Candidate owns under 4 sq feet of land to meet qualification

May 10, 2011

The Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District's election for board of directors is coming up next month. If you are an irrigator, you already know that. If you're not, you might be thinking "Who cares?" At face value, it would appear to be a little dull, but it's not—especially when Bill Turner is involved. The world of water and irrigation is a relatively quiet one, but a new, old noise is back: Bill Turner. Turner told KOB Eyewitness News 4 recently, "WELL, I was on the board as you might recall. I was voted off two years ago after I got rid of the good ole boy network." Turner, a hydrologist and water broker, is running again and hopes to sit on the board that oversees irrigation along 150 river miles of the Rio Grande from Cochiti Lake all the way to Bosque del Apache. When he ran in 2005, some argued Turner didn't meet the requirements because he didn't technically own land in the district, a requirement to run for the board. He and his wife had put their property in a trust, in part to keep any who sues them from getting it. KOB went through Turner's paperwork for this election, and he definitely owns land. The district confirmed it. "I believe it was listed as 3.61 square feet," Tom Thorpe with the Rio Grande Conservancy District said. So how do you get such a tiny piece of property? "I deeded it to myself from the trust that owns most of the land that I benefit from," Turner said. "But I deeded that piece to me, so I would not be subject to the challenges as I was in 2005." The conservancy district agrees he meets the legal qualifications. Thorpe said, "It just states that you must own property within the district, doesn't specify amount." Turner said it took him about 10 minutes to change the ownership of the small piece of property. We asked if he felt guilty about it and if he believes he's working the system. He said no. Turner mentioned when voters see the story, some might think he's pulling a fast one, but he insists he's not hiding anything. KOB asked to see the piece of property. Turner said, "Absolutely. I'm an open book. I'm happy to take you over and you can photograph it." We went to his home just west of downtown Albuquerque. It's a nice, old adobe on a good sized lot. The land Turner owns is on the edge of the property, with a telephone pole and a utility box. He said he's planted morning glories on it to grow up a fence and the pole. We asked how much he pays in property tax on the land he now owns. Turner said, "It's less than a dollar. It could be two cents. It could be two cents, somewhere between a penny and two cents." He pays 1.6 cents in taxes a year. While it appears Turner may have found a way to own land at nearly no cost to him, he's paying more than it seems. When he transferred that speck of land out of the trust, the trust property had to be reassessed. That increased the property tax bill on the larger piece of land by about $1,000.