SANTA FE, July 8, 2022 — Starting July 9, most City of Santa Fe workers will start earning 8 percent raises, and members of the Santa Fe Police Officers Association will receive 16 percent boosts. The raises for first responders are intended to aid in the recruitment and retention of the most qualified personnel to protect our community.

The raises are a key feature of the Fiscal Year 2023 budget that the Governing Body approved in April, and they set a new high bar for increases in compensation.

Mayor Alan Webber says: “With these historic investments in our employees we are keeping our promises to our workers and the residents they serve. The raises prove that City of Santa Fe intends to be the employer of choice in the region so we can hire and retain qualified workers who will keep us moving forward on all fronts. What’s good for our employees is good for Santa Fe.”

Human Resources Director Bernadette Salazar says: “I am excited that city employees will receive these salary increases. The increases are higher than what we’ve seen historically, and we believe this will assist in the recruitment and retention of great employees. We are pleased that all parties have worked together to make this happen.”

The City has continued to invest in our workforce; in addition to the salary increases, the City will continue to offer $2,000 retention incentives to existing employees and $1,000 new hire/retention incentives for FY2023. Last year the City raised the minimum hourly wage for City staff to $15.

The City has worked diligently in recent years to provide a comprehensive compensation package for employees.

• In July 2021, City employees received 4 percent salary increases. 
• In July 2019, employees received 2 percent salary increases.
• In July 2018, employees received 2% salary increases. AFSCME employees received 1% equity salary increases.
• In July 2018, the classification and compensation study was implemented and resulted in salary increases for employees who were paid below the market rate for an average increase of 7%.
• Police and fire union employees received increases in accordance with their agreements.

On Wednesday, June 29, the Governing Body approved agreements with two employees’ unions to implement the raises. They approved an amendment to the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the City and AFSCME Local 3999 that puts the equivalent of an 8 percent raise into effect in the first full pay period of July while contract negotiations on a new CBA between the parties continue. And they also approved the CBA between the City and the Santa Fe Firefighters Association, which also includes an 8 percent salary increase.

At the previous Governing Body meeting, on June 8, 2022, the City approved the agreement with the Santa Fe Police Officers Association that includes the 16 percent salary increase for members.