A. Whenever any two or more contiguous municipalities wish to consolidate as one municipality, the governing body of each municipality shall appoint three commissioners who shall prepare the terms for consolidation and submit the terms for consolidation to the respective governing bodies. If each governing body approves the terms for consolidation, it shall adopt an ordinance declaring approval of the terms for consolidation and shall provide for an election on the question of consolidation. The election shall be conducted pursuant to the provisions of the Local Election Act [Chapter 1, Article 22 NMSA 1978].

B. If a majority of the votes cast in each municipality favors consolidation, the governing body of each municipality shall declare, by ordinance, that consolidation has been approved between the municipalities and proceed to consolidate under the terms for consolidation. The municipal clerk of each municipality shall notify the secretary of finance and administration and the secretary of taxation and revenue that the consolidation has been approved by the electorate. If the question of consolidating the municipalities fails to receive a majority vote favoring consolidation in any one of the municipalities, the consolidation shall fail.

C. If on the day of the election on consolidation any municipality proposing to consolidate has outstanding indebtedness or a judgment payable from a tax on property and the consolidation is approved, a tax sufficient to pay the interest and principal on such indebtedness or judgment shall continue to be levied on the property within the boundary of the municipality as it existed on the day of the election on the question of consolidation. Indebtedness created by the issuance of revenue bonds and the current obligations of each municipality shall be assumed by the consolidated municipality. The consolidated municipality may refund the indebtedness of the municipalities that are consolidated.

D. Certified copies of the entire proceedings for consolidation shall be filed with the clerk of the municipality so consolidated, the county clerk and the secretary of state. When certified copies of the consolidation have been filed as required in this section, the consolidation is complete.

History: 1953 Comp., § 14-5-1, enacted by Laws 1965, ch. 300; 1981, ch. 204, § 6; 2018, ch. 79, § 50.

The 2018 amendment, effective July 1, 2018, provided that special elections on the question of whether two or more contiguous municipalities should consolidate as one municipality shall be conducted pursuant to the provisions of the Local Election Act, and made minor technical changes; and in Subsection A, added the last sentence of the subsection.

Consolidation procedure applicable to counties. — Two or more counties possess the authority to consolidate in accordance with this section, but they must be contiguous. 1987 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 87-55.

Property of annexed village not subject to taxation to retire indebtedness of town. — In the event of annexation of the village of Milan to the town of Grants, the property presently within the village of Milan would not be subject to ad valorem taxes to retire the present general obligation bonded indebtedness of the town of Grants. 1960 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 60-55.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 56 Am. Jur. 2d Municipal Corporations, Counties, and Other Political Subdivisions §§ 81, 82.

62 C.J.S. Municipal Corporations § 47.