ON WEDENSDAY NIGHT the Governing Body approved more than $11 million in community-wide investments that will improve the quality of life and the level of City services across the board.
"Parks and tennis courts, bike lanes and police cars, arts and culture—you name it, and we are funding improvements and investments," says Mayor Webber. "How can we afford it? We were frugal with tax dollars when COVID hit and now we’re able to grow our spending as our local economy recovers. It’s good fiscal management and good department management—and the combination will benefit all of the people of Santa Fe.”
Mary McCoy, Finance Director, says, “In December, with the positive economic and revenue outlook, the City primarily invested in our staff by offering $2,000 retention incentives and $1,000 hiring incentives. Now, with continued positive economic and revenue growth, the City is making targeted investments in restoring public services impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic like road repairs and signs, improvements to our parks and the railyard, and investments in arts and culture.”
Substantial budget adjustments include:
- $1 million for eviction prevention;
- $1 million for improvements in various parks;
- $1 million for pavement rehabilitation and maintenance;
- $500 thousand for traffic signal control cabinet replacement;
- $3 million to fund new Police vehicles.
Find a more thorough list of budget adjustments here.