New Mexico Administrative Code › Title 18 - TRANSPORTATION AND HIGHWAYS › Chapter 27 - HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION GENERAL PROVISIONS › Part 3 - LOCAL GOVERNMENT ROAD FUND GUIDELINES FOR WAIVER OF LOCAL ENTITIES MATCHING FUNDS DUE TO FINANCIAL HARDSHIP › Section 18.27.3.8 - GUIDELINES

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 13, July 16, 2024
The following guidelines are established for administration
				  of funds authorized by the legislature.
A. Only entities which submitted requests for
				Cooperative, School Bus Routes, Municipal Arterial, or County Arterial projects
				from the Local Government Road Fund Program by the deadline specified by the
				District Engineer shall be eligible for waivers.
B. Entities eligible for participation in the
				LGRF Program may request a waiver of their matching share in whole or in part
				due to financial hardship. All project requests including all waiver requests
				with supporting documentation shall be submitted to the District Engineer or
				designee for their respective areas.
C. Waiver of matching funds shall not be
				considered if an entity already has a project under agreement using current
				fiscal year funding. Matching funds will not be waived for more than one
				project per entity, except for counties which would be eligible for one
				cooperative project and one county arterial project.
D. A waiver must be requested and
				determination made before a Cooperative Project Agreement has been signed with
				the Department. The Secretary may waive this provision when it is in the best
				interest of the State to do so.
E.
				If an entity wants to establish a financial hardship, it should submit a
				resolution or certification indicating that it cannot match all or a portion of
				its share. The resolution or certification shall be signed by the appropriate
				official(s).
F. After receiving a
				resolution or certification declaring financial hardship, the District Engineer
				shall consider all known facts such as severe winter weather, flooding,
				emergency work, past history, whether the entity has exhausted taxing
				authority, and other information that would tend to prove financial
				hardship.
G. The District Engineer
				shall request from the Local Government Division of the DFA, or State Board of
				Education, a financial analysis and recommendation on an entity's financial
				hardship for the fiscal year in which the waiver is requested.
H. If financial hardship is evident the
				District Engineer shall submit the entity's request and resolution or
				certification along with recommendation that the waiver of matching funds be
				granted. If financial hardship is not evident, the District Engineer shall so
				notify the entity in writing.
I. If
				financial hardship has been determined and the entity is not providing matching
				funds, the maximum amount the entity can receive from the LGRF in any fiscal
				year is $75,000, except for County Arterial Projects where the maximum shall be
				the county's share mandated by legislative formula, plus the standard 25%
				match. This maximum amount may be waived depending on the demand on the funds
				which are available.
J. The
				Secretary shall review the District Engineer's recommendation and recommend
				action to the Commission. The Commission shall take action on the Secretary's
				recommendation at a regularly scheduled Commission meeting.
K. The District Engineer shall be notified of
				the Commission's action by the Secretary and in turn shall notify the
				entity.
L. If the Commission
				approves the recommended action, a Cooperative Agreement shall be accordingly
				entered into.
M. The State
				Maintenance Bureau shall be responsible for accounting and totaling the funds
				being expended out of the funds provided for financial hardships.
N. For Municipal Arterial Projects, the State
				Maintenance Engineer shall be substituted and take the place of the District
				Engineer in these guidelines.
O.
				Any agreement involving waiver of an entity's fiscal year matching funds shall
				be processed prior to December 31, of that fiscal year, or as otherwise
				determined by the Secretary.
P. If
				a public entity is not using maximum tax levy authority, the entity shall
				provide a written explanation of why the maximum tax levy is not being imposed
				prior to the Department considering the waiver request.