All the lights are on: Is there anyone at home?

I’ve held off posting recently for a variety of reasons. The most relevant for the blog’s readers is that I have been waiting to see what (if anything) the Town Commission might have learned from the Fire/EMS JPA fiasco. 

• Unfortunately, it seems that the heads have gone back into the sand with regard to making sensible plans for the town government’s future.  
• Instead, the Commissioners are casting about for someone, anyone who will “tell their itching ears what they want to hear” while complaining against the people trying to tell them what they need to know.  
• Last night’s complaints about Reboot Edgewood missed the point entirely: Reboot Edgewood is not the cause of the town’s dysfunction. It is a legitimate, rational response to the current system-wide state of dysfunction. 
• The meeting started late and featured only two seats occupied by Commissioners: District 5 is vacant, Commissioner Taylor was absent, and Commissioner Murillo attended via an abysmal phone connection. 
• As has been the case since 2022, the meetings feature too many closed session agenda items with the closed sessions lasting way too long. More than half of last night’s meeting was spent out of public view with no action following. 
• The bad financial news continues as well.  
• Town Commissioners bragged about completing new road paving projects, yet none of them appear willing to deal with the almost insurmountable costs of reducing a backlog of deferred maintenance on existing pavement and chip seal. 
• More ominous are the complaints by department heads about the cutbacks to the budget. Bottom line: expect more Budget Adjustment Requests (BARs) in the coming fiscal year which is not yet a month old.  
• The town’s Planning & Zoning department is still in transition. Even though the July 16 meeting showed a few signs of improvement, it ran way too long and the decision-making process for the evening as a whole showcased the P&Z Commission’s habit of relying on an “arbitrary and capricious” decision-making process. 
• To their credit, unlike the Town Commission, the P&Z Commissioners are making an effort to deal with the world as it actually exists. Town Manager Hamilton’s decision to bring in a consultant is making a difference, but progress may take time.  

Meanwhile, the wheels on the Planning & Zoning bus have fallen off.

It’s not just Fire/EMS services that were targeted by the “Hey Edgewood, forget about SFCo, we can DIY this!” crowd. It became obvious even to casual observers that the wheels were loose beginning in November of 2024 when P&Z approved a Campbell Ranch subdivision application twice and were twice overturned by the Town Commission. 

What the Town Manager needs to do next is to secure support of the governing body to reboot Edgewood’s Planning & Zoning Department and return to sound development review practices. If he does not succeed, then Reboot Edgewood will be able to list another reason why Edgewood’s town government lacks the institutional depth needed to manage its own affairs.  

• I watched only parts of last Thursday’s PZC meeting which mercifully ended after more than three hours of confusion on the part of the PZC and town staff, and with dismay of applicants, their representatives, and the public.  
• Yesterday afternoon former P&Z colleagues recommended that I watch the following YouTube video from one of the applicants (beginning at 35 minutes; 57 seconds), and suggested that it should become mandatory viewing for all the town’s elected/appointed officials.
•  The video shows two things: (1) What is currently wrong with the town’s development review process, and (2) How development review looks to applicants and the public who see the process from “the other side of the table.” 
• One of the main reasons for incorporating a town government was to gain the ability to take control of development review away from Santa Fe County and make decisions locally.  
• However, beginning with the changeover to Commissioner/Manager government in 2022, the town abandoned earlier policies of hiring planning staff who either already had or committed to earning credentials from the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). 
• Edgewood’s advertising and promotion faction loves to brag about the large town map and how Edgewood is unique among New Mexico’s municipalities, but they never have understood that with all that complexity comes more responsibility. 
• Going forward, hiring qualified professionals in planning and zoning should once again be viewed as essential in managing those responsibilities. 
• What kind of town do we want to build? How the town looks and functions on a day to day basis is decided over time and in small increments. 
• One of the foundational exercises in “definition and division” with regard to the development review process involves understanding the differences between a town’s actual land use plan (sometimes called its master plan) which is based on the objective criteria of cumulative land use decisions, as opposed to the “hopes and dreams” contained in the more familiar document bearing the title “Comprehensive Plan.”
• It is important to note that while both types of comprehensive plans may be cited in making land use decisions, the former should take precedence over the latter. [ETA: The actual land use (master) plan is preferred because it is more legally defensible; it rests on precedent instead of subjective goals and objectives.]

12 Days and Counting…

…Because while approval of the new Fire/EMS JPA is a welcome development, it is not clear whether Edgewood’s town government will be capable of functioning long enough for the Reboot Edgewood group to pursue disincorporation. Last night’s unexpected PZC meeting is the latest indication that things have gone wrong. The video is just over three hours long, and it is painful to watch. 

15 Days and Counting…

…Because The Empire (always) Strikes Back and it has turned Edgewood into a carnival where the rides and creepy sideshows are open 24/7. You can buy a ticket to enter, but the exits aren’t easy to find.

• For those who don’t want to visit unknown websites where the only option is to ACCEPT their cookies, the Santa Fe New Mexican has provided extensive coverage of Edgewood’s experiment with Commission/Manager government for several years.
• For the well-equipped net surfer class, the New Mexican story has a link to a site called SaferEdgewood.com 
• The New Mexican’s story:  Edgewood deserves its own fire department June 15, 2026 by Luke Dorian 
• One thing is clear, all the talk from citizens about forensic audits, disincorporation, and recalls of elected officials has the Edgewood Cargo Cult and its supporters on the Town Commission in panic mode. 

18 Days and Counting…

…Because some of the Town Commissioners are betting that once Mike Rariden leaves, the town government will be able to resume the grifting that led to the collapse of the Fire/EMS JPA. 

• Will Rariden’s replacement be another independent thinker, or will the Commission install a sock-puppet willing to barter the town’s future in return for the power over other people and their money that goes along with the position?  
• Their gamble is that most of those who showed up to protest their plan to cobble together a DIY Fire Department will be mollified by the new JPA, go back to their daily routines, and allow the Town Commission to return to its regular programming. 
• Will their assessment be correct?
• Is Edgewood ready to begin a new chapter, and like the group which has formed around the concept of Reboot Edgewood, start thinking seriously about the future and the tough choices that will be required to get us there?

21 Days and Counting…

 …Because when an elected official bullies the staff during a public meeting, and none of the others object it is clear that the dysfunction in town government will not go away with the passage of the ordinance ratifying the Fire/EMS JPA. 

25, 24, 23 Days and Counting…

 …Because Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men cannot put Humpty together again.

• Work on the new JPA continues its slow uphill climb.
• But meanwhile, the disorder among both elected and appointed town officials is increasing.
• The town government is not in trouble because the JPA collapsed.
• The JPA collapsed because the town government had become dysfunctional. 

30 Days and Counting…

 …Because when you find that bread dough is over-proofed you can punch it down and try again, but only a couple of times. Eventually a decision is required: Either settle for flatbread that’s lost its savor, or compost the mess and start over. Edgewood has reached a similar decision point. 

The Commission Manager form of government as manifested in Edgewood is barely functioning.

• It appears that we are facing yet another imminent failure (or possibly sabotage) of the proposed new Fire/EMS JPA.  (See the letter from the SFCo attorney in the packet for tomorrow’s special meeting.)
• Despite the best efforts of the town staff  to untangle a mess not of their making, they fell short of delivering a balanced budget as required by state law. 
• The Town Commission seems to have been either unaware (or unwilling) to take responsibility for doing its part of the job: making the final round of changes needed to achieve a balanced budget.
• The revolving door among the town staff shows no signs of slowing down.     
• Meanwhile, the town’s PR machine continues to churn out good news.  

45 Days and Counting…

 …Because foundations matter, and a house built on sand at low tide falls when the tide turns and brings with it a storm.  

• Incorporating a government in 1999 on a gerrymandered map was gaming the system.
• The new town which had annexed land in three counties by 2001 got there by gaming the system.
• A young town that believed it could provide essential services, pave roads and build lots of amenities on a GRT tax base plus handouts from higher levels of government was politically immature and existed by gaming the system. 
• A town that’s been around for 26 years and whose leaders think it can make its own rules and keep gaming the system for handouts is built on sand.  

53 days and Counting…

 …Because instead of the town government honoring its commitment to paying Santa Fe County for emergency services, it now appears that money budgeted for that purpose has been diverted into several different directions. This had been going on for several years. The exact details of how, when, and by whom it was done will require a forensic analysis. 

Meanwhile, one long-time resident who is among the dwindling group of those who clearly remembers what Edgewood was like before 1999 responded to yesterday’s post as quoted below. [This person asked to remain anonymous because speaking out has negative consequences for those whose livelihood is centered in Edgewood. I have formatted the comment to make it easier to read on mobile devices.]

• “…this discussion to abolish the town government should be welcomed by people of all stripes because back in the late 90's there was no discussion amongst the citizens of Edgewood regarding incorporation.  
• In those pre social media days the effort to incorporate Edgewood was limited to a small group of real estate developers and realtors who were motivated by their own…interests.  
• They sold incorporation to everyone else as, "What's good for us will be good for everybody.”  
• Sadly, the government they built never worked out that way.  
• In fact, that government has proven itself to be more of a burden for most citizens than the panacea that those long ago incorporators envisioned.”

54 Days and Counting…

…Because where you are located on the moebius strip that is Edgewood determines what you are able to perceive, but more importantly, what you cannot. In order to understand Edgewood as it truly has become it will first be necessary to let go of personal opinions and step far enough away from them so that the outline can be perceived. But those first two steps alone are not enough because no one individual located at a single point can see those parts which are turned away. 

Signing the disincorporation petition will not dissolve the town government. It may or may not lead to an election to decide the issue. At this point in time it is the discussion which is most important. 

• The only good thing I’ve seen thus far in the collapse of the town’s Fire/EMS JPA is that it has focused attention on the longstanding fundamental problems in town government which caused it. 
• The petition drive to disincorporate the municipal government was not the result of the collapse of the JPA itself, but it is the product of the situation which allowed it to happen. 
• The people who started the petition did so because they have taken the first two steps described above. However, it will be the discussions sparked by the existence of the petition that will reveal the scope of the problems faced by the town and perhaps lead to solutions, or perhaps even to a dissolution of the municipal government. Either way Edgewood will still be Edgewood and a good place to call home.   
• It is too soon to predict the fate of the petition because that will be determined by the scope and nature of the discussion. 
• Yesterday’s post invoked the image of a moebius strip and it has been interpreted by readers in some interesting ways: the ouroboros, a roller coaster, and even discussions of geometric techniques. 
• Each of those comparisons yield some interesting possibilities for discussing town government beyond the typical two-dimensional screeching, pandering and blame gaming that is often seen on social media platforms.  
• My best advice is to focus on the signal and filter the noise. 

69 Days and Counting…

…Because until all parties have signed off on the new agreement, it’s not done.

• Link to a group of documents assembled by Edgewood residents related to the October 14, 2025 Budget Adjustment Resolution (BAR).
• Link to view the October 14, 2025 Town of Edgewood Commission Meeting during which the Town Commission voted unanimously to approve the BAR. 
• Documents which the Town of Edgewood initially released to explain its abandonment of the Fire/EMS JPA.

Why have I added the tag “forensic audit” to this post? Coming soon, links to a similar BAR done in 2024; approved 4-0 with meeting minutes more significant for what they don’t say than what they do. From 2022-2025, the town was not routinely publishing meeting packets, nor was it routinely utilizing its capability for projecting documents during meetings. 

Meanwhile, the town had accumulated a backlog of responses to citizens’ requests for access to meeting packets information filed under the Inspection of Public Records Act. Reasons for the delays were explained as being due to large IPRA requests arising from the town’s involvement in numerous lawsuits. The backlog of “ordinary requests” was finally dealt with beginning in January of 2026. However, the number of lawsuits appears to be increasing. The “official” record of meetings appears to consist of YouTube uploads/livestreams. The quality of the video/audio in the recordings is variable, although there have been improvements in recent months.  

70 Days and Counting…

… Because this isn’t over until three principals have signed off on the tentative agreement which was announced on April 21, 2026. 

The Town of Edgewood will consider the matter at its April 28 meeting. Santa Fe County will hold a special meeting on May 1 to take public input before considering taking action on the agreement. Legal counsel for both the County and the Town will review the proposed new JPA, but the Secretary of the Department of Finance and Administration will also have to approve the agreement before it can go into effect.  

Unfortunately, less than 24 hours after the signing of the agreement, it has already become clear that at least one Edgewood Town Commissioner is trying to sabotage it. The story referred to below includes an interview with D-1 Commissioner Kenneth Brennan who is quoted as characterizing the situation as follows: 

“We had a gun to our head and we gave up the wallet and now we're still alive."

For the full account, See today’s Albuquerque Journal story: SF County, Edgewood strike new fire and EMS deal BY NAKAYLA MCCLELLAND JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

71 Days and Counting…

…County versus Town government: What options are available to Edgewood residents? In late 2013, one of the first regular readers of this blog contacted me to suggest following Santa Fe County’s process of amending its land use code. (Search the tag cloud in the left sidebar for more posts about Santa Fe County.)

One of the reasons often given by the proponents of incorporating Edgewood into a municipality was the SFCo. Land use Codes as they existed in the late 1990’s. As is typical of astroturf based PR campaigns, the presentation of information about SFCo was as precisely curated as were the boundaries of the proposed incorporation map.   

Many people, and now the town government have stated that if the town were to disincorporate, Edgewood residents would lose local control over development decisions in Edgewood. But, that begs the question of exactly how should Edgewood be defined? Is it the historical community which is relatively small, or the bloated irregular outline so beloved by Edgewood’s “swaggering braggart” faction that they have unironically posted news accounts of Edgewood’s incorporation in its meeting chambers. Unfortunately, town’s the chief accomplishment was gaming the system of New Mexico’s land use laws for incorporations and annexations. I can assure you that people outside the community do not view the town with the same enthusiasm as do Edgewood’s tireless promoters.  

When multiple doors are open to the town, choosing one necessitates closing other options. More than two decades on, many residents are evaluating what we gained as opposed to what was lost by incorporation. With a proposal now on the table to undo 1999 via a legal dissolution,  it might be worthwhile to look at what Santa Fe County has to offer small rural, unincorporated communities. 

The answers might be surprising as is the history of how long these options have been available and how they have changed over time. The link posted above is for one particular community, but it contains some intriguing history and dates. There are different categories of community specially designated areas available. There is a lot more information available at the Santa Fe County website for those willing to do their own research, ask questions on social media, or question the town’s official pronouncements.  

72 Days and Counting…

…Today’s anticipated meeting between Town of Edgewood and Santa Fe County officials will set the tone for what comes next. 

I expect the town to issue a press release on the results of the meeting. If/when a press release is published, I hope that it will include the names of all those present on behalf of the town government. [As of 3:00 p.m. MST, I found nothing about the outcome of the meeting posted at the website.] 

Meanwhile, the town has quickly responded to the potential for disincorporation on the website’s  FAQ page. A dose of reality in the form of heavy attendance at recent meetings combined with the petition effort have caused the town to back off its rosy predictions for quickly starting our own Fire/EMS services. Instead, they have agreed to meet with Santa Fe County representatives to see if a suitable accommodation might be reached. The danger is, that by accident or design, someone from the town will sabotage negotiations.

Unlike the petition drive to change the town’s form of government, this one appears to be 100% grass-roots and 0% artificial turf. Petition drives take place in multiple steps. The organizers took the time to consult a variety of sources on getting the form and process right, and they have gained an impressive number of signatures in a short amount of time. When I last heard from the group, they are already considering a variety of options for expanding their reach.  

The people who believe the effort will fold quickly are mistaken. Why? The motivation is rooted in the town’s history of making ill-informed decisions and its ongoing political instability. I’ve posted before about the roots of these problems. Sooner or later Edgewood’s town government will either come to terms with reality or it will collapse. The collapse could happen relatively quickly through a formal disincorporation process, or it could happen more slowly by a gradual loss of focus and competence on the part of our elected officials. 

The good news is that Edgewood says it’s willing to negotiate.

However, the final sentence in this story at the Rt. 66 Indy is an accurate summary of where things stand:

 “Despite Rariden’s optimism, Santa Fe County has not confirmed that any new deal is open for discussion.”

Disincorporation Proposed

 ”We, the undersigned registered voters of the municipality of Edgewood, pursuant to Section 3-4-1 NMSA 1978, petition the board of county commissioners of Santa Fe county to conduct a special election on the question of disincorporating the municipality of Edgewood.”

The petition asks for the date on which the petition was signed, the printed name of the voter as it appears on the voting rolls, the address as listed on the voter registration, which must be within town boundaries, and for the “usual signature.”

If the petition gathers the required number of verified signatures, Santa Fe County is directed by law to then schedule an election with a single question: yes (to disincorporate) or no (to continue the municipal government).

The people who launched the petition have taken steps to verify the form of the petition and to ascertain the process for gathering signatures, registering new voters, and for submission of the petition. Clearly this was not a last-minute effort.  

One question I’ve been asked is whether or not the petition drive is a single-issue response to the dissolution of the town’s JPA with Santa Fe County. I spoke to one of the people collecting signatures outside of the April 14 town meeting who told me that what started the process was the town’s failure to clear audit findings for several years, a systemic failure to respond to IPRA requests seeking detailed financial information, and the Commission’s apparent unwillingness to deal responsibly with the growing number of lawsuits. The collapse of the JPA and lack of adequate explanation of what transpired were described as “the final straw.”