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SANTA FE, April 6, 2023 – Today, Mayor Alan Webber announced his FY24 recommended budget totaling $403.4 million, which includes significant investments to rebuild Santa Fe’s infrastructure; better maintain and improve Santa Fe parks and open spaces; increase housing options in Santa Fe, especially affordable and workforce housing; position Santa Fe to continue leading the fight against climate change; and, modernize the way City government works and reinvest in the City workforce. The recommended budget includes funds to provide a 3% salary increase for City employees who make less than $100,000 a year, and a 1% salary increase for City employees who make $100,000 or more. These salary increases would build on the 8% across the board salary increase provided for in FY23, and they are subject to the collective bargaining processes of the City’s three unions.
"This is a strong and solid budget that delivers real service improvements to our residents in key areas, including housing, neighborhood livability, and environmental sustainability," said Mayor Webber. "It also continues to recognize the great work of our City employees. Their hard work delivers outstanding levels of service day in and day out. In this budget, we are sustaining our innovative approach to City government and bringing the lens of justice to all our work."
Sustaining innovation and working to ensure a “just Santa Fe” are significant themes that help to shape the goals of this budget. Over the last five years, Mayor Webber’s administration has brought new ideas, fresh approaches, and original thinking to City government. This includes a far-reaching reorganization of City government, a commitment to end chronic and veteran homelessness, a mortgage down payment assistance program so that our first responders can live in the very neighborhoods they protect, and the growth of the City’s Alternative Response Unit (ARU) to help handle behavioral and mental health emergencies.
The work around a “just Santa Fe” is to ensure the City works toward the cause of justice for everyone in Santa Fe, and it will address both how we are doing as a community and where we are going as a community. These efforts will include work to protect the Hopewell Mann neighborhood from gentrification and displacement, a reexamination and increase of the City’s living wage, and an initiative to pursue a regional, collaborative approach with neighboring County and municipal governments, tribes, and other key partners to deal with homelessness and affordable housing, opioid addiction and fentanyl abuse, and mental and behavioral health.
The City of Santa Fe saw substantial budget growth in FY23 and implemented a variety of new and innovative programs as a result. The FY24 recommended budget builds on these investments while emphasizing fiscal responsibility. With this budget, Mayor Webber’s administration continues the great work of delivering outstanding services to the people of Santa Fe, reinvesting in our employees who deliver those services, and safeguarding our city’s livability and sustainability for future generations.
Key Investments in the FY24 Recommended Budget:
- $4.2M for housing assistance programs.
- $2.5M for Santa Fe road improvements, and $540K for median safety improvements.
- $1.5M to provide homelessness services.
- $1M for eviction prevention services.
- $1.3M in staff and operational expenses to open the Santa Fe Teen Center.
- $750K for mortgage down payment assistance for the City’s first responders.
- $550K for technical support to update the public utility billing system.
- $500K for the Clean Energy Fund, which reduces the City’s carbon footprint and moves the City rapidly toward its 2040 carbon neutral goals.
- Over $300K to update the General Plan in the Planning and Land Use Department.
- Over $2.8M for upkeep and maintenance of City facilities.
- Over $2M to promote and advertise Santa Fe as a tourism destination.
- $100K to continue the work detailed in the Culture, History, Art, Reconciliation and Trust (CHART) initiative.
- A 3% salary increase for all City employees who make less than $100,000 a year, subject to collective bargaining.
- A 1% salary increase for all City employees who make $100,000 a year or more, subject to collective bargaining.
- An additional $10.5M to the City’s financial reserves.
Click here to view the FY24 recommended budget, including the Mayor’s introductory letter and the Executive Summary.
Budget Hearing Schedule
Hearings on the FY24 recommended budget get underway on Tuesday, April 11, and will conclude at the Governing Body meeting on Wednesday, May 10. Members of the public may stream the Budget Hearing Meetings live on the City of Santa Fe’s YouTube channel, which can be accessed from smartphones, tablets, or computers.
The schedule of Finance Committee hearings and the Governing Body consideration and vote is as follows:
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