How Taos could benefit from Home Rule
It is always a delight to see an elected official deliver on their campaign promises. That is currently the case with Mayor Maestas moving to allow the citizens of Taos to decide whether we should or should not become a Home Rule municipality.
Why might the Town of Taos want to become a Home Rule municipality? Currently, Taos operates under Dillon’s Rule. That rule has been adopted, in some form, by 40 of the 50 states, including New Mexico. That rule, named after the judge who wrote the key opinions, severely limits the authority of a municipality. In a nutshell, Dillon’s Rule holds that a municipality has only those powers specifically provided by state statutes.
A municipality can get out from under these limitations by becoming a Home Rule city or town. That is achieved by adopting a municipal charter following the procedures of the New Mexico Constitution and state statutes. Adoption of such a charter is essentially a total repudiation of Dillon’s Rule.
Article 10, Section 6 of the New Mexico Constitution reads:
“A municipality which adopts a charter may exercise all legislative powers and perform all functions not expressly denied by general law or charter.”
If one gives any meaning to the word “expressly” in this provision, the difference between the powers of a charter municipality and a Dillon’s Rule municipality could not be starker.
A municipality becomes a Home Rule entity by adopting a charter. The procedure for adopting a charter is spelled out in the New Mexico Constitution and state statutes. In our case, the town council must appoint a charter commission of at least seven members. (No more than a simple majority, which can be from the same political party). This commission would have six months to provide its recommendations to the town council. The council would then decide whether to put the recommendations forward for a vote of the people. There would be ample opportunity for public input during this several-month process.
Ten municipalities in New Mexico have adopted charters. Those charters have much more in common than they do differences. The charter commission’s job becomes much easier since there are plenty of examples for them to draw from. The charter can be as expansive or limited as is desired or appropriate. If the charter is approved by the voters, the municipality has all powers “not expressly denied by general law or charter” (New Mexico Constitution). The charter need not elaborate on all the new things that it is then empowered to do. It can just do them.
The following are topics that the Town of Taos cannot pursue without a charter. Most of them are found in other New Mexico Home Rule charters.
• Initiative: Voters would be empowered to require a citizen-proposed ordinance be placed on the ballot after gathering the requisite number of voter signatures.
• Referendum: Voters would be empowered to force an election to repeal a recently-adopted ordinance if the required number of voter signatures were obtained.
• Recall: Voters would be empowered to force a recall election of the mayor or council member upon obtaining the required number of voter signatures.
• Term limits: The mayor and council could serve only a limited number of terms.
• Mayor voting: The mayor could be required to vote on all motions, not just in the case of a tie.
• Planning Commission appointments: Council members could appoint planning commission members, not just the mayor. (The recently adopted ordinance allowing this appears to be contrary to state law.)
• Council elections: Council candidates would run for a particular seat or place instead of everyone running at large.
• Ranked choice voting: To illustrate this concept assume three candidates run for mayor. A voter would specify their first, second and third choice. If their first choice finished last, their vote would be shifted to their second choice, thus assuring someone got a majority of the votes. Santa Fe has adopted this approach.
In summary, the Town of Taos has its hands tied in many ways since it has only the powers specifically granted by statute. Adoption of a charter reverses that limitation and gives Taos any authority not expressly denied by statute. The citizens of Taos deserve the opportunity to decide whether that is a good idea for our community.
Power to the people!