Judge grants flood district petition

The Valencia County commissioners will defer to the guidance of the New Mexico Secretary of State in regards to the voting process to consider forming an arroyo flood district.

In April, the commissioners voted 4-0 to petition the 13th Judicial District Court to allow for the formation of the Valencia County Arroyo Flood District. The petition was assigned to Judge Cindy Mercer and, on July 9, she granted an order allowing the county to put the question of whether or not to form the district on the November general election ballot.

That should have put the formation question as well as a slate of candidates on the ballot so if the district was approved by voters, a five-person board could also be elected at the same time, allowing the district to begin functioning in January.

However, after the secretary of state intervened in the formation process of a similar flood control district in Sierra County, the Seventh Judicial District Court granted an order essentially separating the two actions — leaving the question of whether to form the district on the November 2024 ballot and pushing the election of a board to the November 2025 local election, if the district was indeed formed.

In light of the July 24 decision out of the Seventh Judicial District, the commissioners voted 5-0 at the July 30 meeting to direct legal staff to file a motion for an amended order with Judge Mercer so as to comply with the secretary’s guidance.

“The local election law says we can put the question on any ballot we want,” said county attorney Adren Nance. “But we will defer to the secretary of state.”

In its motion for an amended order, the county asked Mercer to issue an order putting the question of whether to form the district on the Nov. 5 General Election ballot as well as appoint a temporary board of five for the district — should it be approved by the voters — to serve until the next local election in November 2025.

The judge granted the amended order on Friday, Aug. 9.

Nance said if the district is approved, a five-member board would be appointed by a district court judge, but that task would probably fall to Mercer since she is hearing the petition.

The amended order says the court will temporarily appoint a flood control district board of directors, if it’s approved, 30 days after the district’s organization.

A deadline for qualified candidates to submit their names for consideration will be specified at a later time.

The board members would be at-large, meaning they would not be assigned to or selected from specific districts within Valencia County.

If formed, the district would include and have jurisdiction and taxing authority in the entirety of Valencia County, both incorporated and unincorporated areas.

One authority a flood control board has is the ability to impose property taxes. The board of directors can impose a half mill levy — a property tax of 50 cents per $1,000 of taxable value — without a public vote, but any future flood district mill levy increases would have to go to the voters for approval.

Nance said the appointed board would have the authority to impose the half mill, but it was impossible to know at this point whether it would.

“The members would be allowed to do that but we don’t even know who they are, let alone if they would be willing to do so,” the attorney said.

If a brand new district is formed, it wouldn’t have operating funds or a staff beyond the appointed board members. Nance said the county could assist the new board in terms of staffing and funding, but that was a decision the commissioners would have to make.

“They could help for a while, government to government. The district won’t have any money until a mill levy is implemented,” he said. “The first year would probably be spent organizing themselves, setting a meeting schedule, learning and planning.

“It is worth noting, any other municipality would be free to support this district. (The district) could also seek grants. There’s different ways to find funding.”

If the district is approved by voters and a board is appointed by the court, members would take office in January 2025 and serve until the November 2025 local election.

The appointed members could choose to file to run to retain their seats, and an elected board would have to draw lots to determine a proper election rotation, meaning some would serve for two years while others would serve for four.

As a political subdivision of the state, the new district would be subject to the state’s Open Meetings Act and Inspection of Public Records Act.