2019 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 3 - Municipalities
Article 11 - Mayor-Council Municipality; Mayor
Section 3-11-5 - Mayor; appointment of officers after election.

A. At the organizational meeting of the governing body, the mayor shall submit, for confirmation by the governing body, the names of persons who shall fill the appointive offices of the municipality and the names of persons who shall be employed by the municipality. If the governing body fails to confirm any person as an appointive official or employee of the municipality, the mayor at the next regular meeting of the governing body shall submit the name of another person to fill the appointed office or to be employed by the municipality.

B. Any person holding an appointed office at the time of the municipal election shall continue in that office until the person's successor has been appointed and is qualified.

History: 1953 Comp., § 14-10-5, enacted by Laws 1965, ch. 300; 1985, ch. 208, § 106; 2018, ch. 79, § 52.

The 2018 amendment, effective July 1, 2018, removed a reference to the repealed Municipal Election Code, and made a minor technical change; and in Subsection A, after "meeting of the governing body", deleted "which shall be scheduled pursuant to Section 3-8-33 NMSA 1978 of the Municipal Election Code".

Temporary provisions. — Laws 2018, ch. 79, § 174 provided that references in law to the Municipal Election Code and to the School Election Law shall be deemed to be references to the Local Election Act.

The 1985 amendment substituted "which shall be scheduled pursuant to Section 3-8-33 NMSA 1978 of the Municipal Election Code" for "which shall be held on the second Monday following the election" near the beginning of Subsection A.

Confirmation required. — The power to appoint being in the mayor, subject to "confirmation by the governing body," there can be no appointment until the confirmation has been obtained. Arellano v. Lopez, 1970-NMSC-058, 81 N.M. 389, 467 P.2d 715.

Term of office of a chief of police. — A municipality's chief of police cannot have an indefinite term of office because the term is dependent on the results of each biennial municipal election, an appointment by the mayor at the organizational meeting following the election, and confirmation by the governing body. The term of office for a chief of police begins with the organizational meeting confirming the mayor's appointment and lasts until the next organizational meeting held following the next general election. City of Artesia v. PERA of N.M., 2014-NMCA-009, cert. denied, 2013-NMCERT-011.

Where the city appointed plaintiff as chief of police in September 2006 without specifying the end date of plaintiff's term of office; at the time of the appointment, plaintiff was a PERA retiree and 10-11-8(D) NMSA 1978 contained a chief of police exemption that permitted plaintiff to receive both a pension and a salary; in 2010, 10-11-8 NMSA 1978 was amended to remove the exemption and require that the pension of a PERA retiree appointed as chief of police after July 1, 2010 be suspended; defendant sought to suspend plaintiff's pension after the city's March 2012 election; and plaintiff claimed that because plaintiff's appointment was for an indefinite term, the exemption remained in effect until plaintiff's term of office terminated, plaintiff's term of office commenced following the March 2010 municipal election and ended when the city held its organizational meeting following the March 2012 election, because municipal appointees serve definitive terms of two years subject to reappointment at the municipality's organizational meeting following each biennial municipal election. City of Artesia v. PERA of N.M., 2014-NMCA-009, cert. denied, 2013-NMCERT-011.

Failure to submit name at organizational meeting. — Subsection A of this section and Subsection A of 3-11-6 NMSA 1978 should be read in conjunction with one another; therefore, the failure of a mayor to submit a name to the governing body for appointment to office at the organizational meeting does not preclude him or her from doing so at subsequent meetings. 1988 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 88-74.

Employment of officers requires affirmation by absolute majority. — The employment of municipal officers and employees requires affirmation by an absolute majority of the city council regardless of how many members are present and voting. 1982 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 82-08.

This section specifically prohibits the naming of the same person for the same position where the governing body has failed to confirm the name when first submitted. 1966 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 66-147.

Words "confirmation," "confirm" and "approved" have the same meaning and can be used interchangeably. 1966 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 66-147.

There is no restriction whatever placed on the mayor's discretion as to the names he submits. 1966 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 66-61.