Public safety buildings, a library, recreation facilities and other buildings have long been planned for Section 16 an area east of N.M. 344 and north of Interstate 40, but have not yet materialized. The town's wastewater treatment system was expected to be up and running by now but has hit a few snags and may not be operational until late this year or some time in 2010. There has also been discussion about needed road improvements and other needs, and the demand for services may increase in the next few years due to an ever-increasing population.

According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates released July 1, Edgewood has had a nearly 4.7 percent increase in population in the last eight years, since 2000, the third-highest annual growth rate in New Mexico.

Meanwhile, a few Edgewood town councilors recently responded to criticism about the town's lack of progress in the 10 years since it incorporated. Since then, there has been quite a bit of talk about taking action on a planned town center. There are somewhat different ideas about how to progress.

"It's gone at a snail's pace," said Councilor Rita-Loy Simmons. "It could have gone faster."

She said that had the town kept Raymond Dennis on as engineer, it might have been able to move faster on a few projects. Dennis was sent home in March as one of Mayor Robert Stearley's first acts as mayor.

Although he did not mention Stearley, Councilor Brad Hill said the town did require leadership to move forward. He said the town needs a long-term administrator to move things along.

"I think there's certainly groundwork being laid to provide for movement," he said. "I think we have the potential to move forward, but it's going to require leadership to get us to the next step … it takes somebody to really just push the details constantly. We haven't had that kind of sustained, day-to-day effort."

Councilor John Abrams said the problem is actually a shortage of funds. He feels the town has not exercised its financing options, such as borrowing money through bonds, he said.

"The thing that's always been in the way of making progress on these things is financial …" he said. "If we can bond and build and pay it off, then yeah-rah."

In the past, the town has asked for money from the state to pay for the projects on its infrastructure capital improvement plan (ICIP), as well as tapping grants and borrowing money for projects such as the wastewater treatment plant.

Abrams said that going out for bonding does not mean he is in favor of property taxes, however.

"If I don't have to pay any more taxes, I certainly don't want to," he said.

Councilor Glenn Felton also feels that bonding is the way to get town projects done, but property taxes may be unavoidable. That's because the town may already have used all it can of its biggest source of income, gross receipts taxes, to service other debts, he said.

"I'm not a big fan of taxes don't get me wrong," he said. "(But) we've really narrowed the pool of what we can draw upon."

He said he only pays $500 a year in property tax on a 2,000-square-foot home, and that paying more would be a small burden.

Felton said property taxes are a good idea because, in case one type of tax falters, a diversified tax base is more secure for the town.

Gross receipts taxes are also somewhat unfair, Felton said.

"Sales tax kind of dings everybody the same," he said.

With gross receipts, everyone pays the same rate, whether they make $22,000 a year or far more, he pointed out.

The town can levy a certain amount in property taxes without bringing the issue to voters, but in their discussion of how to finance town projects, Felton said that the proper way to go about things is to have voters to weigh in on the town priorities and on whether they want a property tax or not.

Although the other town councilors have not delved into the issue of property taxes, they have also said they'd like to have voters weigh in on town priorities.