Two members of the Village Council have complained to the mayor that their requests were not honored when they asked for topics to be added to the agenda for the next council meeting. Those topics involved a discussion about animal control operations, including a possible Corrales animal shelter, and initiating a revision of the Corrales Comprehensive Plan. At issue is whether a mayor or Village Administrator is obligated to place a topic on the agenda for the requested council meeting.
It’s a long-running controversy that involves a separation of powers, political courtesy and control over local government. In previous years, councillors and mayors almost came to blows over the latter’s refusal to allow discussion or votes on certain topics.
In the most recent dispute, Mayor Jo Anne Roake has suggested that requested topics for the council’s attention are best deferred until after the March 1 municipal election which will seat a new mayor and possible half of the council.
After the February 22 council meeting, Councillor Stuart Murray rebuked the mayor and Village Administrator Ron Curry for not addressing his recommendation that proposed land use regulations not be passed into law before the community’s Comprehensive Plan is reviewed and revised.
As he explained in a February 24 email to Corrales Comment, Murray wrote “I do not have anything in writing from the mayor about getting anything on the agenda. However, if you look back through all the Zoom council meetings at the end, council makes suggestions for future agenda items, and we might get one or two depending on how the mayor feels about the topic.