N.M. Stat. § 3-2-1 — NM_STATUTES Code / Chapter 3 / Article 2 / Section 3-2-1
§ 3-2-1. Petition to incorporate area as a municipality; map and money for census
Status: in_force

A. The residents of territory proposed to be incorporated as a municipality may petition the board of county commissioners of the county in which the greatest portion of the territory proposed to be incorporated lies to incorporate the territory as a municipality. The petition shall:

(1) be in writing;

(2) state the name of the proposed municipality;

(3) describe the territory proposed to be incorporated as a municipality; and

(4) be signed by either:

(a) not less than two hundred qualified electors, each of whom shall, on the petition: 1) swear or affirm that the qualified elector has resided within the territory proposed to be incorporated for a period of six months immediately prior to the signing of the petition; and 2) list the street address of the qualified elector's residence; or

(b) the owners of not less than sixty percent of the real estate within the territory proposed to be incorporated who are not delinquent in their payment of real property taxes.

B. The petition shall be accompanied by:

(1) an accurate map or plat that shows the boundary of the territory proposed to be incorporated;

(2) a municipal services and revenue plan that describes the municipal services the proposed municipality will provide and the details of how the municipality will generate sufficient revenue to cover the costs of providing those services; and

(3) the current university of New Mexico geospatial and population studies group data showing that the territory proposed to be incorporated contains a population density of not less than one person per acre.

C. The municipal services and revenue plan shall demonstrate that the proposed municipality will provide at least three of the following services and that it will have a tax base sufficient to pay the costs of those services:

(1) law enforcement;

(2) fire protection and fire safety;

(3) road and street construction and maintenance;

(4) solid waste management;

(5) water supply or distribution or both;

(6) wastewater treatment;

(7) storm water collection and disposal;

(8) electric or gas utility services;

(9) enforcement of building, housing, plumbing and electrical codes and other similar codes;

(10) planning and zoning; and

(11) recreational facilities.

D. The county shall forward the petition to the local government division of the department of finance and administration, which shall convene a municipal incorporation review team consisting of:

(1) the director of the local government division or the director's designee;

(2) the secretary of taxation and revenue or the secretary's designee;

(3) one representative of the county in which the proposed municipality would be located chosen by the board of county commissioners; and

(4) a representative of the New Mexico municipal league who shall be an advisory member of the review team.

E. The review team shall consider the petition and may request that the university of New Mexico geospatial and population studies group confirm that the data provided with the petition supports the finding that the proposed boundaries contain a population of at least one person per acre. The review team shall evaluate the municipal services and revenue plan and determine whether the proposed municipality meets the requirements of Chapter 3, Article 2 NMSA 1978 . If the review team finds that the proposed municipality meets the requirements of that article, it shall report its findings and recommendations to the board of county commissioners. If the review team finds that the proposed municipality does not meet the requirements of that article, the review team shall notify the board of county commissioners and the petitioners of deficiencies in the petition. The review team's notification of deficiencies in the municipal services and revenue plan suspends the attempt to incorporate. Petitioners have three months from the date of notification of deficiencies to submit an amended plan to the review team. If the amended plan is rejected by the review team for deficiencies, petitioners may not submit another petition to incorporate an area until at least one year after the date of that rejection.