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    Merida’s Citizen Services: AYUNTATEL

    Mérida’s Ayuntamiento (City Hall) is responsible for maintaining the welfare of its citizens. It does this through the services of different departments related to public health, tourism, culture, civil protection, urban development and public works, to name a few.

    To service all its residents, in 1994, then-governor Patricio Patrón created a central office called AYUNTATEL.  AYUNTATEL is responsible for receiving suggestions and complaints from residents about. Citizens can call AYUNTEL to report problems with the public services provided by the city and/or with other citizens who violate a rule or law, disturbing the welfare of their neighbors.

    AYUNTATEL can be reached by dialing (999) 924-6962. When you call, you are not required to call from your home or office; you can call from anywhere. AYUNTATEL will take reports of problems such as:

    • Potholes
    • Dead animals on the street
    • Lights that are broken or burned out
    • Stray dogs
    • Burning garbage
    • Excessive noise

    To report the incident, you must provide your personal data (name, address and phone), the details of the incident and the location of the problem. (It is important to note that the employees who receive reports generally do not speak English. If you do not speak Spanish, work with a friend or translator to register your complaint.) AYUNTATEL will take down the information you provide and will provide you with a folio number. This number should be saved for any follow up conversations about your request.

    Noise Pollutiondecibel-chart

    In Mexico, government legislation establishes the maximum noise level for night clubs, restaurants and party lounges should be 85 decibels. According to Article 20, Chapter IV of the Gestión Ambiental Mexicana (Mexican Environmental Management), the level of maximum permissible noise emission anywhere in the city is 68 decibels from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm and 65 decibels from 10:01 pm to 5:59 pm.

    In Merida the problem of noise increases during the months of November and December, especially around the streets 63 through 71, from north to south and from the 50 to 62, from east to west, which is when produces the most noise pollution in the holiday season.

    If you find a place with high levels of noise pollution and you want to do something about it, report it to AYUNTATEL. Once the report is made, they will send an inspector to the location reported and deliver a written warning for the owner, advising him or her that next time the situation occurs (i.e., if there is another complaint), he or she will be subject to a fine according to the Reglamento de Protección al Ambiente y del Equilibrio Ecológico (Rules of Protection of the Environment and Ecological Balance) of Mérida. If the owner ignores the warning and AYUNTATEL receives another complaint, he or she will be charged a penalty within approximately 72 hours of the second incident.

    Burning Garbage

    If your neighbor is burning garbage, the procedure for reporting the incident is the same, but the response time is a little slower. Once the complaint has been made, the council will send an inspector to verify the problem within a period of seven (7) days. The first call will be a warning to stop burning garbage. If the warning is ignored, the perpetrators will incur a penalty from the city.

    By law is forbidden to burn household garbage within the city limits of Merida. The smoke has toxic contaminants that can cause respiratory disease or damage and allergic reactions in humans. The smoke pollutes the air, and the contaminants can spread over a wide area.

    The practice of burning garbage is a long standing tradition in Merida, and it is slowly disappearing. With the help of vigilant neighbors and AYUNTATEL, city government continues to make progress in ending this practice.

    Other Issues

    AYUNTATEL can take other types of complaints as well. Pothole on your street? Fallen-down ALTO sign? Dead animal in the street? Your garbage didn’t get picked up? There’s someone lying down in the street? Call AYUNTATEL. According to an article in the Diario de Yucatán in September 2009, dead animals get picked up in an average of thirty minutes now.  All this (complaints, response times, etc.) is tracked in a computer system called SIPAC.  According to the article,  AYUNTATEL has ten operators on two shifts, from 7:30 AM to 9:30 PM, Monday through Friday, from 8:30 AM to 6:30 PM on Saturdays, and 8:30 AM to 1:30 PM on Sundays.

    If you call them regarding stray dogs, they will attempt to capture the dogs and they will take them to the perrera (city pound), where they will be euthanized (probably in a manner that you don’t want to think about and certainly would never want to witness). You can also call AFAD (www.afad.org.mx) or Evolución (evolucionanimal.tk/). They will also pick up the dog if they can (or ask you to deliver it) and they will either try to find it a home or will put it to sleep in a humane manner. (Since both these organizations are financed by donations, we suggest that you also leave a donation when you bring them or ask them to pick up a stray dog).

    For potholes, dark streetlights or traffic lights, and other city-related complaints, the AYUNTATEL operators will take down the information and pass it on to the appropriate city department, which will act on it as quickly as possible.  AYUNTATEL has been operating since 1994, and is proud of its record of serving the residents of Merida.

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    16 Comments

    1. Lisa Leon
      June 6, 2010

      We are thinking of relocating to the Merida area. What type of dog laws and limits do they have? Also what about other pets such as goats and chickens?

    2. June 10, 2010

      Hi Lisa, there is an actual law from Merida city hall that outlines all the rights and responsibilities of the owners of domestic animals. The link to this law is: http://www.merida.gob.mx/municipio/portal/norma/contenido/pdfs/Archivos2003/controlsanitario.pdf

      Or course is in Spanish. If you want, let us know what you are interested in in particular, or we could make a brief summary.

      You can contact me directly through this website or at adriana@yucatanyes.com.

    3. September 8, 2012

      I’ve been trying for a couple of days to contact Ayuntatel about their street-tree trimming service. I cannot find a link on their web site, and the phone does not answer as well.

      Do you know which number I would call for this service? I’ve seen their trucks doing the work–they trim the tree and take the cuttings away immediately, reportedly for no cost.

    4. September 14, 2012

      Alinde, you can try calling 924 40 00.

    5. L.m. Montgomery
      February 22, 2014

      Is there an hour of the day which jackhammers can not be used. Like before 7 or 8 am? And a time they have to stop? Also from the chart above, and the wording, it seems you might get the idea jackhammers are not allowed at all in centro.

    6. Yucatan Expatriate Services
      February 24, 2014

      L.m. Montgomery, according to what we were told today by the AYUNTATEL people, they can only be used from 8 AM to 6 PM.

    7. October 8, 2014

      I have been planning on monivg to Merida in a few years and have tried to look up information regarding crime in the city but (don’t know if it’s a good or bad thing) I can’t really seem to find anything everyone just seems to say it is a very peaceful city with almost nonexistent crime. I know Merida is going to be like every other major city in the world and have some sort of problems here and there but just wondering if there are actually any mayor crime/violence related problems in the city that anyone has had to deal with or heard about. Because if it is just petty crime like stealing wallets or the phone call thing that is not too big of an issue with me. I actually had something similar to that done to me several times here in the states. First it was someone supposedly calling from a prison and they asking me to accept their call and pay for it using my credit card or through a bank account quickly did some research and found out this was a scam. Happened again someone supposedly calling from a prison but this time in the background you could hear the voice of a young male screaming help me! get me out of here! and again did some research and found out it was a scam.

    8. Yucatan Expatriate Services
      October 14, 2014

      Mike, what you have heard is true: Merida and the State of Yucatan in general has one of the lowest crime rates in Mexico. It has even been compared to the leves of security of a country like Switzerland!: http://sipse.com/milenio/yucatan-tan-seguro-como-suiza-45173.html

    9. Lee
      August 29, 2015

      We have a noise issue on our street. A “bar” was opened that is being disguised as an arts center and they serve beer and have bands and play loud music all hours of the night on the weekends and sometimes week days. If we call and complain and leave our info, they will know it is us and we fear damage to our home or retribution (sorry to say, Mexico is famous for this). What do we do?

    10. Yucatan Expatriate Services
      September 1, 2015

      Lee, we are very sorry to hear this, it must be very annoying. Instead of calling the police, we suggest you to file a complaint before the Ayuntamiento (City Hall) at the Departamento de Obras Publicas. If you need assistance during this matter, please contact us at info@yucatanyes.com

    11. Narrator1443
      July 16, 2020

      What are Merida laws for people leaving behind pet waste? I have a neighbor who walks her dog through the area and stops in people’s yard to let her animal do its business. She then promptly leaves without cleaning it up. I keep window shades wide open with lights and a TV on as a deterrent. Before I would turn the lock on my door loudly and she would scurry away out of fear of being caught in the act. I’d prefer to just put up a camera, catch her and report her.

    12. Yucatan Expatriate Services
      July 16, 2020

      Narrator1443, we don’t know if there’s a law, but you can contact Ayuntatel to report them: 924 40 00.

    13. S mann
      September 22, 2022

      Does the noise law also include barking dogs, I live in. Place where its extremely stressful I generally do not sleep more than 4 hours. And there should really be some strict law also about people just park there dogs out in the front. I tried to asked them in a polite manner if they could make they dogs be more quite. They got offended and after some days the dogs barks from mornnig to late night.

    14. S mann
      September 23, 2022

      I live in Santa Fe its a living hell here, we have right infant of us more than 15 dogs decided over 3 different houses. Barking all day and the night we take sleep medication to have a normal sleep no we just talked with AYUNTATEL. With hope they could do something about it. Nope no law about barking dogs. Merida municipal really need to make laws about it.

    15. October 13, 2022

      S. Mann,
      With some great assistance from YES, I obtained my Permanent Residency card and travel to Merida often. That said, I have never had a quiet night anywhere in the city. The dogs bark non-stop, all night. I asked my Mexican friend about this and she said “Those barking dogs are your friends!” Hmmmm. The struggle is real!

    16. December 21, 2022

      There is a company on corner of calle 99 y64a that is allowing people to throw garbage in front of there building. I’m afraid if this continues will have rats in our homes

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