Maybe we should retire our “Monuments to Me” series to Taos.

There’s yet another controversy in the historic northern New Mexico town over public servants affixing their names to public property.

This time, it’s the county clerk.

From the Taos News:

Elaine Montano, Taos County Clerk

The Taos County Clerk Elaine Montaño is requiring that her name be inscribed in gold lettering on 55 historic record books as part of project to preserve documents dating back to the 1800s…

The request for bids specifically states that the spine of each binder will show the “book” and “record number,” and will read “Elaine S. Montaño County Clerk” in gold lettering using the same fonts as the original bound book.

The idea doesn’t appear to be going over very well. As of Wednesday morning (Oct. 31), at least nine responses were entered in the Taos News online comments section and all of them were negative.

“This is a feather brained idea and that she’d even attempt it is just a further reminder of why we need to elect PUBLIC “SERVANTS”, not self serving knuckleheads,” wrote one angry reader.

The newspaper said Montaño did not return a message seeking comment.

This story comes on the heels of the Taos County Commission’s decision to name a three public buildings after themselves. That drew plenty of ire (click here for our story on the flap) and on Oct. 16, the commissioners reversed themselves and withdrew the proposal.

Instead, the Taos News reports, the county has ordered a bronze plaque to commemorate the officials responsible for overseeing the construction and completion of the complex.

(Hat tip to Matt Reichbach for pointing out this latest flap.)