An answer to the Disincorporation FAQs page found on the Town of Edgewood website.
Edgewood would be governed by Santa Fe County, an entity which has been in existence since New Mexico was granted Statehood in 1912. The County government is well run, has all of its audits in order, and has balanced its much larger budget successfully for the entirety of its existence. Anyone who needs to deal with property taxes or pay property taxes must go to Santa Fe now to see the Assessor or the Treasurer as these are not services provided by the Town of Edgewood. However, twice per year the offices of the Santa Fe County Assessor and/or Treasurer schedule personnel to meet with local residents at the Edgewood Senior Center to provide face-to-face services regarding property taxes. If anyone has to record a deed or grant of easement or right of way they must go to the County Clerk’s office to do so. The Town of Edgewood does not provide a service such as this.
Edgewood residents would not lose direct representation, instead it would switch from a bumbling, often dysfunctional local Commission to a much more capable County Commission that, among other things, has constructed a countywide Fire Department that is so outstanding that a vast majority of Edgewood residents recently threatened to revolt if the services of that Fire Department were discontinued inside the corporate limits of Edgewood.
Santa Fe County also owns and operates the Edgewood Senior Center on Quail Trail. The Edgewood Equestrian Center is a public facility developed and owned by Santa Fe County that includes an arena with bleachers, restrooms and riding trails. It is located in Edgewood on the West Frontage Rd. The YES! (Youth Events Summer) Program was funded largely by a $40,000 grant from Santa Fe County this year.
Existing problems do require disincorporation. The recently approved Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) regarding Fire and EMS services in the Town of Edgewood has a provision within it that requires the Town to address the issue of fire protection in that far off portion of Edgewood known as Campbell Ranch. This is the area which lies 20 miles northwest of actual Edgewood. The Town of Edgewood has no good options for solving this problem while disincorporation sends the entire Campbell Ranch mess back to Bernalillo and Sandoval Counties where it belongs. No amount of group hugs or verses of Kumbaya can change that fact!
Counties like Santa Fe qualify for grant monies just like every other political subdivision in the State of New Mexico does. The difference is, Santa Fe County wouldn’t squander those monies by passing legislation that angers area legislators, nor would they fumble away those funds because no one in County government understood how to utilize them in a timely and proper manner.
Following disincorporation, control of Edgewood’s municipal assets would pass to County control as set out in NM Statute 3-4-7. The County would then decide how to utilize those assets to retire municipal debts or to simply keep on using them as the Town had been doing. For instance, the Road Department equipment and the employees who operate them could switch to being employees of the County and continue working on the same roads that they always have.
The County uses the same Gross Receipt Tax system that the Town uses to fund its government. Following disincorporation the level of taxation would change from the Town’s 7.9375% rate to the County’s slightly lower 6.875% rate. Like the Town, the County is required to provide services to all areas inside its boundaries. As we saw recently with the Fire/EMS debacle, Santa Fe County provides a very necessary service that the Town cannot even contemplate. The level of services provided under county government will depend on the amount of effort made by the citizens of Edgewood to see to it that they are heard from and listened to at the County government.
Proponents of disincorporation understand that a return to Santa Fe County would involve some changes in the way that government services are delivered to residents. However, it is also true that the services delivered by the County could look very familiar. Remember, following disincorporation all of the Town’s assets become assets of the County. The County would be able to hire Town employees and keep providing those services without interruption. For services such as Planning & Zoning, residents could expect to see a vast improvement from the mess that is now passed off as a Planning & Zoning Department here in Edgewood.
Santa Fe County has a robust and well-funded Economic Development Plan, https://www.santafecountynm.gov/uploads/documents/Revised_ED_plan_10-17-2024_Final_ED_Report.pdf , which would only be enhanced by the addition of the many opportunities available in the Edgewood area. Like any other entity in the State of New Mexico, Santa Fe County would welcome the employment opportunities and tax revenues that could better the lives of their citizens in the Edgewood area. The current dysfunctional government in Edgewood has been an impediment to economic development with its many lawsuits and a Planning & Zoning Department that cannot provide timely services to potential investors and job creators. Disincorporating the current government would be the best thing that could happen for economic development in Edgewood.
Proponents of disincorporation well understand that following a successful vote to disincorporate, the first duty of the Santa Fe County Commission would be to evaluate the debts and obligations of the Town government and decide the best way to resolve them. Once a plan is in place, the County would manage the former Town assets and debts in a manner which allows them to continue providing services to the community while closing out financial debts and obligations. The inconvenience that will arise from this necessary work will be more than offset by removing the inept local government that has led us down this rabbit hole of confusion and dysfunction which produced the very debt and other obligations which the County will have to resolve.
Upon disincorporation the Town’s Wastewater treatment system would become the property of Santa Fe County. The County would have no other choice than to continue its operation and maintenance for those customers, current and future, who rely on the system for their sewage disposal. Disincorporation does not create uncertainty over who will own what. State law is VERY clear that ALL assets of the Town will transfer to the County. The New Mexico Environment Department already oversees the operation of the Wastewater system in Edgewood through its Groundwater Quality Bureau permitting process and will continue to do so no matter who owns it. The Environment Department will not allow the plug to simply be pulled on its operation. Any attempt to infer otherwise is fear mongering in its worst form!
The infrastructure and services that have been developed in Edgewood since its incorporation back in 1999 are not unique in the world. Santa Fe County has roads and parks and other public facilities such as the Equestrian Arena near Wildlife West. They also provide services such as a functioning Planning Department that includes a vigorous economic development function. While we are sure the County encounters challenges managing such a large endeavor, the County has the resources to multi-task and provide all of their citizens with a first rate Fire Department which, until about a month ago the citizens of Edgewood were clamoring to keep working for them too!
Seven years ago a majority of Edgewood’s voters cast ballots and voted to do away with affordable, effective government, in its place they built a new government which we were assured would be the very essence of perfection. Since that time we have watched in horror as that government has devolved into dysfunction. We’ve faithfully attended meetings, given our opinions on matters, written letters and filed complaints after requests for information have been repeatedly ignored. At this point we have done just about everything we as citizens can do. What we have gotten in return is a government that can’t get its audits filed on time, can’t balance the budget, and didn’t know the proper way to pay their credit card bills. They diverted funds budgeted for Fire and EMS services for other unknown uses, and almost lost our County-provided Fire and EMS services. The public still doesn’t have a full accounting of who approved those changes or where the money was spent.
Looking back over the 27-year arc of local government in Edgewood, it is obvious that some BIG change is in order. Not the kind of tinkering at the edges that some would prefer but real bold change that matters. Please join with ReBoot Edgewood and help us help you build a better Edgewood for all of us.