Home Rule is a necessity for the future
The concept of Home Rule has received considerable attention during this election, and I am happy that many are interested in the designation and what it would mean to Taos. The fear of the unknown seems to be the main reason why some may be against it. In fact, only one Town Council candidate, Corilia Ortega, answered “yes” when asked whether she would support Home Rule during La Coalición’s People’s Forum last week.
Some may think that Home Rule is radical or risky, but Home Rule is actually quite regular. In New Mexico, the list of Home Rule municipalities includes Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces, Rio Rancho, Alamogordo, Clovis, Gallup, Grants, Hobbs, Las Vegas, Los Alamos and Silver City. Notably absent from this list of “who’s who” municipalities: Taos.
Why is Home Rule so popular? I believe there are two reasons why so many municipalities have adopted Home Rule (Silver City since 1878). First is the challenge of our state’s profound diversity. New Mexico’s municipalities certainly share a sense of common pride, but our day-to-day lives are very different. I spent 6th grade in Bayard, a small community outside of Silver City, where the economic driver was mining. Very little tourism existed in this town, and when the mine laid off much of the workforce as a result of the boom and bust of commodity prices, my family left to return back home to
Taos. That experience showed me how different our lives were in two places in the same state. Statute attempts to govern the entirety of a state (no matter how diverse in thought and needs) under a onesize-fits-all set of rules. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Thankfully, Home Rule provides an opportunity that allows for more robust local decision making.
Taos, as a Dillon’s Rule municipality, looks to Chapter 3 of state statute to determine what we can do. Can Taos have municipal parking lots? Yes, Chapter 3 Article 50 allows it. Municipal Housing? Yes, allowed under Chapter 3 Article 45. Fund a municipal soccer stadium? No, Chapter 3 Article 65 only allows for the funding of minor league baseball stadiums.
Taos, as a Home Rule municipality, looks to state statute to determine what we can’t do. Enact a minimum wage ordinance? Sure, no state statute disallows it. Fund a municipal soccer stadium? Yes, no rule against it. Enact rent control? No, Chapter 47 Section 8A states “no political subdivision or any home rule municipality shall enact an ordinance or resolution that controls or would have the effect of controlling rental rates for privately owned real property.”
What about expanded voting rights? In my research of Chapter 1 (Elections) and in my consultation with attorneys, there isn’t any statute that prevents a municipality from giving qualified electors in the extraterritorial zone (ETZ) a vote and a voice.
The second reason why I think Home Rule is so popular is because it gives towns a chance to reform government and fix the two-two split problem endemic to Dillon’s Rule municipalities. When first elected, I attended the newly-elected training hosted by the New Mexico Municipal League. One of the first things we are told is that individual members of the council have no power. We are only one member of the governing body, and the power of the Council comes from the action of the Council as a whole. “Don’t make any promises,” we are advised because one member of the Council can’t act as the entire body. That is a good thing.
But when a council is split, the council does not take action, and instead defers to the mayor to break the tie, giving one elected official, the executive, the power of the entire governing body. That is not a good thing. To fix this problem, most Home Rule municipalities in New Mexico have opted for more councilmembers to reduce the likelihood of a tie (or prevent it outright with an odd number).
Taos is ready to join list the of Home Rule municipalities. Our budgets are already on par with Las Vegas and our all-fund budget is double that of Silver City. Time to take the training wheels off.