ToadBook

AGENDAS and MEETINGS – GET EDUCATED

Let’s Play a Game. Ask yourself these questions and see if you are correct.

And more importantly – ask yourself these questions and see if the Council is behaving correctly. The Village ordinances that govern these answers are included.

**Hint* Refer to previous education about separate powers.*

Q. Who Sets the Agenda in Bosque Farms for Council meetings?

A. The Clerk Administrator along with the Mayor. 2-2-2 A. 4. All reports, communications, ordinances, resolutions, contracts, documents, or other matters to be submitted to the governing body shall be delivered to the Clerk at least nine days prior to each meeting, whereupon the Clerk shall immediately arrange a list of such matters according to the order of business.

Q. Can the Council request to have something on the agenda?

A. Yes. See above. Also 2-2-2 A. 4. Additional items may be added to the agenda by majority consent of the members of the governing body.

KNOW THIS It does not say they MUST be added prior to the meeting. The idea of having a rolling quorum being illegal is still relevant. This means the Council has to be VERY CAREFUL how they "demand" items be on the agenda (their words!)

Q. Is there a set order to the agenda? A. Yes. See 2-2-2 C.

Q. Who works with other governments? A. 2-6-4 D. Coordinates and/or serves as liaison to the public or other agencies in the development and implementation of special programs and projects as assigned by the Mayor. And 2-1-2 B. 3. The Mayor.

Q. What does the Mayor Pro-Tem Do? A. 2-1-3 NOTHING until the Mayor is unable to do his/her job.

KNOW THIS Insisting you be called Mayor Pro-Tem is just grandstanding.

KNOW THIS There is no Mayor Pro-Tem until there is a Mayor Pro-Tem.

Get Educated: This is a Latin phrase pro tempore, meaning for the temporary moment. So until you must stand in as Mayor, you are ONLY a Councilor. Period. Only when the mayor is unavailable are you Mayor Pro-Tem.

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When you do not understand WHY we separate powers then it's easy to overlook when people in power don't behave in the way they should.

New Mexico Constitution Art. III, § 1. Separation of powers Bosque Farms Ordinances U.S. Constitution.

The Supreme Court has said this in other rulings about Separating Powers. In reaching this result, the court posited that multi-headed bodies were favored in the government structure, and attributed this to the Framers’ wisdom:

The Framers recognized that, in the long term,
structural protections against abuse of power were critical to preserving liberty … Their solution to governmental power and its perils was simple: divide it.

In particular, according to the court:

The Framers viewed the legislative power as a special threat to individual liberty, so they divided that power to ensure that “differences of opinion” and the “jarring of parties” would “promote deliberation and circumspection” and “check excesses in the majority.”

But the court then went on to describe the executive branch as unique among the three branches:

By contrast, the Framers thought it necessary to secure the authority of the Executive so that he could carry out his unique responsibilities.

(Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) (Bold by me)

Constitution 101 Video.

https://constitutioncenter.org/education/videos/constitution-101-separation-of-powers

This is not a SMALL thing. Separating Powers - it's a Federal Constitution thing.