacancies arewith the Hobbs PoliceDepartment, which is hiringschool resource officers.
The remaining money will bespread in various projectsfrom planting new trees inpublic areas to a massive re-paving project in south Hobbs.
Honeyfield is also planningto ask city commissioners forinput on two uses of the addi-tional revenue: new streetlighting and a fund to helpqualifying property ownersdemolish dilapidated build-ings.
For street lights, Honeyfieldsaid city traffic and engineer-ing department personnel willlook at high volume streetsthat are poorly lit.
A list of streets that couldbenefit from increased light-ing will be presented to citycommissioners during afuture meeting, Honeyfieldsaid.
For the demolition of proper-ty, Honeyfield said he is pro-posing to set aside funds forproperty owners who cannot
afford to demolish condemnedbuildings on their properties.
The city funds would be usedto rent roll-off containers andpay tipping fees, but the prop-erty owner would be responsi-ble for the actual demolition,he said.
Honeyfield will propose thedemolition fund during thenext city commission meeting.
Despite what appears to be aspending spree, Honeyfieldsaid he is anxious to see whatthe Legislature determineswith the so-called “hold-harm-less” reimbursements forgross receipts taxes on foodand medical procedures.
Since counties and munici-palities do not charge taxes onfood and medical procedures,the state reimburses them.Hobbs is reimbursed about$2.2 million.
Honeyfield said if theLegislature decides not toreimburse cities, Hobbs willstill be in good financial stand-ing because of the $10 millionsurge in gross receipts taxes.
“We’re better off financiallythan most New Mexico cities,”he said.
But if the state continues thereimbursement, Honeyfieldsaid Hobbs will be in “excel-lent shape” for 2011-12.
“The 900 pound gorilla isgoing to be if the Legislatureleaves us harmless,” he said.
braver knowing her friendswere in the play with her.
Confidence building is also abig part of what the Gregs do.
“There’s a lot more going onthan just that play, we knowthat — it’s by design,” Lawsonsaid.
Lawson said he andTankersley began touringwith an acting company andfound they were mostly tour-ing at elementary schools.When a school approachedthem about five years ago towork with the students on aproduction, the Gregs found anew calling.
Though they still tour withthe acting company, they alsospend much of the year ontheir own tour, visiting schoolsacross the country.
Elementary fine arts coordi-
nator Tyson Ledgerwood saidthe Gregs have been workingwith Hobbs students for threeyears. The program is statefunded through a mandate toprovide performing arts edu-
cation at the elementary level,Ledgerwood said.
The Gregs will return toHobbs in February to workwith Southern HeightsElementary students. Custom Framing
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FROM THE FRONT PAGE 4HOBBS NEWS-SUN • TUESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2011
HOBBS SCHOOLS PHOTOSAlexis Wormely, above, and Davonte Morgan, below, perform in “The Twelve Labors ofHercules,” written by Greg Lawson and Greg Tankersley. The Gregs have been coming toLea County schools several years to assist students in performing plays as well as learningabout history and literature.
Gregsfrom PAGE 1
KELLEY MCMILLAN/NEWS-SUN PHOTOFencing club organizer Brian Henning shows ShannonThompson, left, how to use the equipment while SamuelSmith, right, assists.
Budgetfrom PAGE 1
Garza reportedly told detec-tives the victim has stolen fourbicycles from him and, “hewas tired of (the victim) notrespecting his mother,” HobbsPolice Department Detective
Corey Helton wrote in areport.
Investigators found a smallfolding knife that reportedlybelonged to Garza at the scene.
The stab wound was not life-threatening and the victimwas treated at Lea RegionalMedical Center.
Stabbingfrom PAGE 1
Whether he’s providing class-es for young fencers or olderindividuals who just want topick up a new hobby, Henning
said he hopes to have the groupmeet two-three times a week soanyone interested can findtime come practice.
Henning said anyone inter-ested in the club can emailhim at bjh986@msn.com.
Fencingfrom PAGE 1
MOSCOW (AP) — Terroristsstruck again in the heart ofRussia, with a suicide bomberblowing himself up Monday inMoscow’s busiest airport andturning its internationalarrivals terminal into asmoky, blood-spattered hall ofdismembered bodies, scream-ing survivors and abandonedsuitcases. At least 35 peoplewere killed, including twoBritish travelers.
No one claimed responsibili-ty for the blast at DomodedovoAirport that also wounded 180people, although Islamic mili-tants in the southern Russianregion of Chechnya have beenblamed for previous attacks inMoscow, including a doublesuicide bombing on the capi-tal’s subway system in March2010 that resulted in 40 deaths.
President Dmitry Medvedevcalled it a terrorist attack andimmediately tightened securi-ty at Moscow’s two other com-mercial airports and other keytransportation facilities.
It was the second time inseven years that Domodedovowas involved in a terroristattack: In 2004, two female sui-cide bombers penetrated thelax security there, illegallybought tickets from airportpersonnel and boarded planesthat exploded in flight andkilled 90 people.
At least 35 diein Russianterror attack
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