Take action

How to make your voice heard — whether you want the system expanded, reformed, or ended. The most useful thing you can do right now is read the budget minutes first so you know what the Commission has already discussed. They're linked on the Documents page.

The single most effective thing you can do: file a public records request.

⚠️ This template is a work in progress. It has been rewritten for New Mexico's IPRA but is not legal advice and has not been reviewed by an attorney. Please verify the address, statutes, and any case law against the latest version of the IPRA and the city's records-request page before submitting to an agency. See the NM AG IPRA guide and NMFOG for current authoritative guidance.

We've drafted a New Mexico IPRA request template for ALPR records — ready to send to the City of Alamogordo with minimal editing. Just fill in your contact details, verify the City Clerk's address on the city website, and mail or email it. The template is based on Business Reform's open-records template (used successfully in other states), rewritten to cite New Mexico's Inspection of Public Records Act (NMSA 1978 §§ 14-2-1 et seq.), addressed to the City Clerk, and tuned for the Alamogordo PD.

Two things to check before sending: (1) the City Clerk's current mailing address on the city website, and (2) the most recent IPRA citations at nmag.gov. The template is current as of June 2026.

File via MuckRock (step-by-step) → File via email to the City Clerk → File via paper letter (mail or hand-deliver) → File via city's NextRequest →

MuckRock gives you a public archive anyone can verify, and MuckRock handles correspondence (including fee waivers); $20 for up to four requests, plus any agency response fee + 5%. Email is fastest and what the City Clerk prefers; paper letter by certified mail gives the strongest paper trail; NextRequest is the city's own portal. Each link goes to a guide (or, for NextRequest, the portal itself). Already know what you're doing? Grab the files from the Documents page and skip the guides.

How to use the template

This template is written specifically for New Mexico and the City of Alamogordo, so there's very little you need to change. Here's the short version:

  1. Fill in the bracketed fields. The template has placeholders for your name, mailing address, email, phone, the date, and the City Clerk's current mailing address. Verify the City Clerk's address on the city website before sending — the address in the template is a placeholder.
  2. Read it once before sending. The template asks for seven categories of records (contracts, policies, data-sharing, retention, deployment, costs, termination). If any of those aren't relevant to your concern — for instance, if you only care about cost — feel free to delete the others. But think twice before trimming: each item forces the agency to either produce or formally deny, which is the part that actually works.
  3. Send it. For the full walkthrough of each method, see the MuckRock guide and the paper letter guide. Quick version: email to ipra@ci.alamogordo.nm.us is fastest and creates a written record with a timestamp; for higher-stakes requests, send by USPS Certified Mail (Return Receipt requested) to the City Clerk at 1376 East Ninth Street, Alamogordo, NM 88310 — the postmark date is your proof of delivery and starts the statutory clock. If using MuckRock: the MuckRock guide walks you through the steps (signing in, what records to ask for, writing a short description in their form) and explains what MuckRock's fees look like. MuckRock handles all correspondence, fee waivers, and appeals on your behalf.
  4. Mark your calendar. New Mexico law gives the agency 15 days to respond for most records, and 3 business days for records to which a law-enforcement exception may apply (NMSA 1978 § 14-2-8(D), (F)). If they don't respond in time, you have remedies: the AG's office enforces IPRA, and you can sue in district court under § 14-2-12 for injunctive relief, damages, and attorney fees.
  5. Save everything. Keep the original request (with date sent), any response, and the date received. If you appeal, you'll need all of it.

Need help with the legal side? The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government (NMFOG) is the state's go-to resource — they have a sample IPRA letter, an appeals template, and will answer questions by email. For the IPRA itself, the Attorney General's IPRA Compliance Guide is the definitive reference.

Before you act, read the public record. The May 4, 2026 budget workshop includes the most direct public discussion of the Flock contract to date. Knowing what was said makes any later conversation — with a Commissioner, a neighbor, or a reporter — much more effective.

Attend a City Commission meeting

The City Commission meets at the Donald E. Carroll Commission Chambers, 1376 E. Ninth Street (City Hall), Alamogordo, NM 88310. Regular meetings are at 6:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month; in November and December they shift to the first and third Tuesday. The final agenda is typically posted by 5:00 p.m. on the Friday before each meeting. The Commission Chambers are wheelchair accessible; other accessibility accommodations require 48 hours' notice via the City Clerk at 575-439-4100.

  • Check the CivicClerk portal for the posted agenda and any special meetings.
  • Public comment is usually the first agenda item. Sign up at the door.
  • You don't need to be an expert. A two-minute statement from a resident carries real weight.

Contact your Commissioners

A short, polite email to your Commissioner(s) is one of the most effective things you can do. The current Commission as of May 2026:

  • Mayor Sharon McDonald · Mayor-at-large
  • Mayor Pro-Tem Josh Rardin · District 4
  • Commissioner Baxter Pattillo · District 1
  • Commissioner Stephen Burnett · District 2
  • Commissioner Warren Robinson · District 3
  • Commissioner Al Hernandez · District 5
  • Commissioner Mark Tapley · District 6

Phone numbers for each Commissioner are on the city staff directory. Email addresses are not published individually — the city's NextRequest portal is the official channel for written correspondence to the City Clerk (who routes messages to Commissioners), and the public comment period at each Commission meeting is the most reliable way to be heard in person.

A few tips for an effective message:

  • Be specific. Reference a particular document or meeting (e.g. "the May 4, 2026 budget workshop").
  • Ask a question, not just an opinion. "What is the retention period for ALPR data?" gets a more useful response than "ALPRs are bad."
  • Keep it short. A few paragraphs is plenty.
  • Be respectful. Commissioners are more responsive to constituents who treat them like neighbors.

Questions worth asking

Drawing from what is and isn't in the public record so far, here are specific questions residents can raise. These are information requests, not accusations. Some of this information is likely in the pulic record already and just has not yet been collected. Please DO NOT take it's absence from this site as an indication that it doesn't exist or is being hidden. This project is very new and is being updated daily as we collect and organize information. We will be submitting these questions in public records requests through Muckrock.com and will update this page with any responses we receive. Please feel free to use these questions in your own communications with the city, and let us know the responses you receive.

  • What is the data retention period for ALPR data, and is it set by the contract or by city policy?
  • Which outside agencies (local, state, federal) have been granted access to Alamogordo's ALPR data, and under what authority?
  • Is the HotList used by the city created locally or by another agency or 3rd party?
  • How long is the data retained? Is it different for Hotlist hits and regular ALPR captures?
  • Where is the data stored, and is the City able to fulfill an IPRA request for footage that was not downloaded as evidence?
  • Why is there no separate line item in the budget for the Flock contract?
  • What is the total number of ALPR cameras, and where are they located?
  • What is the cancellation clause, and what is the process for ending the contract?
  • How many cases have used ALPR data, and in what kinds of cases?

Join the conversation

This site is run by neighbors. If you want to help — writing letters, attending meetings, building resources, or just being on a contact list for the next time something comes up — reach out:

Email deflockalamo@proton.me Have your say

The site itself collects no analytics or personal data — see privacy.