FY27 Budget Q and A

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FY27 Proposed Budget Q and A (updated May 22, 2026)
Community Engagement Department
1. Goals and KPIs for department and divisions? See above.
2. Is the decrease in this budget primarily because we do not have elections this year?
Yes, $600k was budgeted in FY25 for the election/public finance. This expense is not in the
FY27 budget.
3. $75k contract for shopping cart management – is this still the right amount for this
contract? How are we tracking the need/performance of this contract? The shopping
cart contract is set to expire at the end of this fiscal year. We have met with the City
Manager to discuss alternative solutions moving forward. In the interim, we have requested
that Nebula submit a quote for a six (6) month contract extension to allow sufficient time to
evaluate long-term options, including bringing the service in-house or issuing a new
competitive solicitation for contracted services. Regardless of the interim approach, a
more sustainable long-term solution is needed. Currently, the City spends more than
$50,000 annually collecting shopping carts from surrounding businesses without any
compensation or cost recovery from the retailers benefiting from the service.
4. How has OpenGov for the CRM changed how the public experiences work orders? In
the past we haven’t had a good way for Councilors to independently track the work
orders we’ve put in – is that now more possible with this change? OpenGov will improve
the public experience for work orders by providing status updates on long-term requests.
Constituents will continue to submit work orders through the CRM Public Dashboard,
maintaining the current public submission process. The primary change introduced by
OpenGov is the internal workflow for processing work orders after they are received by our
office through the CRM system. Public Works will serve as the primary user of OpenGov
through its integration with ArcGIS and the current Survey123 CRM platform. This
integration will allow departments to receive, manage, and track the progress of work
orders more efficiently. As updates are entered into OpenGov by departments, Constituent
Services will have access to current work order information and can communicate timely
updates back to constituents. This process is intended to improve transparency,
coordination between departments, and overall communication regarding the status of
long-term work orders. The current CRM system does include a councilor dashboard that
provides access to this information. However, according to Leonard Padilla, GIS
Coordinator, no councilors have activated their accounts or requested training. The
capability is nonetheless available for councilors to independently track work orders.
5. Does the Clerk’s Office still oversee website updates? Yes, all website management
and maintenance, including updates, are performed by our Communications & Marketing
team, which fall under Community Engagement/Clerk's Office.

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Interdepartmental webpage edits and updates are submitted by requests and processed by
our team accordingly. For larger, more substantial updates, our Comms & Marketing team
works with a contracted Web Developer (Consumer 51).
6. We’ve had money for upgrades to Council Chambers I believe in the Clerk’s budget in
past years. Is that money still there? Yes, unfortunately we have not been able to spend
that money, and Public Works has assured us that the spending will start happening. The
city has contracted with Woven Architecture for the Council Chambers renovation the
process has started.
7. There is a 51% reduction in “Other operating costs” from FY26 to FY27 – what is
included in that line item? Dues, Print/Publish, Advertising, Services of Other City
Departments, Postage and Mail Services, Equipment/Machinery Rental, Campaign Funding
Assistance and Stipends. The primary decrease was driven by the $600k in Campaign
Funding Assistance.
8. Any other large contracts we should be aware of? None at this time, but we will be
seeking a Records Management System for Records and Archives.
Community Services-Libraries
1. With this budget will we be able to expand library hours and get at least one branch
open on Sunday? – No, the proposed budget does not contemplate Sunday hours. Staff
have prepared multiple scenarios on how to accomplish this for Santa Fe libraries and
would welcome a work session on this for FY28. Adding another service day without
negatively impacting services would require additional operating resources. Estimated
costs to add Sunday hours are approx. $200k for one branch.
2. County contributions – have we started discussions with County on this? – The city will
continue to work on advocating for a more robust county partnership in FY27.
3. Contract Admin being moved to department administration – how will this impact
operations? – This change was made in 2024 to centralize CHS/CSD Admin operations.
The library processes approximately 18 contracts annually.
Community Services—Recreation
1. Goals for and KPIs for division?
Goals and KPIs are completed in the dashboard and sent to GB. We are happy to provide
more context for questions on any specific question.
2. Two new recreation supervisors – what will this mean for service delivery?
Recreation supervisors plan, organize, and direct recreation programs, special events and
facility operations while managing staff and volunteers. They will oversee daily activities,
ensure safety standards, and act as a liaison between community members and

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department management. These employees also coordinate with aquatic supervisors on
activities and programs, work with Recreation Coordinators on programs and events,
schedules and coordinate sports leagues and tournaments, reports to Recreation
Managers and Facility Managers. These positions support 15 more spots for OOS youth
programs.
3. Afterschool and summer programming – how many kids will we be able to serve in both
programs? Increase, decrease, or same as FY26? What is the possibility of expanding
the summer program to include an additional school site? Why are we not taking state
funding for afterschool and summer programming and are we looking into starting
that? I believe it would be more revenue for us and of course more affordable for the
families we serve.
We were able to serve 84 after-school participants this school year. There was an increase
in FY26 as a new supervisor position was created, which allowed us to serve an additional
15 participants. Summer program numbers have remained consistent, and we are serving
close to 500 youth participants. Although we do have a waiting list, we are serving as many
children as possible while adhering to staff-to-child ratio requirements. We recommended
close to 87 summer temporary staff positions this year were recommended for hire. More
than in previous years. The staff we hire are typically high school or college students who
often have vacations, school commitments, and other scheduling conflicts. On average,
about 10 staff call out each day during the summer. Ensuring adequate coverage and
maintaining proper staff-to-child ratios is extremely important. We also lost approximately
10 candidates after they backed out before the positions even began. We could easily
expand by an additional program site if the Youth Programs budget was increased to
support staffing positions and operational needs.
Youth Recreation programs are classified as recreation programs (not childcare programs)
to meet current state requirements. Currently, we operate out of the GCCC, and the
community room is utilized for many purposes, including rentals, meetings, and events,
rather than solely for Youth Programs. In order to begin contracting with the state to
capitalize on universal childcare funds, the city will need to have a facility for childcare that
meets ECECD standards, adhere to the established ECECD wage and career ladder, and all
the policies for safe and educational childcare therein. We would also need a dedicated
space specifically for Youth Programs that meet childcare standards. This is an opportunity
we hope to explore in the future.
4. County – how many users are county residents and have we talked to County about
help with funding?
Non-City of Santa Fe zip code use from 1/1/25 to 1/1/26: Fort Marcy, Sal P. and BC pool had
330 memberships, with 5,300 entries (uses). The GCCC had 1,300 memberships, 37,000
entries (uses). We hope to partner meaningfully with the county and state in the future, as
City recreation facilities, specifically the GCCC, hold regional importance for athletes.
5. Pool hours – what is the goal for these to be for the summer and rest of the year? What
is the plan with lifeguards?
The goal for summer hours from 5/26/26 to 8/2/26 is to operate and staff the GCCC (3
pools) and the BC pool. (GCCC M-F 6:00am to 6:00pm, Sat/Sun 8:30am to 3:30pm) (BC
Pool M-F 6:00am to 7:00pm, Sat/Sun 10:30am to 5:00pm). Pool staff are working to hire

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enough staff to open all three operating pools, for at least partial day usage at Ft Marcy.
Long term solutions for lifeguards is an ongoing conversation. Outsourcing lifeguard duties
to a qualified service provider could be a solution for Fort, Sal P. and BC when open. All
current guards would then work at the GCCC. Better coverage, less down time, sustainable
lifeguard schedules, increased programming, extended hours, increased revenue.
Community Services-Senior Services
1. What is meant by the goal to “expand equitable access and inclusion” and how does
this budget get us there?
The Senior Services will ensure that all individuals that we can recruit to volunteer in our
volunteer programs: Foster Grandparent (FGP), Senior Companion (SCP), Care Companion
(CCP), and Retired Senior Volunteer (RSVP) Programs are encouraged to apply. The funding
that is awarded by the Corporation for National and Community Services (AmeriCorps) and
State of New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Services Department (ALTSD) for this program is
based on Volunteer Service Year “VSY” service hours for FGP, SCP, and CCP. A VSY is
equivalent to 1044 hours and RSVP bases the volunteer hours on $1 for one volunteer
hour. The City of Santa Fe’s agreement with AmeriCorps and the ALTSD varies for each
program based on awarded VSY’s. By increasing the number of volunteers and ensuring
that everyone who is 60 and over is not excluded from taking part in the volunteer program
regardless of their situations. We have experienced low numbers of volunteers after covid
which limits our ability to meet the goals set by AmeriCorps and ALTSD.
Community Services-Youth and Family Services
1. Goals and KPIs for the Division?
Please see the Goals and KPIs worksheet for a full overview. If there are questions on any
specific metric, priority, or target, I am happy to provide additional detail and context.
2. Parking Lot – Are we still looking to rename this division to better reflect what they
actually do?
This is a possibility and will be discussed with the Mayor and City Manager.
3. Two Program Managers and a Data, Reporting, and Policy Development Manager – How
will these positions impact the division? What will they do?
These are critical positions to strengthen the City’s homelessness response.
• Data, Reporting, and Policy Development Manager: This role ensures we can accurately
track performance, measure outcomes, and make data-informed decisions. Without in-
house expertise, we are overly reliant on outside data sources that may not fully capture
local conditions or be easily validated.
• Program Managers: These roles will provide much needed additional capacity, improve
program oversight, contract management, implementation, and accountability across
homelessness initiatives. They will also help ensure City investments, projects, and
initiatives are producing measurable results.

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Historically, the division had only one Program Manager overseeing all homelessness work
citywide. As a result, prior department leadership had to dedicate a substantial amount of
time to filling operational gaps. Adding these positions helps right-size the work and align
staffing levels with peer cities, many of which have full departments or larger teams
dedicated to housing and homelessness because of the scale and urgency of these issues.
4. Richards Micro-Community – Seeing up to 35 families. I thought the original stated
potentially up to 50. Why only 35?
The number refers to 35 units, not 35 people, and that has not changed. Each unit is
approximately 120 square feet and can generally accommodate 2–3 people depending on
family composition and needs. We also want to be intentional about maintaining an
appropriate staff-to-client ratio and avoiding overcrowding. The goal is to provide a
supportive, stable environment that leads to successful outcomes, not simply maximize
density.
5. Is one of the goals for FY27 to open a Micro-Community in District 1 or District 3, based
on the 2025 resolution committing to one per district?
Future micro-community expansion would depend on Council direction and partnership.
We have several potential sites that could be evaluated, but moving forward would require
Council support on preferred locations.
We currently have 35 units remaining after the Richards deployment. However, to activate
additional sites across the city, we would need funding for site development, operations,
staffing, and related infrastructure.
6. Parking Lot – Plan to deploy additional pallet shelters?
Yes. We are actively evaluating locations for a third site for our remaining Pallet units in
stock, and considering how additional units could support future sheltering needs.
7. $2.1M decrease in budget – why?
The budget decrease is tied to one-time funding changes and the completion or transition
of certain initiatives that were previously supported with temporary resources. It does not
necessarily reflect a reduction in priority, but rather a shift in funding sources and budget
alignment. We can provide a detailed breakdown of the specific line items if helpful.
Additionally, YFD’s FY26 Community Development Fund 240 budget (supporting Children &
Youth, Human Services, including Homelessness and Veteran Programs) was originally
budgeted with an approximate $2.6 million General Fund transfer that exceeded the
amount our department had requested at the time. To align the budget and correct this
technical over-allocation, that transfer amount was removed in the FY27 proposed budget,
resulting in a corresponding $2.6 million reduction to YFD’s overall budget. Importantly,
this adjustment does not represent a reduction in programs or services; rather, it reflects a
back-end fund transfer correction between YFD accounts that was unnecessary to
continue in FY27.
Department of Economic Development and Creative Industries
1. What is the Creative Hub?

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The Creative Hub initiative began as a collaborative effort between Economic Development
and Arts & Culture to strengthen Santa Fe’s creative economy as a targeted industry sector.
The City received grant funding through the State Creative Industries Division to help
establish the initiative and support early planning, coordination, and ecosystem
development efforts.
The initiative follows the Office of Economic Development’s broader targeted industry
development approach, which focuses on supporting and strengthening industry
ecosystems through:
• Industry convenings and ongoing stakeholder engagement
• Relationship building and cross sector collaboration
• Business outreach and ecosystem coordination
• Asset mapping and identification of infrastructure gaps
• Workforce and education partnerships
• Technical assistance and resource navigation
• Communications, promotion, and visibility strategies
• Placemaking and district activation efforts
• Access to funding, grants, and support programs
• Long term strategic planning and industry growth opportunities
The Creative Hub is intended to help strengthen connections across Santa Fe’s creative
industries, including artists, makers, creative entrepreneurs, cultural organizations,
educational institutions, and related businesses, while identifying long term opportunities
for growth, collaboration, and economic impact within the sector.
The City intends to continue building this effort by strengthening connections between
creative businesses and organizations, improving access to resources and support
systems, and continuing to develop a more connected and resilient creative industry
ecosystem over time and leveraging the support and efforts of the Small Business Navigator
Program.
2. ARPA is ending – of the programs funded through OED, how many are being funded with
a different funding source, how many are left unfunded, and how many were only
designed to be one-time infusions?
ARPA
• Small Business Navigator Program
• Downsizing and considering contract with NMSU using OED funds
• UNM- Native Business Development Coordinator
• Partnering with County and using OED funds
• SFCC Workforce Coordinator
• Translation services for community programs
• Contract Administrator
• Extended 1 yr more with 1x funds
• Smal Business Micro Grants
• Considering using OED funds

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• Downtown Business Development Coordinator
• Considering using OED funds
One time funding:
• SFPS Work based Learning program
• South side Business Development Coordinator
• Workforce/Financial Literacy Coordinator
• Contracts Administrator
• SAFE grants
• Go Local Go Different
• Considering using OED funds
• SFCC support for Trades and Certification
3. Is there funding to continue with APRENDE?
The Aprende contract will expire 12.31.2026. SFCC has received Congressionally Directed
Spending to support and expand the program in FY27. YFS staff will continue support
collaboration on this valuable program and understand the Aprende program will need
support in FY28.
Department of Economic Development and Creative Industries-Economic Development
1. New positions – are they term or permanent? It says they are term on the chart on page
23?
The proposed positions are intended to be permanent positions. The restructuring includes
the creation of two project management/leadership support positions to help support
coordination, implementation, and operations. There was a text error in the budget
document showing that these are term positions-this will be fixed in the final adopted
budget document.
2. What will be accomplished with new positions? Also, how many are already here from
ARPA funding?
The positions are being created to help support a growing volume of projects, initiatives,
grants, partnerships, and cross departmental coordination efforts across the department.
The Office of Economic Development has grown significantly in both service and scope over
the past several years, including expanded responsibilities related to workforce
development, district activation, business support, communications, grants management,
ecosystem building, strategic planning, and cross departmental initiatives. The positions
utilize salary savings from the vacant Community Development Department Director
position.
Much of the current staffing structure remains heavily weighted toward entry level
operational positions, with limited internal leadership and project management support
capacity. The intent of the new positions is to strengthen internal coordination,
implementation, communications, operational management, and leadership support as

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the department continues to grow and integrate new functions. These positions would
serve as part of the division’s leadership and project management structure supporting the
Director.
Existing positions initially supported through ARPA funding include the Downtown Business
Coordinator position and Contracts Administration support. In addition, the City has
supported several partner-based positions connected to broader economic and workforce
development efforts, including the Small Business Navigator through NMSU, a Workforce
Coordinator partnership with SFCC, and Native Business Development support through
UNM.
Department of Economic Development and Creative Industries-Arts and Culture
1. What are the community events and nonprofits funded by A & C?
Arts & Culture maintains partnership agreements and sponsorship support for a range of
cultural events, nonprofit organizations, and community-based activations throughout the
year. Major recurring partnerships currently include:
o Human Rights Alliance (Santa Fe Pride)
o Vital Spaces (Juneteenth)
o New Mexico Lowrider Arte y Cultura (Lowrider Day on the Plaza and Christmas Light
Cruise)
o Santa Fe Indigenous Center (Honoring Native Nations Pow Wow on the Plaza)
In addition to larger annual partnerships, Arts & Culture also supports a rolling sponsorship
and community funding program throughout the year. The specific organizations and
events vary annually based on applications, funding availability, and community
programming, but typically more than 30 organizations, events, and cultural initiatives
receive support each year.
2. New position – how will this impact operations and outcomes?
The new FY26 position was recently filled and is expected to strengthen both internal
operations and external engagement capacity within Arts & Culture. Anticipated outcomes
include increased community outreach and partnership coordination, improved
operational efficiency, expanded capacity to support programming and cultural initiatives,
and additional support for the City’s Art in Public Places efforts and related projects.
3. District funding – highlight for new councilors
Raised to 15K per district for FY27; will formalize with updated guidelines and assistance
for all councilors
4. How do we determine where new public art goes? Is there a plan we’re following?
Arts & Culture is currently working to redevelop and update both the Art in Public Places
(AIPP) policies and the broader strategic framework guiding public art investments and
placement throughout the city. The recently hired Assistant Arts & Culture Director brings
extensive experience in public art management and will help support this work moving
forward.
Public art locations are determined through several factors and processes, including:

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• The City’s 2% for Public Art ordinance and related project guidelines
• Geographic and equitable distribution considerations across the city
• Councilor and constituent requests and community identified opportunities
• Capital projects and City facility improvements
• Opportunities identified through partnerships, invitations, or site-specific needs
In many cases, public art opportunities emerge through efforts to improve and activate
public facing City facilities and infrastructure, such as the Public Works complex on
Siringo, the Convention Center parking garage, and other civic spaces throughout Santa Fe.
5. Greer Garson Theater- what’s the plan and how much City funding is proposed to be
invested?
A feasibility study for the Greer Garson Theater was recently completed and identified four
potential operating and redevelopment scenarios for consideration. The project team is
currently reviewing the study with the City Manager’s Office and plans to brief the
Governing Body as well.
The Midtown Redevelopment Authority (MRA) is serving as a key project partner in the
effort. The city and project partners are also exploring potential capital outlay funding
opportunities and other funding sources to support future redevelopment or operational
investments. At this stage, the level of direct City financial contribution remains under
discussion and has not yet been finalized.
Emergency Management
1. EM Exercises debrief: how prepared are we, and where are the gaps?
More than happy to meet about this at council’s leisure to discuss in detail. Departments
are individually strong within their respective domains, and throughout the organization
there is a notable ability and willingness to develop and maintain situational awareness,
use resources in novel ways when necessary, and coordinate with external partners during
routine incidents.
Challenges arise when our normal systems become overwhelmed; real-time information
sharing, tracking and managing resources being used outside of their normal scope, and
rapidly planning for what might be needed in the next days or weeks. Those findings are the
primary drivers for requested enhancements in this budget. The Virtual EOC buildout to
facilitate improved coordination both steady state and during disasters (Q7), and the
Assistant Director position budget enhancement to support continued focus on high-
frequency citywide preparedness activities (Q4/5).
In short - there is work to do, but we’re doing well.
2. How do I find Ready Santa Fe?
ready.santafenm.gov

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During incidents, SFPD and Emergency Management link directly to the website in public
notifications. It is most frequently used for day-to-day public safety notifications in parallel
with Alert Santa Fe (i.e. major road closures, requests to avoid certain areas due to police
activity). It is the same system we will utilize for providing improved information during
major incidents requiring evacuations, opening shelters, or delivering other critical
emergency information. This tool has built capacity within the organization steady state and
avoids the need to create something similar in real time during a disaster (as was the case
in other recent disasters in NM) or create a system that is only utilized during disasters. No
other organization in NM has something comparable for both routine public safety and
disaster use. In general, comparable capabilities only exist in much larger, better resourced
jurisdictions.
3. How is EM advertising resources to the public? Do we have them at events, like
Economic Development or PD?
Before Disasters:
Emergency Management provides connectivity to digital, technological, and in-person
preparedness resources through both hazard-specific in-person events (like Wildfire
Preparedness Day earlier this month, PNM/EMNRD wildfire town hall earlier this fiscal
year), and by developing and managing content and systems that other departments with
much larger public-facing presences push through their work, such as Ready Santa Fe (see
Q3), and Alert Santa Fe. Additionally, this FY Emergency Management worked with
Communications to develop an ongoing “evergreen” preparedness campaign which
regularly runs on City-managed social media and listservs – with expanded outreach
planned for FY27.
During Disasters:
Emergency Management is authorized to send government alerts through the Integrated
Public Alert and Warning System (like an Amber Alert), as well as Alert Santa Fe and Ready
Santa Fe. During a disaster, all systems will be utilized: IPAWS for communicating life
safety and emergency protective measures (ex. Evacuation orders), Ready Santa Fe in
parallel for the visual display of the same information (areas under evacuation orders,
evacuation routes, shelter locations), and Alert Santa Fe as both a redundancy and a way to
provide ongoing situational awareness to constituents after initial protection measures
have taken place.
At every opportunity, whether an in-person event, a media interview, or a constituent email,
Emergency Management pushes the importance of ensuring government alerts are enabled
on all devices, constituents are opted in to Alert Santa Fe, and that they are aware that
Ready Santa Fe exists.
4. Why reclassify to Assistant Director in a two-person department, and what contracts
were cut to fund it?
Budget/ HR Context:
When a director vacancy occurred in FY26, the department froze the now-open position
and redirected those funds to consultant support to keep training, exercises, and planning
on track while the (now) director led the program through the transition. This budget

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restores FY26 staffing levels to baseline. The contractual reduction is the offset; no
recurring or multi-year contracts were cut.
The reclass for the Assistant Director is an administrative change. The Coordinator job
description referred to the role as a Deputy Director, and that position did perform duties
consistent with an Assistant/Deputy, without commensurate pay or title. HR has reviewed
and approved the reclassification. Without budget enhancements, the existing EM budget
is adequate to pay for the reclassified position at the very low end of the classification
range. The proposed budget enhancement allows for paying an equitable salary for a
qualified candidate, ensuring competitive pay with NM Department of Homeland Security
and Emergency Management as well as other metro-area EM programs supervisory
positions. The net budget impact after contractual offsets is $15,262.
Operational Context:
The structure mirrors Fire/Police department structures that provide clear ownership of
certain mission areas and functions to individual assistant or deputy chiefs. It is a start to
bringing the EM program in line with best practices observed throughout the US and
provides for succession and program continuity during routine staffing turnover – the same
as with Police and Fire (see: Interim Chiefs leading both departments currently, with no
gaps in service).
The Assistant Director owns the preparedness mission day-to-day: response-oriented
planning, training, exercises, corrective action tracking, and associated preparedness-
related finances. During major incidents, they serve as EOC Director, coordinating roles
among departments, while the EM Director coordinates with executive leadership, external
partners, and mutual aid resources. The job description has been overhauled to provide
clear ownership of these functions.
The Director owns all other aspects of the program: executive and interagency
coordination, the hazard mitigation mission area, grants and finances, advanced
technology adoption, continuity of operations planning, and overall program management.
Further, two people is not the end goal. To bring the department in line with comparable
jurisdictions in the US, the program needs dedicated staff capacity in GIS and
communications to support situational awareness and public information and warning
capabilities; hazard mitigation and critical infrastructure protection expertise; and
grant/program administration. This is step one of a deliberate build that will take several
FYs.
5. What's being cut in contractuals, and what's the impact?
Targeted consultant support remains valuable and will continue to be pursued for
specialized planning, training, and technology needs, but is not a major part of this budget
within EM’s request (*see Q6 for exception).
6. What's driving the large increase in Other Operating Costs?
Primarily non-recurring contractual fees for developing a virtual Emergency Operations
Center, as well as moderate increases to software license tiers for specific users (Power
Automate, ArcGIS). This will be a structured coordination environment built on Microsoft

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Teams, integrating ArcGIS and other platforms the City already pays for. No new platform
purchase is required. This is a direct corrective action to what trainings and exercises this
FY documented (see Q1) and will improve the City’s ability to facilitate a coordinated
response to, and recovery from, no-notice incidents that routinely happen in the City - such
as sudden monsoonal flooding, security incidents at special events, and aircraft incidents.
Finance Department
1. Goals/KPIs: Will be shared for FY26 in the dashboards and FY 27 goals.
2. What is CM approval authority for contract amendments at this time? It is currently
$200k for contracts and $60k for Budget Adjustments. CM can sign for contract
amendments that do not increase the scope.
3. Do we have data on impact of changes to procurement processes? It may be too
early to tell. The city is in the middle of the procurement process internal audit project
with Baker Tilly. We hope to have a report of recommendations by June/July. We have
already implemented several improvements to help streamline this essential service
and will have more to come. The recent “procurement modernization bill” approved by
Governing Body is a great step in that direction. It clarified exemptions, increased the
threshold for small purchases, and allowed for new types of procurement
(Construction Manager at Risk-CMAR and call for applications).
4. What is the split funded position and who is it split with? It is an Accounting
Financial Analyst, for which 40% is paid by Finance and 60% is paid by Public
Utilities/Customer Service. This is because the position spends most of the time
dealing with utility billing.
5. Big decrease in overall budget – why? It is in Budget Division, see question 9. Below.
6. Two new FTE in FY26 – are they already there or being added before end of FY?
Impact on operations and outcomes? The Budget Analyst will likely not be hired until
FY27. We are evaluating additional needs for financial reporting, budget management
and capital planning/budgeting. The Financial Analyst was added in FY26.
7. What is the timeline for Questica (budget software)? We are looking at
implementation for personnel budgeting this summer and will begin training
Department users in full use of the program then as well. In the fall, we will begin rolling
it out for full-time use for both personnel and other budgeting purposes. We are
anticipating that we will use Questica for the full FY28 budget process in spring of 2027.
8. Procurement process updates – very interested in this. Do we have what we need
in place to make these changes? What is the goal timeline for different purchase
and procurement processes? We are working on the procurement process audit with
Baker Tilly right now. This is an internal audit project, and we hope to have the
recommendations report ready to share in June/July. See above for more info.

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9. What is the $3.9M decrease in Budget division? Budget is where the capital and debt
subsidies from the ½% GRT Income Fund [365] is budgeted. The debt transfers went
down by $1.28M overall; while some payments went up according to the established
schedules, overall debt service went down because in FY26 we will complete the payoff
of the 2021 GRT Refunding Bonds, which were running just over $2M per year. On the
subsidies side, a combination of improved revenue and a reduction in debt service
payments per scheduled amortization schedules led to a reduced need for subsidies to
the Midtown property and Railyard funds. Though several factors were in play here, the
biggest single factor was debt service for the Railyard, which went down by just over
$750K, again per the amortization schedule. Another significant factor was land rental
income at the Railyard, which was previously unbudgeted, but we’re seeing a
consistent amount of just over $316K here so it was budgeted for FY27.
10. What is going on with contracts? Specifically contracts we had been using to assist
with accounting and audits? We are reducing the CLA contract for audit support now
that we are caught up with audits.
11. Big decreases in Lodgers Tax and ½% GRT Income Fund – why? On 1/12% GRT – see
above. As for Lodgers’ Tax – the decrease was mostly attributable to a one-time FY26
appropriation for a receivables module and self-service lodgers’ tax payment portal for
the Tyler MUNIS system; being a one-time appropriation, this amount was no longer
needed in FY27.
Fire Department
1. Elephant in the room is obviously conversations around MIH, specifically ARU. I know
this is a larger conversation and my opinion is the Governing Body is going to have to
make a more explicit policy decision. However, for the budget I would like to
understand:
o What is the current staffing level and staffing profile (i.e. how many case
managers, EMTs, admins, etc.) assigned to ARU with this budget? 9 positions are
currently within that division: 6 Case Managers, 2 Case Manager Supervisors, 1
Behavioral Health Specialist. How tied are those assignments to the budget? They
all fall within Fire’s position listing.
o How does this compare to the original launch of the ARU? Please see below. The
staffing levels at Alternative Response Unit have fluctuated over time. Staff are
analyzing the needs and will be discussing this program with city administration in
the coming months.
o What does this mean for the operation of the ARU? Operations have not
changed. What can the ARU do or not do independently? They continue to do the
same thing they have been doing the last few years. And how is this different than
the original ARU operations? All positions have become fully funded compared to
in the past when they were grant funded.
2. The CHS Director funding stayed in Fire – where is it now? This position is still within the
Fire Department position listing. We hope to evaluate this in the coming months.

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3. What is included for a staff member to be “fully trained’? This means receiving all
continuing education hours required by ISO and within our own standards.
4. Legislative facilities improvements funds – where are these going? Funds are going to
needed for fire facility improvements at the various stations. Nearly every fire facility will be
improved in some way through these capital outlay funds. We are well on our way to having
all this money spent.
5. What is categorized as an “emergency” call? How many emergency vs. non-emergency
calls does the department respond to annually? The budget is not dependent on how
many calls we run. If this question is in reference to our goal of Maintaining a First-Rate
Emergency Response and Readiness along with its objectives and KPIs, we are tracking
responses to critical incidents.
6. Parking lot – would love to get presentations on: formalized quality assurance and
improvement process for EMS; tactical paramedic program; joint Fire/PD drone
program; wildfire preparedness (getting a lot of questions about this from residents
right now) We would be happy to give presentations on any of the topics listed.
7. How much more funding is needed to expand Police/Fire drone program? Several
hundred thousand to just over a million. Is this one-time or reoccurring funds that are
needed? It is both one-time and reoccurring.
8. Large increase in contractuals and utilities – why? This is due to increases in service
contracts with existing providers. These are obligated by the contracts that were entered
into from previous years and we are still within those contract periods. Many services raise
rates each year when a contract is in place. It is not uncommon to see a contract go up each
year, and these escalations are typically known when the contract is signed and put in place
the first year.
9. Big increase in other operating costs – why and what is included here? Increase in
operating costs have significantly gone up from vendors we purchase from, such as the cost
for oxygen tubing, IV supplies, other ambulance supplies, lifesaving medications, and even
tires and filters for the ambulances and fire trucks have doubled in the last 8 months or so.
General Government-Governing Body
1. $37,500 – participatory budgeting, how will this be used? Is it for allocation or for the
outreach processes or both? Funds are budgeted for FY27 for a more robust process. This
is TBD and could be used for software, planning/consulting, etc.
2. What three positions are in Mayor’s office – Mayor, Admin Assistant, and Rod’s position
(whatever it’s called)? The Mayor’s Office staff includes the Mayor, Executive Assistant,
Senior Advisor /Public Engagement Coordinator. The latter is currently vacant and is part of

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the staffing analysis that city administration is conducting to respond to evolving needs and
the recent citywide reorganization.
3. Where are we with the Council staffing study? The study is wrapping up, and the draft
report should be issued within the next few weeks. We plan to have the consultant present
on this at the first or second Governing Body meeting in June. As position details or plans
were not available when the budget was developed, $250k was included in the proposed
City Council budget in contract services. This can be moved to positions should council
determine it would like to move in that direction.
General Government-City Manager
1. 5.27 FTE in CM’s office – what is the position that is the split position and split with
which other department? The full-time budgeted positions in CM office are: City Manager,
Deputy City Manager, Executive Assistant, Communications Director, and the Diversity
Equity and Inclusion Manager. The DEI manager is on hold pending analysis of needs and
proper location in the city. The Equity and ADA Manager, Daniel Lopez, is partially funded at
0.27 FTE from CM and the remainder is budgeted within Public Works.
2. $200k for special projects – more information? I believe we had this last year as well –
do we have information on how that was spent? At times the CM’s budget is utilized for
special projects or one-time items that arise that have not been captured or budgeted
elsewhere. Aside from typical contracted services in the CM office such as internal audit
projects, professional services are needed for lobbying/legislative liaison, special projects
(e.g. soldier’s monument feasibility report) and analysis. Small capital or other
maintenance needs may also arise that require a quick response. For example, $5k was
drawn to use for bike racks around town. This had not been budgeted elsewhere. The
Charter Commission needed $10k for budget this year for stenography, supplies, etc. that
had not been budgeted. At times, unforeseen items arise during the year, and this can serve
as a contingency, if needed.
3. What are the 5.27 positions? Is the CM’s office going to get more support via this
budget? Please see above. We are evaluating the needs of the CM and Mayor’s Office within
the proposed budget and may make some recommended adjustments in the coming
months.
General Government-Risk Management and Safety
1. Director Position vacant – is Andrea overseeing this department right now? Yes, Deputy
City Manager Phillips oversees the Risk and Safety Division, which reports directly to the
City Manager’s Office, with assistance from Melanie Lovato, Risk Analyst, who manages the
division’s day-to-day and operational activities, including current safety duties and
compliance efforts. A key priority within the division is evaluating staffing needs and
reviewing job descriptions to ensure the organization is appropriately structured to support
both risk management and safety functions. Six full-time equivalent (FTE) positions are
budgeted for FY26. budgeted for FY26.

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2. What is the division of activities between Risk Management versus Safety?
Risk Management and Safety functions are currently managed collaboratively by a small
team consisting of a Risk Analyst, Administrative Assistant, and Worker’s Compensation
Manager. Staff have worked diligently to maintain continuity of both programs while
supporting the city’s operational needs. The city also partners with a third-party
administrator to manage claims processing and workers’ compensation administration,
while our insurance broker, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., assists in maintaining appropriate
insurance coverage across the city’s various lines of business.
At present, responsibilities for risk management and safety are shared among existing staff.
Risk Management activities primarily focus on claims oversight, insurance coordination,
workers’ compensation administration, and organizational risk mitigation. Safety-related
efforts include supporting compliance initiatives, promoting safe work practices, and
addressing operational safety concerns across departments.
Ideally, the city would have dedicated safety specialists to provide more comprehensive
and proactive safety support citywide. Staff are currently evaluating the organizational
structure, job descriptions, and staffing needs to better define roles and determine how
best to support both the Risk Management and Safety functions moving forward.
Human Resources
1. What outside contracts are HR currently using that will be less necessary with full
implementation of Tyler HCM? Will this help with making the hiring process more
efficient? HR currently utilizes ITT's outside contract with CiberPathway to rely on
contracted subject matter experts to execute essential HR functions such as mass
employee salary change imports, mass position changes, benefit rate changes, and
module expansions. Our goal with the requested Human Resources Information Systems
(HRIS) Manager is for HR to become independent from contractors, have the freedom to
work directly with Tyler to make necessary changes to our Human Capital Management
(HCM) system, and reduce the overall amount of funds the City is currently allocating to
contracted work. We anticipate this position assisting in making the hiring process more
efficient by focusing on expanding modules such as Recruiting, Employee Tasks and
Training, as well as improving the public-facing applications system.
2. Like the idea of the mentorship program! Thank you! We are excited to work with the
collective bargaining units on this initiative.
3. Do we not have a comprehensive city-wide training policy in place already? As of May 1,
2026, Human Resources has implemented a comprehensive Training Policy which clearly
outlines training requirements and expectations for all levels of City employees. Prior to the
implementation of our new Training Administrative Policy, the city lacked procedures to
support Rule 11 of the Rules and Regulations. The implementation of this policy is a huge
step forward for holding employees and managers accountable with not only their Human
Resources required trainings, but Safety Trainings as well.
--

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ITT
1. 44.9 FTE – which position is split funded and with what department? It is a IT Systems
Administrator, the other 10% is paid by Public Utilities/Utility Customer Service
2. What is the process for approving new platforms or programs requested by
departments? What happens if there is a difference of opinion between ITT and a
department?
• The process for approving new software or technology platforms begins with ITT’s e-
review process. Departments submit requests to ITT for review, and vendors are asked
to complete a questionnaire related to cybersecurity, compliance, and technical
requirements.
• The purpose of the review is to identify and reduce cybersecurity and compliance risks
while ensuring the proposed solution can integrate and operate effectively within the
City’s existing technology environment. ITT’s role is not to decide which software is
“better,” but to ensure the solution meets the City’s security, interoperability, and
operational standards
• If concerns are identified during the review, ITT works with the department and vendor
to address and mitigate those issues. If significant risks or concerns remain unresolved,
they may be elevated to the City Manager’s Office for further review and direction.
• ITT is also in the process of establishing a formal IT Governance structure to ensure key
stakeholders are involved in technology procurement and enterprise application
decisions. IT governance helps ensure the City’s technology systems are managed
consistently, securely, and strategically. It also provides oversight for system changes,
integrations, data management, security, compliance, and the prioritization of
technology resources across the organization.
3. Bike rack – are we developing AI policies for the City? ITT has developed an AI usage
policy. It needs to be approved by the City Manager.
4. Page 73 “Division services are meticulously designed to align with the City’s strategic
vision, ensuring harmonious integration of IT initiatives.” What is the City’s strategic
vision. Bike rack again, but I think I need to better understand where we are with ITT
and where we are trying to go. To date, the strategic goal has been to improve process
efficiency across departments. ITT is working with departments to identify operational
challenges, review existing workflows, reduce duplicate efforts, and better leverage current
technology solutions.
5. How many of our platforms do we build in-house as opposed to purchasing software
from outside companies? ITT does not develop platforms or software internally. Software
as a Service (SaaS) solutions, or cloud services provide a more scalable, faster
deployment, lower infrastructure costs compared to on-prem platforms or internally
developed solutions.
6. Large increase in budgets for Enterprise Application Services and Infrastructure
Services Divisions – what are those increased attributed to? In EAS, it’s $2.7M for

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Microsoft 365 Licenses. In Infrastructure Svcs, it’s mostly for ongoing
Kronos/MUNIS project services moved to the operating budget because it’s not really
appropriate to charge the ERP capital project as done previously; also for data storage
(~$500K) and projects management (~$780K)
7. Very large increase in Contractuals and Utilities – what is that attributed to? How does
it impact department operations and services? See 6. above – those Infrastructure
Services increases are in contractuals.
8. Large increases in supplies and capital purchases categories – what are these
attributed to and what is the difference in this department? Is supplies the computer
and network hardware purchases and replacements? Would this line item include the
supplies needed for the new FTEs being added Citywide? The supplies increases are
mostly for the Microsoft 365 licenses in EAS (software subscriptions are considered a
supplies line item) – there are increases associated with software for new FTEs, but it’s not
a lot of $. In capital, the increase is for the Mayor/CM-approved penetration testing and the
anticipated increases for Broadcom system management software licensing and support

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FY27 Proposed Budget Q and A (May 11, 2026)—sent out to GB on 05/11/2026
Councilors have posed the following questions to date. Answers are being provided for all. Please
let us know if you have more questions as you review the document.
On pg 4 it says annual revenues not including transfers are $433m, and the operating budget is
$521m. On page 12 it says total revenues are estimated at $513m. My questions:
o What are these transfers in and how are they $80m? Transfers include allocating
funds for debt service, subsidies to non-self-supporting funds, and utilities
administration, customer service and conservation and sustainability divisions. Full
schedule of transfers can be made available.
o If total revenue is $513 and operating budged is $521…aren’t we $8m short? The
proposed budget is a balanced budget. Among the resources used to fund the
budget are available cash reserves from funds that are able to support it.
Pg 8 mentioned “citywide housing planning services.” What is that?
Affordable Housing Division proposed budget includes funds to conduct a housing strategic plan.
Faviola Chavez: Annually the OAH must complete an Annual Action Plan report to HUD
outlining future initiatives for Community Development Block Grants (CDBG). Annually HUD
requires OAH to complete Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER).
In addition to these annual reporting requirements, OAH must complete a Housing Strategy, and
a Consolidated Plan which is completed for Community Development Block Grants (CDBG)
every 5 years see link here: OAH_Five_Year_Strategy_Plan_-_COSF.pdf and Report P1 These
reports are created by HUD Planning service contract experts.
Pg 16 has a 26.5% increase in Contractual Services, but I thought we were decreasing
contractors.
Contractual services were decreased in FY26 to fund the citywide class and compensation study
recommended employee cost of living increases. That funding was restored in FY27. The city is
targeting key areas (such as park maintenance) to transition away from contracted maintenance
and bring work in-house through city employees. Most contracts are going up due to inflation. The
city is seeing this in goods and services, gasoline, utilities and other needs. The city will always
need some contractors for some services as these may be specialized or more efficient services.
Pg 16 has funds for capital purchases and land & buildings. Do we have/can we use those
funds to purchase new property? What are they used for?
These are “roll-up” categories of expenditures. Capital Purchases is budgeted at $12.6 million and
include vehicles, equipment and IT equipment, and some facility remodeling costs. Land and
Buildings are budgeted at $3,589,693. The city is working on a more robust capital planning and
budgeting framework, that will include preventive maintenance, replacements and more. While the
city is budgeting for some capital needs/equipment in the operating budget, this is not full
representation of the capital needs or budget. The proposed budget includes funds for strategic
reserves for fleet replacement, facilities and capital needs.

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Pg 16 What are the $78m of transfers outgoing to? It is close to but not equal to transfers in, is
that a coincidence?
Please see response above for explanation of major transfer categories. Transfers are balanced but
they are not equal. $79,070,300 is the estimated transfers in and transfers out is $78,759,460. We
did not include Buckman or SWAMA expense but did include the transfer in for the debt service on
the Buckman Direct Diversion solarization project because the debt service budget must be
balanced.
Pg 19 what are the $9m of reimbursed expenses?
These are general fund services assessments for Human resources, payroll, facilities, community
engagement and Finance to non-general depts/other funds (e.g. utilities, tourism).
Pg 18 vs 22 – how is it decided which part of the budget for each department comes from all
funds vs general fund?
This determination is based on how the service is provided, any restrictions on funding sources,
and fund availability. For example, utilities are typically set up as enterprise funds where customer
service charges/fees largely support the department’s operations and capital needs. Many of the
city’s revenue sources are restricted by state (or more often local) laws/ordinances. Services that
are not supported by direct charges (e.g. police, fire, economic development, affordable housing),
etc. As the resource picture evolves over time, the Budget Office team rebalances the funds as
appropriate.
General Question
1. In the “summary by fund” sections of the department summary pages, it lists all kinds
of funds like community development and Santa Fe health/dental and lodgers’ tax. Is
there somewhere we can see how big those funds are? I see revenues by category on
pages 14-15 but that isn’t quite the same. Is there something I’m missing? Is that
information somewhere else?
Please see attached a summary of all funds that shows revenues in and expenditures by
fund.

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Police Department
1. What is required for accreditation with the Municipal League? What is the benefit and
impact for our department?
• We will need funding to pay for accreditation process. Fees cover the cost of travel
for the accreditation staff to conduct audit of policies and practices.
• May need to pay for PowerDMS subscription to develop and update policies. This
would be a best practice because PowerDMS will flag changes in laws or practices
and provides a recommendation on policy to be in compliance with the
change. Also has audit capability to track changes over the years and document
when policies were reviewed by staff to ensure compliance and understanding.
• We are now in a good position to begin this process; we have a Sergeant assigned to
Planning and Accreditation Section so they can focus on completing this
process. The Planning and Accreditation Section in 2004 had a Lieutenant, a
Sergeant and an admin assistant when our policy went through the largest updating
process. By 2006 the positions had been reassigned in the department due to other
staffing needs. It is imperative that we maintain staff in this assignment to complete
the necessary work that is assigned to the Planning and Accreditation Section.
• The benefit of achieving accreditation is the department demonstrates that an
outside organization has validated that we have best practices and policies. This is
helpful from a risk management perspective to minimize the potential for liability. It
also builds trust and confidence in our community that our department is evolving
and up to date with the manner we provide police services.
• The process may take 1-2 years once we get started.
2. What is the cost to staff each of these 41 events? Does funding come from City or event
organizers or both?
• If these are our annual events that we provide dedicated law enforcement services,
it will be dependent on a few things. Some city hosted events such as Zozobra,
Fiestas, and Indigenous Peoples Day are not billed to the event organizer. For these
events, the sheer number of attendees requires large staffing numbers by the police
department to ensure public safety. This funding is derived from our overtime
budget.
• Other events may be billed to the event organizer; some may have a lower rate if a
councilor utilizes their waiver of fees for events requested by the event
organizer. Some of the costs are recouped through billing of dedicated services.
(Each councilor is permitted to request the waiver of fees for 1 event per councilor
per year). Most event organizers opt to contract with a private security company to
save costs.
• Unplanned events that require police resources are facilitated by our overtime
budget and by using on-duty staff. This usually occurs when a First Amendment
Assembly event or Protest event occurs.
3. Amazing job on vacancy rates! What are the thoughts on the staffing levels of PD now
that we are seeing lower vacancies? Do we have the right number of FTEs in the right
areas?
• We are seeing improvements in response times with the increased staff levels, and
staff that have been selected for assignments to the Traffic Unit, DWI Unit, and

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Criminal Investigations Section have been able to transfer to their new roles. These
specialists help address workload our field personnel usually respond to, but these
specialists have a higher level of skill and proficiency.
• Although we are nearly fully staffed with our budgeted positions, SFPD is at a point
where we need to expand the number of FTEs throughout our organization. The City
of Santa Fe has grown significantly since the number of current allocated police
officers, a growth in population size of approximately 30,000 people and an increase
in workload in the form of calls for service. Despite this growth and increased
workload, our staffing numbers have remained unchanged. A workload assessment
in 2022 reported that SFPD provides a higher level of service for a community our
size vs. other cities across the county. An internal analysis was conducted in 2018,
using 2017 call data, and found that we needed additional police officer and
sergeant positions to account for the workload at that time. We are budgeted for
169 police officers, from cadet to Chief of Police, and we would need approximately
205-210 police officers to effectively handle the current workload and have the
capability for officers in the field to also engage in proactive community policing
efforts (relationship building, crime prevention, traffic enforcement and education,
business and neighborhood patrols, etc.).
4. Wonderful goals for response times and averages – what is the spread that we see for
response times?
• Priority 1 Call Response Times – Is a 2-officer response, and may need additional
resources
1. 7:13 minutes 1st Quarter FY26
2. 7:26 minutes 2nd Quarter FY26
3. 6:39 minutes 3rd Quarter FY26
• Priority 2 Call Response Times – In most cases is a 2-officer response
1. 7:35 minutes 1st Quarter FY26
2. 8:27 minutes 2nd Quarter FY26
3. 6:23 minutes 3rd Quarter FY26
• Priority 3 Call Response Times - In some cases, Priority 3 Calls can be handled by
a single officer resource which can be more readily available vs. 2-officer
resources
1. 8:39 minutes 1st Quarter FY26
2. 7:20 minutes 2nd Quarter FY26
3. 5:19 minutes 3rd Quarter FY26
***These improved response times in 3rd Quarter are directly connected to our increased staffing
levels and reduction in vacant police officer positions.
5. How can the City ensure dispatchers are evaluating calls in real-time and deploying
officers in a timely manner as the RECC is under the County? What levers can we pull if
this is not occurring to our standards?
• A solution exists in expanding our Axon Ecosystem. Prepared 911 is a module we
have requested to include in our Drone as a First Responder package to send call
data to a Real Time Operations Center where a crime analyst or drone pilot can see
a real time narration of a call as it is coming in to triage a call, get critical information
before it is data entered into the Computer Aided Dispatch system and an officer is

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assigned the call. In an emergency or during a priority call, this allows the
deployment of a DFR drone that could be on scene before the call is dispatch to an
officer in the field. This also helps the workflow for dispatch staff, especially for
calls where a community member is non-english speaking; it translates a number of
languages instantly vs. several minutes through a “language
line”. https://www.prepared911.com/
• We currently have monthly meetings to address concerns, when errors are
identified we have clear lines of communication.
• The Santa Fe Chief of Police is a board member on the Regional Emergency
Communications Center (RECC) Board. This is also an avenue to address any
quality control issues and to ensure deliverables of the Joint Powers Agreement are
being provided.
6. Do we currently have a 100% compliance rate for completing discovery requests in
seven days? How long have we been at that level of compliance?
• 97% compliance for 1st quarter FY26
• 85% compliance in 2nd quarter FY26 *** Addition of 2 Discovery Positions in
Records, have been undergoing training to take on responsibilities. The staff
member assigned to handle discoveries has been both assisting with handling
discoveries and training new staff in workflow.
• 57% compliance in 3rd quarter FY26 *** Addition of 2 Discovery Positions in
Records, have been undergoing training to take on responsibilities. The staff
member assigned to handle discoveries has been both assisting with handling
discoveries and training new staff on workflow, but the new staff members have
been taking on more responsibility leading the effort to complete this
assignment. We anticipate seeing this improve as our new staff become more
proficient.
7. Are there other technologies that the department is exploring at this time?
• Drone as a First Responder and expansion of technology solutions through Axon to
enhance the productivity and safety of our field personnel. This includes integration
of Smart911 to quickly get information to officers in the field as a community
member contacts Dispatch before the call is entered into the CAD manually by the
call taker, saving critical minutes and minimizing the chance of details being missed
during the data entry process. https://www.prepared911.com/
1. Also, a language translator that is integrated into their body worn camera to
assist with communicating with people in need of assistance, including
emergency situations. https://www.axon.com/products/real-time-
translation
2. We also want to integrate public and commercial video camera feeds to
provide real time information to responding officers when responding to a
report of a crime or to follow up during the investigation of the process. I am
monitoring the development of a Public Records production platform that
Axon is working on currently. https://www.axon.com/products/axon-fusus
3. This may help the department with tracking and fulfilling IPRA requests. The
majority of them are bodycam and dashcam footage.

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• We are deploying Shotspotter technology, we will use data from pilot program to see
the benefits of the technology. We will be evaluating funding to continue use after
pilot program.
• The Regional Emergency Communications Center (RECC) Board has been
researching and evaluating a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system that will
include modern features that can integrate with our Axon Ecosystem, Smart 911
platforms, and modern communications devices used by members of the
community. This CAD system will be a cost sharing with the partner agencies (Santa
Fe Police, Santa Fe Fire, Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, Santa Fe County Fire, and
Edgewood Police Department).
• As we launch automated speed and sound enforcement, we can evaluate if
automated enforcement for red light and stop sign violations should also be
considered (will need amendment of STOP Ordinance to include this ability).
8. Large increase in other operating costs – what does this include?
• This is phase 1 of the radio upgrade ($800k). This will replace handheld radios used
by field personnel that are nearing or are at end of life for use.
• The other factor is technology (laptops in vehicles, desktops, display screens, etc.),
subscriptions and services (cellular phones, modems, etc.) that was funded in the
ITT Department to provide support for PD’s technology needs. The funding has now
been placed in PD’s budget. This is approximately $1.2 million to maintain the
current services.
Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority
1. Would like to hear more about the design team for Fogelson – what funding do we
currently have for this project and how far will it get us?
We assembled a design-build team composed of world-renowned architect, Richard
Kennedy, local architects - Autotroph Design, and General Contractor Jaynes Corp to work
on the two-phase effort to reopening the Fogelson Library. The MRA allocated 2.8 million
dollars from one-time funding as of fiscal year 2025 to this contract; this funding will allow
us to establish fire code compliance along with early accessibility infrastructure. The
secondary phase will include the modernization and intense community outreach to turn
Fogelson Library into a branch of the Santa Fe Library division if not the main library.
2. What is the benefit to getting buildings on the National and State Historic Registers? I
fully support doing so even if it’s just a title, but would like to understand what
protections/restrictions come with that, how that might impact plans for Midtown, and
if there are any financial opportunities that may come with it?
The pursuit of a designation on the national register demonstrates the City's commitment to
the iconic Phillippe Register buildings including the Fogelson Complex, the Greer Garson
Theater, and Administration building. In addition, it will allow the City and potential, future
developers to pursue Federal Historic Tax Credits during the renovation of these structures.
3. Do we have a timeline for the completion/implementation of the plans mentioned on
page 75-76
There were quite a few plans and projects mentioned across pages 75-76; to name a couple
with their affiliated completion date - infrastructure design is expected to be complete by

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the end of October 2026, the Hopewell Mann Neighborhood Stabilization plan will be as of
May 31st, 2026, while the Greer Garson Feasibility Study and Master Plan amendments are
both complete.
4. Why are we freezing the MRA Director position? What would it mean for the budget to
unfreeze the position? The Director position was last funded at $174,512. See below.
5. I think this is an important position given where we are in this project. Why is an admin
manager and a project manager being proposed instead of a director and maybe one of
those positions?
This agency has been underfunded since its creation, with over half of previous FY budgets
dedicated to full-time staffing and further supplemented by temporary contractors. Across
the various initiatives with the legacy buildings, infrastructure design, proposed
development, and compliance tracking for existing development, this agency needs
additional staff that can handle the day to day. As a standalone agency, we must be able to
pursue contracts, process invoices and collaborate effectively with other City divisions and
our proposed developers.
6. Infrastructure estimates seem to go up every year and I imagine this trend will continue
– what will we be able to do this year to start making a dent in this?
City staff are meeting with the Midtown infrastructure design team and Midtown
development partners to chart a path forward to prioritize ongoing development and the
continued disposition of land. The city is analyzing options to fund this going forward. A GRT
bond could be considered for the implementation of the horizontal infrastructure,
specifically Phase 1, which includes the right-of-way infrastructure and utilities necessary
to begin vertical construction. Phasing of the project may be required.
7. What services will the general contractor perform and how is this contract different
than our project management contract with WSP? Do we still have the contract with
WSP?
WSP is currently an owner's representative that helps the City interface with Midtown
development interests including developers, utility companies, and intragovernmental
agencies while designing Midtown infrastructure. General contractors are those who will
help us build out the Midtown infrastructure and renovate or existing legacy buildings. The
City of Santa Fe is currently a subcontractor development market that requires a General
Contractor to coordinate specialized trades coordinate implementation.
Planning and Land Use
1. City Smart – this pulls data from multiple departments and projects from other
departments yet is housed in Land Use – are there resources allocated to assist with
keeping information up to date? Is there a process set for how to update information on
there and ensure it’s accurate? It’s GIS, which I know is used in ITT, so is ITT providing any
support? There are resources allocated to maintaining the platform going forward. Once
we upload the data (which includes archives for permits, development approvals, and

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others) we will be adding information in real time as we receive applications. There can be
a direct connection to our OpenGov platform because it has GIS functionality. Our ITT GIS
team has been involved in the development of the platform. City Smart is hosted as part of
our current GIS platform: https://city-of-santa-fe-nm-thecitydifferent.hub.arcgis.com/.
Relative to initiatives from other departments outside of the data provided as part of the
citywide GIS updates, we would rely on them to provide us with the
information. Typically, it is as simple as adding a link on the homepage, as we have done
with the Airport Master Plan process. Our staff will coordinate with other departments on
their initiatives, and we as Land Use staff will be updating the website regularly, in
coordination with our ITT team.
2. Green Code – still in legislative services and CAO – is July 2026 a reasonable
expectation for passage at this point? The Governing Body may be able to pass this
legislation by the end of the calendar year. Much will depend on issues that staff has
identified being adequately addressed.
3. Remind me the projected additional taxes we expect to collect through STRs because
of the Neumo implementation? We are receiving Lodger’s taxes through Neumo. Based
on an existing City practice, those STRs that are exclusively rented through AirBnB and
VRBO use their platforms for payment of Lodger’s Taxes to the City. To date we don’t have
specific data on the amount of Lodger’s taxes that have been collected. Prior to the
implementation of Neumo, there was no strong tracking mechanism for the collection of
Lodger’s taxes. By being part of one platform, there is direct tracking between the rental
dates and revenue collected. This increases accountability for short-term rental owners for
the reporting of income and payment of Lodger’s taxes.
4. Budget only increased by $1.6M but we moved an entire division (albeit a small
division) – were there cuts to the original Planning and Land Use Department that are
not as clearly outlined because of this move?
Andy Hopkins: No. Both Affordable Housing and Land Use’s separate budgets
increased. Most of the increase was in Land Use, but it is after all a larger Department.
PLU: The increases largely center around salary, some minor reclassifications with little
budget impact, and operations budgets including contracts. There is no net increase to the
budgeted contract amount.
The only additional staff approved was the unfreezing of the Engineer position. We still
have a deficit of 3 other positions (which were frozen at the beginning of Fiscal Year
2026). No new positions were approved in response to requests for additional positions
including an additional staff person in Code Enforcement for the short-term rental team (it
is currently a team of 1) and a Department ombudsman, which would help usher people
through the development processes (a concierge position which has been requested by the
community for many years as recommended through our Development Manual
project). The team recommended many more positions, but unfreezing the construction
inspector, plumbing inspector, and Plans Examiner II positions would help with
departmental operations. We have been able to reclassify several positions as we prepare
for e-review. Several positions directly manage plan review – the management of paper
plans – which can be retooled. We have received approval for reclassification of the

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building permit technician positions to building permit specialist positions. Two current
Land Use employees have already been promoted to the building permit specialist position,
and another one was promoted from the Historic Preservation Division to
building permit specialist to assist with the Building Division’s plan intake.
Based on funding provided through grants and other affordable housing funds, including
CDBG, an additional project manager position was created. This has no impact on the
General Fund. Another affordable housing position was reclassified from Senior Planner to
Contracts Administrator (which is in a lower pay range) due to the existence of
Land Use’s long range planning team and the ability to provide support on long-range
planning efforts associated with affordable housing.
Contracts? In the department highlights, it would be helpful to see what highlights are
the original Planning and Land Use and which are Affordable Housing.
For Planning and Land Use, the contracts are for technical assistance for our terrain
management team, the General Plan Update, the Land Development Code Update, and the
Development Manual and other smaller contracts to assist in managing permit and
development review processes. If we are able to hire for the engineer position, the need for
the Terrain Management contract would disappear.
As the department reorganization wasn’t complete by the drafting of the budget, Affordable
Housing information is presented separately this year. Please refer to that section
for additional detail.
5. Previously frozen engineer position – if I am recalling correctly, this had been frozen
because we couldn’t fill it. What has changed to help us fill this position? I’m guessing
the work was being performed by contracts – if so, will those contracts still be in place
until we fill the position? The position was unfrozen as part of the budget review
process. Hiring an engineer would ultimately save money on contracts. The reason for
some Land Use contracts is that we cannot compete with private sector wages but still
need to get the work done. While the comp and class study did a lot toward addressing
salary needs, some positions are still underpaid.
6. How will Affordable Housing being in Planning and Land Use serve both those
departments better? Faviola Chavez: The Affordable Housing Dept has already
experienced significant benefits from this integration into Land Use. Coordination between
departments has improved efficiency, particularly in streamlining Planning Commission
requirements related to Affordable Housing Agreements.
Additionally, the Office of Affordable Housing (OAH) is now able to work more proactively
with affordable housing developers to identify planning-approved design concepts early in
the development process. This collaboration helps ensure projects align with planning
expectations, reduces potential delays, and creates a clearer path forward for project
approvals and development timelines.

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7. Have we allocated enough in this budget to complete Code Update and GP
Update? Sufficient budget has been allocated for the projects, but there will be no
contingency in case there is a desire to further investigate specific issues. For instance, if
the implementation plan identifies a need for additional research and engagement, there is
no budget to do so.
8. Really love seeing all the cross-departmental collaboration being done in all the
various codes/guides/plans. Thank you, we do too! It is critical that we work together to
provide the best service to the community. Partnerships are important.
9. Timeline for full e-review implementation – any updates?
We have been working with Finance and ITT with the need to build out an application
programming interface (API) with Wells Fargo for payment processing. This would
be required if we were to continue taking in-person payments at the cashier’s office. We
are working on implementation.
10. Review of land development workflows – bike rack, but very much looking forward to
hearing about this a, the past four years as either Assistant Director or this happen
sooner rather than later. At the last Governing Body meeting we presented in initial phase
of the Development Manual project. Now the stakeholder portion of the project is
complete, the consultant and staff will use the information to identify the common pinch
points. Additionally, as we program and configure OpenGov permit and development
review processes, we have identified efficiencies.
A case in point is the Civil Engineering review of construction documents for
infrastructure. Currently the review is run through a traditional building permit
process. The infrastructure permits are proposed to be issued directly from Civil
Engineering at the completion of the review process. This would reduce the permit timeline
by a minimum of 3 weeks.
11. Bike rack – looking forward to learning more about all these studies and projects – how
will they be presented to us? We are working with the Planning Commission and technical
committees. As we have updates, we will make presentations to the Governing
Body. Furthermore, we keep project statuses updated on the Santa Fe Forward and City
Smart websites.
12. New staff in Affordable Housing – what will this mean for department function and
outcomes? As the department transitions from primarily single-
family construction projects to more complex multifamily development and
construction, staffing needs and responsibilities have evolved accordingly. Faviola
Chavez: To effectively manage these construction projects, staff will participate in monthly
construction meetings, conduct onsite inspections, and provide ongoing project oversight
throughout the development process.

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This increased level of engagement will strengthen transparency, improve communication
with project partners, and help identify potential delays or financing gaps early on reducing
surprises and supporting more successful project outcomes.
13. Affordable housing – I am very interested in the City developing a funding mechanism
and process to aggressively go after available properties that are vacant or suitable for
redevelopment, both for housing and commercial. I would like to work with staff this
fiscal year to achieve this. Faviola Chavez: Many municipalities utilize Community
Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding to acquire and redevelop single-family
properties. Under CDBG requirements, these projects are generally subject to an 8-year
compliance period. Additionally, the Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF) could
potentially serve as a funding source for these acquisitions; however, doing so may limit
our ability to provide assistance to non-partner organizations due to funding capacity
constraints.
14. Large increase in Enforcement Division – what is this attributed to? Andy Hopkins: This
will be the first year in which the Enforcement Division, recently split off from Inspections,
was fully funded and ‘stood up’. Much of the increase is offset by the reduction
in Inspections, because the funding was moved. If you look at FY26 original budget for
Enforcement, it’s almost nothing, because none of the positions were moved until midyear
FY26.
15. Hard to compare the budgets of Land Use and Affordable Housing to what they were
last year as they are combined now – can you please provide comparisons of them
separately and note what’s changed? Andy Hopkins: The Affordable Housing change can
be clearly seen in Dept. Expenditure Summary on p. 84 – see the “Summary by Division”
section at the top (AFH is the 2nd line in the table). As for the rest of PLU, it went from
$8,353,102 in original FY26 budget to $9,834,221 in FY27 proposed, an increase of
$1,481,119 or 17.7%.
16. More info on balances in AHTF – what has been granted out? What has been spent/not
spent of those grants? Faviola Chavez: Please note the expenditure for Civic Housing has
been issued as of May 2026. Any unused funding at the end of the contract will be reverted
back into the AHTF balance. The Estimated Excise Tax cannot be used until litigation
is finalized.
Public Utilities
1. How does KSFB operate now that it is part of the Conservation and Sustainability
Division? Still a nonprofit arm?
Same as before. Yes
2. ESD Admin and Maintenance Facility – where is this going to be located?
West of and adjacent to the existing Siler location, will access from Rufina.
3. Bike rack – the recycling center on Agua Fria I hear is much more user friendly and
contains waste much better. However, I have been told it is not safe when exiting and

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trying to turn onto Agua Fria due to not being able to see oncoming traffic until already
out in the road. Can we add one of those convex mirrors to help people see oncoming
traffic? Or do something else to improve visibility?
Yes, this is a good idea and is being evaluated with Streets Division and Risk and Safety
Division.
4. How able to achieve “significant reductions” in non-personnel budget for Wastewater
Division? (page 92 in FY26 achievements)
Reductions in emergency spending at the WWTP as we have stabilized the treatment
process there. The big changes here which sum to almost $7M in reductions are:
2.1M reduction in repair and maintenance of buildings/structures
1.8M reduction in repair and maintenance of system equipment
375k reduction in operating supplies
625k reduction in lease fees to airport
1.7M reduction in equipment and machinery >5k
175k reduction in vehicles
5. $2.5M for contracted support related to UCS Billing system upgrade – please tell me
this is the last year for this contract! Do we anticipate using all of it? Please remind me
why we still need this at this time? Is it with the same vendor? I see a goal to
implement new system by October 2026 – so will we need contract after that? If not,
why $2.5M in FY27?
We are on schedule to be transitioned to ADVANCED Billing by the fall, but we already have
scoped as phase 2 to that transition for enhancements that have been identified as
important but can’t be implemented until after go-live (e.g. new water rate structure). Of
the 2.5, 1.5 is for ADVANCED, down from 1.7M this year, and including annual licensing
fees, and 1M is for ITT Connect, down from 2.5M this year, so we are winding this transition
down, but need to assure that we budget enough to be successful.
6. Goal to completely eliminate all regulatory compliance violations – how many do we
have at this point? What are they?
They remain mostly wastewater related, and although the e coli that we hear so much
about is largely under control, we still get exceedances for nutrients and other parameters
on some days. We are focused on addressing these with a comprehensive upgrade or
replacement of the plant.
7. Goal to purify wastewater into safe drinking water source? Tell me more…
The goal is "turn" wastewater into potable water and the way to do it is indirect exchange
with the San Juan Chama return flow project. Apologies for not catching this incorrect edit
of our submitted content.
8. What is included in previous years of Conservation & Sustainability on the
Expenditures Summary Chart if we are just creating this division? Are FY23/24 and
FY25/26 showing a combo of water conservation and KSFB budgets?
They are historical expenses from Water Conservation and KSFB but include some
personnel expenses in the Water Division outside of the new division, so not really apples

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to apples. When summing up all activities across divisions, the new Division was created
largely within the existing budget, however there are some startup costs and overhead costs
associated with the new building being set up for this division that result in an expansion in
budget to the overall PUD budget in 2027. This increase is estimated at $500k one time and
$50k per year ongoing.
9. (There is) a 50% decrease in repairs and maintenance-why?
See answer to #4 above which identifies about $4M in decreases to repairs and
maintenance in wastewater. We invested heavily to stabilize the treatment process at the
WWTP and are winding that back down as we prepare for a significant longer-term
investment in a major overhaul or new plant.
10. 52% increase in insurance – what is that attributed to?
This was due to large damage claims in ESD ($502,876) and WW – ($458,326). Claims
incurred in the prior year are assessed to the Departments where the claim is attributed in
the following year’s budget. These can be quite variable so may go down next year.
PUBLIC WORKS
1. Capital budgeting process – I know we’ve discussed this quite a bit, but will we be
doing any semblance of a separate capital budget process this year?
Yes. Public Works is currently in the planning and development phase of advancing a more
formal citywide capital planning and budgeting process. We have already begun developing
a framework intended to better connect long-range infrastructure needs, financial capacity,
prioritization, and annual implementation and budgeting decisions. The goal is to move
beyond a project-by-project approach and toward a more structured system that includes a
long-range capital vision, financial planning, and a prioritized multi-year capital program.
This work will require coordination with Finance, the City Manager’s Office, departments
citywide, and the Governing Body. While this effort is still being developed, we expect to
begin laying the foundation for a more robust, transparent, and repeatable capital
budgeting process this year.
2. I would like to see a goal of this department to start the process towards creating an
overall capital plan and implementing a more in-depth capital budgeting process with
the Councilors
Agreed. Public Works sees this as an important long-term goal and believes the City would
benefit from a more coordinated and transparent capital planning process. Our intent is to
move toward a framework that connects asset condition, service delivery needs, financial
capacity, operational impacts, and Council priorities into one decision-making structure.
That process should create clearer visibility into needs and tradeoffs while providing a
stronger basis for prioritization and investment decisions. We also agree that Governing
Body involvement should be built into the process rather than occurring only at the end of
annual budget development. We will incorporate this concept into our FY27 Goals,
Objectives, and Key Performance Indicators.

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3. Is there anywhere we can see a list of all the capital, facility, and infrastructure
projects completed this year? I think it would be good for the community to see that
there is progress being made here. I do not need this for budget hearings, this can be a
request for the future. Maybe a presentation in a couple months?
Not currently in a single public-facing format, although information exists across multiple
systems and divisions. We agree that creating a consolidated and accessible view of
completed and active projects would be valuable for the Governing Body, the public,
funding agencies, and staff. Public Works is already moving in this direction through more
centralized project tracking in tools such as Asana, AssetPlanner, OpenGov, and related
systems. We are also advancing development of a more public-facing capital projects
dashboard intended to provide clearer visibility into project locations, status, schedules,
funding, asset conditions, and construction or maintenance activity. We will work with the
team to develop a FY26 summary presentation for the Governing Body and then evaluate
establishing a more regular reporting cadence and dashboard structure moving forward.
This aligns with our broader goal of making Public Works more organized, transparent, and
accountable.
4. When will the asset management tools be fully implemented and what will it mean for
operations and services? (Page 99)
The asset management system within Facilities Management is currently implemented for
Facilities-operated assets, and we are working to expand that portfolio to include additional
City facilities. Complete Streets and Parks and Open Space are coordinating with Public
Utilities to implement OpenGov/Cartegraph service request and asset management
modules. Service request functionality is anticipated to be operational by the end of FY27,
while asset management capabilities will continue maturing as inventory development,
field data collection, and system integration progress. This work is not simply about
deploying software; it is intended to create more disciplined work management, improve
visibility into asset condition and maintenance needs, and support better operational and
capital decision-making over time.
5. Might be a bike rack, but want to hear more about the coordinated approach to
infrastructure investment (last bullet page 100)
Historically, infrastructure investments have often been planned and tracked independently
within individual programs or divisions. Our goal is to move Public Works toward a more
organized, systematic, and transparent operating model supported by stronger capital
planning and better project visibility. Tools such as Asana, AssetPlanner, OpenGov, and
related systems are part of that effort because they help us better track projects, asset
condition, work activity, funding, timing, and delivery status. The broader goal is to connect
these tools to a more robust capital planning approach so we can evaluate infrastructure
needs and investments across streets, sidewalks, drainage, parks, facilities, parking,
transit, and utilities as part of one larger interconnected system. Over time, this should
improve coordination, reduce duplication, identify conflicts earlier, support better

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investment decisions, and provide clearer information to leadership, Council, and the
public.
6. What is the Resource Conservation Fund and why is there a 100% decrease this year in
this budget?
The Resource Conservation Fund is associated with the Citywide Solar and Streetlight
Program and is used to support streetlight-related maintenance and associated activities.
During budget review, staff identified the proposed reduction as an error and have indicated
that it will be corrected. This does not reflect a policy decision to eliminate the fund or
reduce the underlying service. The issue is administrative in nature and does not represent
a planned operational change.
Public Works-Parks
Regarding the reduction in contracts/addition of one more parks crew:
1. What contracts are being phased out in order to fund this crew?
Currently, this transition focuses on the medians crew and encampment cleanup crews. It
does not eliminate all contracts, planned reduction is $200K in contracted services at this
time. The goal is to ensure this initial transition is successful and then gradually convert
additional contracted crews to internal staff over time.
2. How much is left in contracts for Parks, and what will these contracts be used for?
The total remaining contract budget is $1,537,475. This covers porta-potty rentals, large
tree removal, plumbing, traffic control, fireworks, and other professional and specialty
services. Of that amount, $788,750 is currently allocated for median maintenance and
encampment cleanup, which is targeted for future transition to internal crews.
3. How will this impact level-of-service scores?
We have set our target for Parks and Medians to remain at 50% of assets achieving a Level of
Service rating of 2.5 during this transition period.
4. How will this impact the Parks SWAT team (I believe they call it PAC)?
We will maintain the PAC crew but not expand it. The PAC crew has been very successful in
improving our level of service.
5. We have traditionally had a challenging time hiring staff. Will contracts be kept in place
until we are sufficiently staffed to actually transition?
Yes, this has been the case in the past, but economic conditions have shifted. We will
continue to monitor the situation and report to leadership if we encounter difficulties.
6. I would like to propose that we fund a new parks crew, but also keep contracts whole
for this fiscal year. How much would we need to find to do that (looking at the budget
book, I believe $200K), and where are potential places we can get that money?

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Generally, a new labor crew currently costs approximately $615K for a 7-person crew and
$465K for a 5-person crew. This does not include equipment costs, which typically range
from $200K to $250K.
7. What park improvement projects/upgrades are scheduled for this year? Specifically
interested in:
Please note most of these are capital funding not part of the operational budget.
• SWAN (specifically the water feature) Staff is recommending that we begin with
infrastructure improvements, which will utilize all currently available funding. Based
on community demand, staff is recommending the water feature as the first priority.
• Herb Martinez Park —Capital funding is anticipated in Fall 2027, at which time
design work will begin. The tot lot is expected to be completed by the end of this
fiscal year.
• Additional phases for Pueblos del Sol Park – The swings are expected to be installed
and the project completed by the end of this fiscal year.
• Upgrades to Franklin E. Miles Park in preparation for the Fourth of July – Extra
watering, site clearing, and increased maintenance to support event services.
• Ragle Park ball fields – We received $750,000 for the conversion of an additional
smaller field to artificial turf.
• MRC Soccer Valley – Design is progressing well. We are currently at the 30% design
phase and anticipate bringing the championship field recommendation to the
Governing Body for approval by July.
Santa Fe Airport
1. What is the Passenger Facility Charge and how will it generate more revenue. The fee is
added to the price of the airline ticket and can be used for projects such as: Building or
improving terminals, adding gates, improving baggage systems, reducing noise around
airports, and enhancing safety or security infrastructure.
2. Excited about updates to parking. Is there a shuttle for late night so individuals can
safely get to their cars? Shuttle is running when aircraft are coming in and arriving no
matter what time.
3. What are the baggage handling improvements? Not sure what this is referring to but with
Phase two there will be carousels for bags next to arrivals, as well as an inline baggage
system to handle and sort.

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4. Reason for reclass of shuttle driver to security? Budget decrease and federal
requirements for more security. We have enough shuttle drivers for our plane loads and the
security team has been acting as shuttle drivers as we need more and this is adding to their
patrols.
Tourism
(Typo in budget book – Randy is permanent director for tourism, not interim for airport-noted
thank you!)
1. Bullet points on lodger tax on bottom of 108 and top of 109 contradict each other –
which is accurate? The bullet point on page 108 indicating over $17.5 million in lodger’s
tax is the correct statement. Andy Hopkins – I apologize, this was an oversight, and will be
removed from the final Adopted Budget Book.
2. What is the marketing strategy this year given uncertainty in economy, cost of airfare,
and cost of gas? Have we seen shifts in where people are visiting from? Do we shift our
marketing to more heavily target those areas or continue to broaden and why? We are
not adjusting our strategy at this point as it already focuses primarily on the regional market
where we have the most success. Unlike some other destinations, for the first 4 months of
calendar year 2026, we have not seen any decrease in visitation and feel that the response
to our current plan shows that it is effective. We will closely monitor this and pivot to other
stratigies if necessary. The FY27 plan includes an additional $1 million dollars that will go a
long way in helping avoid any decline in visitation caused by the economy or spending
concerns out of our control.
3. Do we always provide funding for the 4th? Lodger’s Tax does not. This is a one-time
expenditure in support of the 250th celebration. We have been successful in getting
$50,000 in support from the County and are hopeful that the state will also participate with
funding, reducing the obligation on Lodger’s Tax.
4. What will the Assistant Operations Manager bring to the Convention Center operations
and users? Additional coverage during events that often require changes and decisions
that are beyond the scope of responsibility of our excellent convention specialist team. It
will allow us to be more responsive to immediate client needs and provide better support to
the team.

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5. More info on second floor terrace renovation: We are completing design of a plan to
remove several planters on a portion of the terrace and cover over 2,000 square feet to
make it more usable. We will also install an exterior stairway to properly connect the
second floor space to the courtyard, allowing them to be used concurrently by the same
group. Design is currently in review by the Historic Land Use team.
6. How is the Tourism department supporting homelessness efforts? What is considered
highly touristed area – only downtown or the growing area around Meow Wolf, which
brings in a lot of tourists? We have $500k budgeted to continue a reduced scope of
private security, planned on the basis of increased police presence in the historic district.
There is no plan for support outside of this area. While hotels are located in this area, it is
not a primary tourism destination outside of the Meow Wolf area.
7. Why 288.3% increase in supplies? Supplies includes software subscriptions. Lodger’s
Tax is paying the added annual cost of $515k for the NEUMO software being used by Land
Use and Finance for the management, enforcement and lodger’s tax collections related to
short term rentals. We also have two new pieces of software (Mindtrip) budgeted to provide
AI capabilities to our visitor website and expanded on visitation to the city with Placer AI.
Executive Summary/General Questions and Comments
1. Projected revenues are less than proposed expenditures – where are we making up the
gap? How much are we taking out of reserves and what will be in reserves for FY27 –
will it be more than what we require of ourselves or equal to what we require?
Please see response to similar question above.
2. Eager to learn more about proposals for more revenue streams – when will we get this
information? Staff have been working with departments identifying opportunities for new
and additional revenue streams. We hope to present this information to Governing Body in
a study session in July/August.
3. I would love to see how this budget aligns with goals and specific KPIs per department
– I know this is new for the City but I think it is important we continue to highlight it and
be specific so we can continue to grow this practice. We will send the dashboard with
data through Q3 2026. Departments have identified goals, objectives and KPIs.
4. $40.6M proposed over FY26 original budget – how far over the FY26 actual (or projected
actual) is this? Where is all this additional money coming from? We’ve been warned
about revenues leveling off for the last few years. Thankfully, we’ve been doing well
overall, but I still want to be cautious. How much of this additional money is in theory
reoccurring? Expenditures are driven by salary increases, new positions and position
changes and inflation. Contractual services include major projects and core services such
as housing inmates at the jail, Fire ASPP program, and the land use code update and
General Plan. On the revenue side, the proposed budget assumes a $31 million increase

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from all funds. Projections for GRT and lodging tax were developed in collaboration with Dr.
Reilly White, a local economist. We will continue to monitor GRT and other major revenue
sources monthly. We anticipate GRT increasing by roughly 6.7% in FY27 over this year.
5. More information about the strategic reserves and capital reserve please. This is the
operating budget, but I would expect these to be more part of a capital budgeting
process – is that what would happen in other communities that have a more
established capital budget? What are we going to be able to do this year to move us
closer to that? City Manager’s Office and Public Works Director, Capital Projects Manager
and other staff are developing a more holistic framework for a planning process that
addresses preventive maintenance. More information on this is forthcoming. Staff hope to
develop a more comprehensive, longer-term capital plan that is more inclusive of needs
citywide and contemplates regular inventory. Most communities have a multi-year capital
plan, and each year adopt a Capital Budget that identifies the projects to be addressed that
year along with identified resources to pay for them. The ICIP is a subset of the citywide
capital plan. The proposed budget includes strategic reserves for key capital needs, fleet
replacement and facilities reserves.
6. I think it would be helpful for new and old councilors and public to understand some of
our different revenue streams, where they come from and how much of the
percentages we receive (ie GRT vs. property, etc.) and how those are or are not
restricted. Staff will be prepared to speak to this. The Gross Receipts Tax is our biggest
revenue source for the General Fund. This may be a good topic for the July/August study
session on revenue options as it may be larger topic than we have time for in the budget
hearings.
7. Transfers In/Transfers Out – what do these include?
Please see responses above.
8. I’m trying to understand the Position Count chart – if I add up the new FTEs in FY26 and
FY27 I am seeing 43 new FTEs that have been created since FY26 original budget. Are
the FY26 new FTEs being created right now or were they created earlier in the FY26
year? How are they being funded?
At times changes in FTEs/positions do occur throughout the fiscal year as conditions shift.
Some positions were reclassifications, others were transfers, and some were “unfrozen”
throughout the year as vacancy savings were realized. The net increase between the
original FTE count in FY26 was 15 positions (FY26-- 1,628.5 FTE in FY26 compared to the
FTE count of 1,643.5 in FY27). Budget office staff will be available at the hearings to discuss
this in more detail as needed.
9. Some of the new FTEs being proposed are for positions we have historically had a hard
time filling. Have we seen a shift in employment trends that make us believe this will
no longer be the case? Park maintenance workers we historically had a challenge
filling. If we are funding some these positions by cutting contracts that typically did
this work, will we still have the contracts in place until the positions are filled to
ensure the work is still being completed in the interim? For frozen but unfunded
positions, will we be advertising for them and finding funding if we find the right
candidate? I’ll put specific position questions in with their departments.

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Noted. Some positions have been challenging to fill for a wide variety of reasons. We will be
prepared to discuss this in department budget hearings.