A. The governing body of a municipality organizing under the commission-manager form of government shall district the municipality into five commissioner districts. Each district shall be compact in area and equal in population, as nearly as possible. For all municipalities having a population in excess of ten thousand, a commissioner shall reside in and be elected from each district; provided that the governing body of a municipality having a population of ten thousand or less may provide for single-member districts as provided in this section.

B. The governing body of the municipality may redistrict the municipality whenever redistricting is warranted. Upon petition signed by qualified electors equal in number to the votes cast for the commissioner receiving the greatest number of votes at the last regular municipal election, the governing body of the municipality shall redistrict the municipality.

History: 1953 Comp., § 14-13-6, enacted by Laws 1965, ch. 300; 1985, ch. 203, § 3.

The 1985 amendment substituted the last sentence in Subsection A for the former last sentence which read, "A commissioner shall be elected for each district but shall be voted on at large".

Section inapplicable to home rule municipality. — This section is not applicable to a home rule municipality to deny it the power to provide for a different number of city commissioners than otherwise proscribed because the composition of a municipal government is a matter of local, not statewide concern, and to construe otherwise would frustrate the purpose of the home rule amendment, N.M. Const., art. X, § 6. State ex rel. Haynes v. Bonem, 1992-NMSC-062, 114 N.M. 627, 845 P.2d 150.