City Council might study neighborhood associations : Local : Albuquerque Tribune
It's about time. But check out the relationship with the city that these HOAs have already:

City Councilor Don Harris isn't involved in this dispute - his district is on the other side of town - but he's heard this sort of problem story enough that he wants to do something about it. "Most neighborhood associations and homeowners associations are functioning fairly well, but there is a significant minority where residents feel disenfranchised," he said. On Wednesday, Harris will introduce legislation to study the problems and pursue a solution. His bill would create a nine-member task force and charge it with investigating the situation and looking over two pieces of draft legislation that would set up new regulations for both types of neighborhood groups. The proposed rules, which Harris said likely wouldn't be introduced until summer, impose standards for the election of association officers, and in the case of homeowner associations, mandate that records be open for public inspection. While homeowners associations basically function as their own entities, neighborhood associations play a critical role in city government as a whole. The city maintains a formal process for recognizing associations (right now there are 188) and shares information with them about upcoming city projects, development proposals and even liquor license applications in their area...The official relationship goes further. City councilors, if they didn't already have an incentive to know their neighborhood leaders, are by law supposed to be given the contact information of officially recognized neighborhood association leaders. The same list is given to the news media on a monthly basis, meaning association leaders are routinely called on to represent their area to the rest of the city and region. The overall importance of associations is all the more reason, Harris said, to make sure the groups are transparent, democratic and actually representing their areas. "The neighborhood is oftentimes your first line of government," he said.