28 Days and Counting…

 …Because it becomes clearer at every meeting that someone has been trying to sabotage the new JPA. 

Enough is enough is enough already: Get it done!

• Commission Chair Mike Rariden deserves credit for opening the floor to public comment during the relevant agenda item. 
• Commissioner Brennan should be commended for suggesting a way to allow Public Comment despite its not having been included as an agenda item.  
• Fortunately, former Mayor Bob Stearley, and former Town Councilor and Interim Mayor, John Abrams, were on hand last night to describe how using the Emergency Declaration option might be a way to put an end to the shenanigans. 
• Commissioner Stephen Murillo’s abrupt and noisy departure was not helpful; he has either been given some bad advice on OMA compliance, or was intentionally trying to derail the meeting. 
• Because Murillo failed to stay at his post last night, the public was forced to address his empty chair. His choice-his consequences.  

31 Days and Counting…

 …Because it’s beginning to look as though ratification of the new Fire/EMS JPA is in trouble. On what basis did the Town Commissioners believe that Santa Fe County would jump up, salute, and accept their cobbled together substitute ordinance? 

Given the fact that the Town violated the terms of the previous agreement, it seems reasonable that the County has a right to insist that the Town provide some surety in order to continue with a new JPA. 

• The town has had an agreement for the formula used to calculate payments since 2005.
• Beginning in 2022 the new town government accepted services over several years as had earlier town governments.
• Sometime after the new town government took over on January 1, 2022, it made a unilateral decision; first to reduce payments and then to stop payments entirely.  
• The public was never informed of the policy change, and thus far the town has not released the records needed to establish what happened, when it happened, where the money went, and who made the decisions. 
• The details of how the funds intended for the JPA were transferred to other uses were largely hidden from view in spite of ongoing requests from the public to post financial and other information on the website, or at least make it available to the public at meetings. 
• The official explanations again and again were that the Town could not release more information due to the existence of litigation and/or multiple ongoing investigations.
• It was not until the county filed suit in late 2025 that any Commissioners began asking questions about the source of the funds in the BARs.
• If Town Commissioners continue relying on the strange reasoning by which they landed us in this mess, then it will not be long before it becomes ruinously expensive or impossible to obtain property insurance.  
• The Town owes Santa Fe County for services received but for which it did not pay.
• The town does NOT have the means to provide services on its own. 
• It should come as no surprise that Santa Fe County finds the last-minute substitute ordinance inadequate.  

33 Days and (Still) Counting…

 …Because while this latest step of publishing the ordinance and announcing the date for its public hearing takes things in the right direction, we still don’t know where the money that should have funded the Fire/EMS JPA was spent. Nor do we know who authorized the change in policy and why that change was never publicly announced.

• The official town explanation thus far has been that the failure to announce the policy change was due to legal reasons falling under attorney-client privilege regarding pending litigation. 
• However the letter from the New Mexico Department of Justice shreds that reasoning.  [Letter can be found in the Commission Packet posted at the town website on pp. 23-26 of the packet.]
• Common sense also applies: while it is not yet established exactly when the policy change was made or who authorized it, we do know roughly when payments dropped significantly, and that happened well before Santa Fe County filed its lawsuit.  

34 Days and Counting…

 …Because the town has posted information including a link to the text of the proposed ordinance required for ratification of a new Fire/EMS JPA along with a date for the public hearing. You will see that the proposed ordinance is fairly short and refers to the previously agreed upon Joint Powers Agreement. [I have been unable to locate the final, agreed upon text of the JPA, but the draft which was approved on May 1, 2026 is available on p. 27 in the meeting packet for that date.]

35 Days and Counting…

…Because while the town made progress at last night’s meeting and the timeline for final approval of the enabling ordinance for the Fire/EMS JPA works in theory, there are still several steps remaining as well as some unanswered questions. 

• The devil is always in the details: The text of the proposed JPA ordinance has not yet been made available for public inspection, and it appears that there were at least two versions. 
• The version which will be put out for public notice later this week is shorter than the original. 
• It remains to be seen how Santa Fe County and DFA will view the second, shorter version of the JPA Ordinance, although it appears to have addressed the concerns of both Commissioners Brennan and Murillo. 
• On a related note; while there was great progress made during last Friday’s budget workshop, there are strong indications that the town’s projected income for the next fiscal year are overly optimistic.  
• The town will submit an interim budget for 2026-7 that while better than previous years, does not fully address some important spending issues. It remains to be seen how DFA will respond.
• Public comments were interesting, and the “bit dogs” continue to bark loudly. 

36 Days and Counting… (revised and updated)

 …Because last week’s budget workshop highlighted some major deficits in understanding on the part of both the town staff and governing body which are inextricably tied up with the implosion of the Fire/EMS JPA. 

If you were under the impression that the new JPA is a “done deal” think again, because time is running out and we need an ordinance that can withstand any challenges now or in the future. 

I asked former Interim Mayor and Town Councilor, John Abrams, to expand on his remarks made during a recent Town Commission meeting because my experience has been primarily concerned with quasi-judicial hearings. What follows is his initial reply followed by a paraphrase of what turned into a long and detailed conversation. [ETA: There exists no single document in which all the requirements can be specifically listed. The items which follow are drawn from the Municipal Code, The Open Meetings Act, and the New Mexico Municipal League guidelines for how local governments should conduct public hearings. This situation is one of many reasons why Edgewood has suffered due to the loss of institutional memory during the changeover in its form of government.]

In response to my questions about requirements for legislative public hearings as opposed to quasi-judicial hearings Abrams replied: 

“Not quite the same as in land use but still very close. The rules for testimony are similar as well.” 

1. At a minimum, two public meetings are required for approval of an ordinance.
2. The process for approving any ordinance begins with an agenda item during a regular meeting which specifies that there be “discussion and possible action” on a call for a public hearing.
3. Such agenda items are subject to the 72 hours requirement for regular meetings. 
4. The draft text of the proposed ordinance should be included in the meeting packet for that first meeting and/or a notice that the draft proposed document is available for inspection at town hall. 
5. If the call for a public hearing is approved, the motion should direct staff to formally publish notice of the proposed adoption of an ordinance (in a news outlet where the town usually posts public notices) at least 14 days in advance of the the dates of at least one, but ideally two scheduled public sessions to discuss and then vote on the ordinance.*
6. The final text of the proposed ordinance should also be made available at least 14 days prior to the scheduled hearing(s).** 
7. Ideally, there should be two public sessions taking place within two successive regular meetings in order to insure reasonable notice, and to avoid giving the appearance of scheduling shenanigans.***
8. Therefore, the public is made aware of impending passage of an ordinance by the following means, and while two sessions are not mandatory, that is true only so long as there have been no substantive changes to the proposed ordinance as it was originally noticed and published.

• A call for a public hearing is published along with a draft version of the ordinance and,

• If the call for a public hearing is approved, notice is published giving the dates of at least two date of at least one but often two public hearing sessions which have been advertised at least 14 days in advance and,

• The text of the proposed ordinance having been made available to the public at least 14 days in advance of the hearings and,

• The public hearings ideally take place in two sessions before the board and public and during consecutive regularly scheduled meetings and, 

• The vote may take place during the first session, but no earlier than a second hearing session in cases where there have been substantive changes proposed to the originally published version.  

• In addition, even the 14 Day rule may be suspended in such cases where an Emergency affecting Public Safety is formally declared by the governing body. However, Emergency Declarations in such cases may be subject to review by state government agencies.   

*Scheduling of legislative public hearings requires combining three elements: 14 days notice for legislative public hearings, 72 hours notice for the regular meeting(s) within which the hearings will be included on the agenda, and reasonable expectation that a quorum will be available to hear and then then vote on the matter.  

**This assumes that work on the proposed ordinance is substantively complete with only minor corrections needed such as dates, who is to sign the ordinance, or unclear terminology.

***For example, annexations are done by passing an ordinance: The November 17, 2001 public hearing and the December 3, 2001 vote to annex Campbell Ranch had numerous irregularities: they were both done as special meetings with the second session being a continuance of the first. The first hearing session was held at a different location than the usual meeting place in the Community Center (Edgewood Elementary School), and the continuation of that hearing was scheduled in the usual location but on a Saturday morning. There were substantive reasons for challenging the vote in court, but had a judge ordered a “do-over” the results would likely have been the same. 

38 Days and Counting…

 …Because it appears that there are multiple versions still “bouncing back and forth” of the ordinance needed to ratify a new Fire/EMS JPA. 

Agenda for the May 12 Meeting Has Been Published

The agenda for next Tuesday’s meeting has been posted at the Town website. The packet for this meeting will likely be larger than usual, so it may not be posted on the upcoming meetings page until later today or over the weekend. 

[UPDATE: the meeting packet has now been posted along with the text of the call for a pubic hearing (see p. 19) which informs the public that the complete ordinance will be available for inspection in the town offices during normal business hours prior to the public hearing. However, the timing raises the question of whether or not this arrangement is compliant with the Open Meetings Act?

• The first critical agenda item (G.1.) is the formal call for a public hearing on an ordinance required for ratification of the proposed replacement for the Fire/EMS JPA. This is the first step needed in order to ratify the preliminary vote taken during the May 1, 2026 meeting. 
• The second critical item (I.1.) will be discussion and possible action regarding the timing of Commissioner Rariden’s resignation. 
• Considering the reservations expressed by Commissioners Murillo and Brennan coupled with the imminent departure of Commissioner Rariden, it will be important for as many people as possible to attend Tuesday’s meeting in person to help ensure that the vote to call for the public hearing(s) required in order to ratify the JPA will take place with no stipulations. 
• If you cannot attend in person, it is important to contact all the Commissioners prior to the meeting. 
• The call for a public hearing to create an ordinance is legislative in nature: Therefore, “ex parte” constraints do not apply and you should reject any attempts to avoid discussion of the matter on those grounds.  

June 24, 2025 Town Commission meeting recap

In no particular order, last night’s meeting was significant in many ways. Former President Ronald Reagan used to tell a joke that started out, “It’s ok, we’re from the government and we are here to help you!” 

• Top billing should go to the Water Utility Ordinance discussion which starts at about 30 minutes into the meeting. Do not worry, dear citizen, about that scary eminent domain language. It’s just in there because that’s the template required by the state government according to Mayor Kenneth Brennan. Linda Burke did add an important qualification: it won’t be used immediately. Passed 5-0 with no substantive discussion. 
• The ordinance isn’t all bad: It lays the groundwork for eventually achieving important goals of former Mayors Bob Stearley and John Bassett by requiring a 40 year water plan, and if properly implemented, would allow the town to sidestep the primary factor which has hindered economic development in the past. If it’s mishandled, the town could end up in yet another convoluted legal morass.  
• In keeping with the current administration’s now familiar habit of proclaiming transparency but doing the opposite, Commissioners had been provided with late breaking changes to the proposed solid waste disposal ordinance which were not made available to the public. Fortunately, due to Brad Hill’s concerns that the language threatens the viability of his widely acclaimed nuisance abatement program, the Commission immediately postponed the hearing pending a workshop on the subject. 
• The solid waste ordinance is going to be unpopular; the version made available to the public was garbage (pun intended), and so I wonder if this was some kind of Trumpian opening gambit designed to make version 2.0 less odious. Nevertheless, it raises the specter of yet another town official hired for overseeing the vital task of monitoring citizens’ feeble ability to manage their own trash. Of course, dumpster snooping will be allowed only by a government-approved Sanitary Officer. Freelance dumpster divers would be subject to prosecution. Penalties for such reprehensible, anti-social behaviors have yet to be determined. 
• The social media policy discussion was hilarious. Its adoption will pit boomer-tier, rulebook grammarians against cyberpunk pranksters. My money says that cyberpunks rule with the eventual outcome being the town’s social media accounts devolving into the pointlessness of a sanitized echo chamber. 
• The evening concluded with the termination of an employee upon recommendation of the Town Manager. 
• It is clear that following the departure of three of the original Town Commissioners from Commission Manager version 1.0, most traces of Edgewood’s vaunted hyper-libertarianism are gone. Version 2.0 sees the Commissioners lining up with only occasional token objections to jumping through the hoops necessary for accessing state and federal funds. Stay tuned: This is an Election Year. Commission Manager Version 3.0 will debut come January 1, 2026. If it contains new faces, then the dynamic will change again. Even so, it is clear that Republican or Democrat, Edgewood is learning to embrace big government.  

Broken Links and the (dim) prospects for improvement:

I have not had time to keep links up to date, but I have (for now) restored the documents links found in the right sidebar and updated the links to outside sites. Unfortunately, most of the links to the town’s official website are no longer working, and the new site is quirky at best and deceptive at worst. Good luck with getting access to official documents as physical access to the municipal offices and the fulfillment of IPRA requests seem to be severely curtailed at this time. 

Unfortunately, Edgewood town government seems to have reverted to 1999 in more ways than agreeing to use the 1999 subdivision ordinance for Campbell Ranch. Edgewood’s current governing body has returned to the first group’s original focus on “religious values”, political labels, and wishful thinking. 

Possible remedies? 

(1) Form a new coalition of voters who will elect representatives with a more practical focus. [Possible if the current government continues to exasperate residents and neighbors alike, but extremely difficult to maintain for an extended time in a bedroom community.]

(2) Abandon the experiment with Commission/Manager form of government and return to a Mayor Council government which is more suited to the expectations of small and medium sized towns. [If it’s so great why haven’t more towns and villages in NM adopted the Commission/Manager format? This is probably the most doable option since what was advertised is not even close to what has been delivered.]

(3) Disincorporate and return to county government. [My first reaction upon reading the petition to change the form of government was that it was the first step in disincorporation by other means i.e. eventual dissolution due to loss of momentum. A surprising number of people who signed had also explored disincorporation following the Campbell Ranch annexation. Some of them still have copies of disincorporation petition forms on hand and ready to go. While actual disincorporation is theoretically possible it is not likely. However, gradual dissolution isn’t out of the question given current trends.]

Wastewater Ordinances combined and updated

FYI: Town of Edgewood Ordinances 2010-01 and 2010-02 pertaining to wastewater treatment have been combined and updated in Wastewater Ordinance 2015-03 Amended February 17, 2016. The new ordinance has been placed into the Current Versions of Town Ordinances folder. I have moved the two outdated ordinances to the Superseded or Modified Ordinances folder on Drive.

Edgewood's 'Inadequate' Wastewater Connection Ordinance

"The old one was probably more inadequate than I could state."  

Edgewood Mayor Brad Hill talking about the town's wastewater ordinance and quoted in the March 25, 2015 edition of The Independent. 

The topic under discussion was the revision process for the town's Wastewater Connection Ordinance 2010-01 which was approved on by the Town Council on March 3, 2010.  It does not appear to have been modified during the five years since it was approved; some changes are probably needed. 

A draft ordinance with an accompanying proposed fee schedule was presented to the Town Council on February 17, 2010. During the public hearing, questions were raised by citizens about whether or not connection to the sewer system would be optional or mandatory. [The ordinance as proposed and adopted leaves the decision to the customer.]

During the deliberations, Councilor Brad Hill pointed out a typo and asked that a term "multi-family" be changed to "multi-unit."  Councilor Rita Loy Simmons asked that a map of the service area be included.  Mayor Bob Stearley asked how many businesses had expressed interest in connecting to the system.  The minutes indicate that the Council went through the ordinance line by line and suggested several changes, but the minutes do not reflect the substance.  At the conclusion of the discussion, the Council voted to continue the public hearing during the March 3, 2010 meeting. 

During the March 3 meeting, no members of the public asked to speak on the matter. The council discussed several changes but the minutes do not reflect the substance. At the conclusion of deliberations, Glenn Felton offered a motion to approve the ordinance with the changes agreed upon during the February 17 and March 3 public hearings. Brad Hill offered a second.  Glenn Felton, Brad Hill, John Abrams and Rita Loy Simmons all voted to approve the new ordinance. 

What changes might we expect in a new ordinance and fee schedule?  There is a possibility that connections would no longer be optional for property owners located in the plant's service area.  Also, there may be fee hikes proposed for initial connection and/or for service.  The town has been subsidizing the costs of running the plant since it first opened. With the recent downturn in Gross Receipts Tax revenues, the town may ask customers to pay more. 

Old and new subdivision and zoning ordinances:

Adopted version of ToE Ordinance 2014-02 (Zoning Ordinance) effective August 11, 2014
Amended version effective February 4, 2015

Adopted version of ToE Ordinance 2014-03 (Subdivision Ordinance) effective August 11, 2014
Amended version effective February 4, 2015

I have placed copies of the amended versions in the Current Versions of Town Ordinances folder on Drive.  The ordinances approved on August 11, 2014 have been moved to the Superseded or Modified folder. 

Public Hearings scheduled for 12/03/2014

The Town of Edgewood has advertised two public hearings which will take place during the regular Council meeting of Dec. 3, 2014.  The purpose for conducting the hearings is to amend the new Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances which were approved in August. 

New P&Z Ordinance:

I obtained a copy of ToE Ordinance 2014-05 (Planning Commission) from the Town Clerk which is archived on Drive.  I will post a link to the ToE website as soon as the ordinance is available there.  This ordinance amends and supersedes Ordinance 1999-S which I have moved into the folder containing outdated ordinances.  

Added 11/01/2014:  The new Planning Commission Ordinance is now posted at the ToE website in the Planning and Zoning section devoted to agendas and minutes.

Updates to the Town Documents page:

I've updated the Town Documents page with direct links to current ordinances as well as a separate link to old ordinances which have been superseded by amended or new versions. I've added a link to superseded ordinances in the in the ToE on Drive sidebar as well. 

Latest P&Z audio:

P&Z audio for April 15, 2014 is now available at the ToE website. This was a routine meeting, but I am posting the link because of the public comment section which begins at about 9 minutes and 38 seconds into the meeting.  Former commission chairman, John Bassett, provided the staff and commission photographs of the Sandia Airpark North subdivision in support of his contention that subdivision improvements agreements should be in place prior to the granting of a final subdivision plat.The photographs shown to the commission were taken in Edgewood at the Sandia Airpark North subdivision about 20 months ago. The appearance of the open trenches is essentially unchanged since that time. 

When the preliminary plat was approved in 2005, the town's policies on development review were still being formed. The commission had discussed optimal timing of subdivision improvement agreements with the town's attorney, David Henderson, prior to hearings on this matter. (See P& Z minutes for May 2, 2005.)  The preliminary plat was approved on October 17, 2005, and a conditional final plat was approved on February 20, 2006. A subdivision improvements agreement was approved on November 20, 2006 pending review of the town's attorney.  Sometime after the November 2006 decision, the applicant encountered problems securing funding. It appears that the conditions placed upon the final plat approval were never met, because the commission voted to extend the preliminary plat on September 10, 2007.  This was done after the Commission was informed that the applicant had secured funding for installation of infrastructure. The subdivision was granted a second final plat by the Town of Edgewood on April 7, 2008 after the commission was told that an agreement had been reached for installation of the required improvements. 

However, the work never progressed further than the digging of trenches for utilities before work stopped on the project. The open trenches remain to this day and are a potential liability to the town. The proposed changes to the subdivision ordinance would drop the requirement that execution of such agreements be undertaken prior to approval of the final plat.

I believe the history of this subdivision provides a useful illustration of problems which may arise from approval of a final plat prior to completion of the development agreement. The history of this subdivision also serves as an illustration of why it is unwise to place substantive conditions on final plat approvals.  (Photos provided by John Bassett)

These open trenches in Sandia Airpark North resulted after the town approved a final plat before securing an adequate subdivision improvements agreement.

A different view of the Sandia Airpark North subdivision in Edgewood which has been sitting idle for a number of years.

Two special meetings scheduled by the Town of Edgewood for Saturday April 12, 2014:

Saturday April 12 at 9:00 am: A joint meeting between the Council and P&Z at the Edgewood Community Center to discuss proposed ordinance changes.

******

Saturday April 12 at 3:00 pm: A Town Hall meeting regarding formation of an Edgewood School District: Location to be announced. Edgewood Middle School Cafeteria.

Update to the Town Documents page

I have added information to the Portal's Town Documents page including links to the Ordinances & Resolutions and  the Forms & Applications found at the town's official website.

The proposed changes to two ordinances are now available:

The proposed changes to the Zoning Ordinance are posted at the town website's Ordinances & Resolutions page as are proposed changes to the Subdivision Ordinance.  I have also placed copies on Drive in a new folder.