The legislative branch of the municipality shall consist of
a Council of four Councilors to be elected at large for staggered
terms of four years, with terms of 1/2 of the Councilors expiring
at the end of one two-year period and the terms of the other Councilors
expiring at the end of the following two-year period.
A. Qualifications. Each member of the Council shall be a resident of
the municipality and a qualified elector thereof. If any Councilor
moves from or becomes a nonresident of the municipality during his
or her term of office, he or she shall be deemed to have vacated his
or her office upon the adoption by the Council of a resolution declaring
such vacancy to exist.
B. Power and duties. The corporate authority of the municipality shall
be vested in the Council, which shall possess all powers granted by
law, or other municipal powers not conferred by law or ordinance on
another officer of the municipality. The Council shall:
(1) Manage and control the finances and all property, real and personal,
belonging to the municipality;
(2) Determine the time and place of holding its meetings, which shall
be open to the public;
(3) Determine the rules of its own proceedings;
(4) Keep minutes of its proceedings, which shall be open to examination
by any citizen;
(5) Adopt rules and regulations necessary to effect the powers granted
municipalities;
(6) Prescribe the compensation and fees to be paid municipal officers
and employees; and
(7) Prescribe the powers and duties of those officers whose terms of
office or powers and duties are not defined by law, and impose additional
powers and duties upon those officers whose powers and duties are
prescribed by law.
C. Vacancies. In case of death, resignation, vacation or removal for
cause of any member of the Council during his or her term of office,
the Mayor, with the advice and consent of the Council, shall appoint
a qualified elector of the municipality to fill the vacancy until
the next regular municipal election, at which time a qualified elector
shall be elected to fill the remaining unexpired term, if any.
D. Oath of office. Councilors shall take the oath of office required
in NMSA 1978, § 3-10-2.
[Amended 5-2002]
The following shall be observed:
A. General.
(1) Regular meetings. The governing body shall hold its regular meetings
at such time and public places as it designates and deems necessary
to conduct the business of the Village. These meetings shall follow
a regular schedule whenever possible. Notice of these meetings shall
be in accordance with Resolution No. 1 of the Village Council.
(2) Special meetings. The Mayor, or a majority of the members of the
Council, may call special meetings by notice to each member of the
Council, personally served, or left at his or her usual place of residence,
and with public notice given in accordance with Resolution No. 1 of
the Village Council.
(3) Quorum. A quorum is necessary for the governing body to conduct business.
A quorum is a simple majority of all the members of the governing
body (i.e., three of five members). A majority of those present may
act on behalf of the municipality, except that certain actions require
a majority or more of the entire governing body, such as the passage
of ordinances or resolutions or personnel removal. If only four members
of the governing body are present, tie votes may occur on some actions.
Such actions shall be automatically tabled until such time as the
entire governing body is present.
(4) Agenda. All reports, communications, ordinances, resolutions, contracts,
documents, or other matters to be submitted to the governing body
shall be delivered to the Clerk at least nine days prior to each meeting,
whereupon the Clerk shall immediately arrange a list of such matters
according to the order of business. Each Councilor, the Mayor, and
Village Attorney will be furnished with a copy of the order of business,
together with a copy of the minutes of the last meeting prior to the
Council meeting and as far in advance of the meeting as time for preparation
will permit. Additional items may be added to the agenda by majority
consent of the members of the governing body.
B. Meeting conduct.
(1) Adherence to rules. It is the intent that a meeting be conducted
on as informal basis as is practicable to expedite Village business.
Business will be conducted generally following good parliamentary
procedure at the discretion of the presiding officer. Strict adherence
to the following rules will, however, be invoked at the request of
any member of the governing body at any time on any or all issues.
(2) Rules of debate.
(a)
Mayor. The Mayor may not make and second motions, may debate
from the chair, and shall have all privileges of other members, except
that he shall only vote when there is a tie vote.
(b)
Councilors. Each Councilor desiring to speak shall address the
presiding officer and, after being recognized, confine himself or
herself to debate, avoiding personalities and indecorous language.
(c)
Interruption. A Councilor having been recognized shall not be
interrupted except to call him or her to order. If called to order,
he or she shall cease speaking until the point of order is decided,
after which he or she may proceed.
(d)
Statement in minutes. A member of the Council may request the
privilege of having his or her statement on any subject under consideration
entered in the minutes, subject to the majority consent of the governing
body, provided that any member shall have the right to cause his or
her reasons for dissent or protest against the action of the Council
entered in the minutes without majority consent of the governing body.
(e)
Issues not covered. Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised shall
be used by the Council in determining any issue not covered by this
section. Any member of the governing body may request that an interpretation
of Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised concerning any issue be
made by the parliamentarian, in which case the decision of the parliamentarian
will prevail.
(3) Addressing the governing body.
(a)
Written communications. Interested parties or their representatives
may address the governing body by written communication regarding
any matter.
(b)
Oral address. Taxpayers or residents of the municipality or
their authorized representatives may orally address the governing
body on any matter concerning the business of the municipality, provided
that preference shall be given to those persons who may have notified
the Clerk in advance of their desire to speak.
(c)
Reading of protests and petitions. Taxpayers or residents of
the municipality and their authorized representatives may address
the governing body by the reading of protests, petitions or communications.
(d)
Persons other than taxpayers and residents. Persons other than
taxpayers and residents must receive prior approval before orally
addressing the governing body.
(e)
Manner of address. Each person orally addressing the governing
body shall first seek the recognition of the presiding officer and,
after being recognized, shall stand and give his/her name and whether
or not he/she resides in the Village of Bosque Farms before proceeding.
All remarks shall be addressed to the Council as a whole and not to
any member thereof unless consent of the chair is obtained. No person,
other than a Councilor and the person having the floor, shall be permitted
to enter into any discussion without permission of the presiding officer.
(f)
Time limit. In order that the business of the municipality may
be disposed of in an expeditious manner, the presiding officer may
place a limitation on the length of time any person may speak.
(4) Decorum.
(a)
Mayor. The Mayor shall preserve the order and decorum, decide
all questions of order and conduct the proceedings of the meetings
in accordance with the parliamentary rules contained in Robert's Rules
of Order, Newly Revised unless otherwise provided by ordinance.
(b)
Councilors. While the governing body is in session, the members
shall observe order and decorum and neither delay nor interrupt the
proceedings of the Council nor disturb any member while speaking nor
refuse to obey the orders of the Council or its presiding officer.
(c)
Public. While the governing body is in session, no person shall
act in a disorderly manner nor, while addressing the governing body,
shall any person make any personal, impertinent or slanderous remarks.
The presiding officer may bar anyone acting improperly from continuing
his address to the governing body.
(d)
Enforcement. The Chief of Police or such police officer as the
presiding officer may designate shall be the sergeant-at-arms of the
governing body and shall carry out all orders of the presiding officer
for the purpose of maintaining the order and decorum of the session.
Upon orders from the presiding officer, it shall be the duty of the
sergeant-at-arms to place any person who violates the provisions of
this section under arrest and cause him to be prosecuted upon the
complaint of the presiding officer in the Municipal Court, subject
to punishment by a fine of not more than $500 or by imprisonment in
jail not exceeding 90 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
C. Order of business.
(1) The
order of business of the governing body shall be taken up for consideration
and disposition in the following order:
(a)
Call to order. The Mayor, or, in his absence, the Mayor Pro
Tem, shall call the meeting to order at the appointed hour.
(b)
Roll call. Before proceeding with the order of business, the
Clerk or his (her) deputy shall call the roll of the members, and
the names of those present shall be entered in the minutes.
(c)
Reading of the minutes. The minutes of each regular meeting
or special meeting of the governing body shall be read at the next
regular meeting unless omission of such reading is approved by a majority
of the voting members.
(d)
Reports by officers. Municipal officials and/or committees shall
present such reports as may be required by the governing body.
(e)
Old business. The Council shall consider any business that has
previously been considered and which is still unfinished.
(f)
New business. The Council shall consider any business not heretofore
considered, including the introduction or reading of ordinances and
resolutions.
(g)
Petitions. Petitions, remonstrances, communications, and comments
or suggestions from citizens present shall be heard by the Council.
All such remarks shall be addressed to the Council as a whole, and
not to any member thereof. Such remarks shall be limited to a reasonable
time, and such determination will be in the discretion of the presiding
officer. No person other than the individual speaking shall enter
into the discussion without the permission of the presiding officer.
(h)
Other business. Prior to adjournment, the Council shall, as
it deems necessary, consider such business as is not specifically
provided for herein.
(2) The Council may, by majority consent, modify the order of business as listed above in Subsection
C(1)(a) through
(h), inclusive.
[Amended 5-19-2016; 12-20-2018]
A. All laws of the municipality shall be enacted by the passage of ordinances,
all of which shall be reviewed by the Village Attorney. Ordinances
shall be numbered consecutively and shall bear a title which shall
set forth in general terms its subject matter; shall contain an enacting
clause; and shall bear the date, signatures of the Mayor and the attesting
officer, and the Seal of the Village. The Village Clerk shall keep
a permanent log book in which the original of each ordinance considered,
whether or not adopted, shall be kept.
B. Employees of the Village of Bosque Farms will not create, write,
alter or change any ordinance without the expressed consent of a majority
of the entire governing body.
The Village Councillors shall, after having taken the oath of
office as required in NMSA 1978, § 3-10-2, receive a yearly
compensation of $1,200, paid on a monthly basis of $100 per month.
Such compensation shall begin on July 1, 1990, and will be paid at
the first pay period of each month thereafter.
All officers, elected or appointed to any municipal office,
shall take an oath or affirmation to support the Constitution of the
United States, the Constitution and laws of New Mexico, and to faithfully
perform the duties of the office.
Any person elected or appointed to an elective office of the
municipality may be removed for malfeasance in office by the District
Court upon complaint of the Mayor or Council of the municipality.
Any such officer shall be entitled to a hearing at a time fixed by
the Court after not less than 10 days' notice of such proceedings
by service, as in the case of summons in civil actions, with a copy
of the complaint filed in the proceedings.