This summary was computer-generated without any editorial revision. It is not official, has not been checked for accuracy, and is NOT citable.
Facts
The City of Alamogordo enacted Ordinance 872 in 1993 to increase water and sewer rates for its city-owned utility, addressing revenue deficits and compliance issues with a prior revenue bond ordinance (Ordinance 555). A group of citizens sought to challenge Ordinance 872 through a referendum, but the City Manager refused, asserting that the ordinance was administrative and not subject to referendum (paras 2-4).
Procedural History
- United States District Court for the District of New Mexico: Granted summary judgment in favor of the City of Alamogordo, holding that Ordinance 872 was administrative and not subject to referendum (para 4).
- United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit: Certified questions to the Supreme Court of New Mexico regarding the applicability of referendum powers to administrative matters (para 5).
Parties' Submissions
- Plaintiffs-Appellants (Citizens): Argued that the plain language of the referendum provisions in New Mexico law and the Alamogordo City Charter allowed all ordinances, including Ordinance 872, to be subject to referendum. They contended that the ordinance was legislative in nature (paras 6-7, 17).
- Defendants-Appellees (City of Alamogordo): Asserted that Ordinance 872 was administrative, as it executed existing law (Ordinance 555) and involved technical, day-to-day decision-making. They argued that administrative matters are exempt from referendum under an implied exception (paras 3, 6-8, 14-16).
Legal Issues
- Does New Mexico law or the Alamogordo City Charter include an implied exception for administrative matters, exempting them from referendum?
- Is Ordinance 872, which raised utility rates, an administrative matter within the scope of this exception?
- If Ordinance 872 is not administrative, does the Revenue Bond Act preclude a referendum on the ordinance?
Disposition
- The Supreme Court of New Mexico held that administrative matters are exempt from referendum under an implied exception in New Mexico law and the Alamogordo City Charter.
- Ordinance 872, which raised utility rates, was deemed administrative and therefore not subject to referendum.
- The Court did not address whether the Revenue Bond Act independently precluded a referendum (paras 5, 18-19).
Reasons
Per Frost J. (Ransom and Minzner JJ. concurring):
The Court recognized a legislative-administrative dichotomy, where legislative acts are subject to referendum, but administrative acts are not. This distinction is supported by common law and prevents the paralysis of local government operations (paras 6-9).
The Court adopted a four-part test from Kansas case law to determine whether an ordinance is administrative or legislative. Applying this test, the Court found that Ordinance 872 was administrative because it executed existing law (Ordinance 555), addressed a small segment of policy, required technical expertise, and related to the day-to-day operation of the utility (paras 14-16).
The Court rejected the Citizens' reliance on prior case law, noting that earlier references to utility rate ordinances as "legislative" were dicta and not binding. The Court also dismissed arguments based on Alamogordo's historical practices, emphasizing that the scope of referendum power is a matter of statewide importance (paras 10-13, 17).
The Court concluded that Ordinance 872 was administrative and exempt from referendum under New Mexico law and the Alamogordo City Charter (para 18).