The Santa Fe City Council voted to approve a collective bargaining agreement with AFSCME Local 3999 on Sept. 24, authorizing a contract that runs through June 30, 2027. The agreement, presented by Human Resources Director Bernadette Salazar, includes classification-and-compensation adjustments, a 3% salary increase, retention incentive payments and increases to shift differential, bilingual pay and uniform and tool allowances.

Councilor Michael Garcia, who had asked the item be pulled from consent for discussion, thanked the city bargaining team and the union, calling the settlement “long overdue” after five years without a full contract. Salazar outlined a timeline of interim amendments and payments that kept portions of compensation active while a full contract was not in force, and said the city had executed six prior amendments and multiple memoranda of agreement since the contract’s 2020 expiration. She told the council the last phase of nonunion class-and-comp implementation occurred in December 2024 and that state law prevents retroactive pay, a factor the city cited in offering retention incentives instead of retroactive raises.

The final contract text increases tool allowances, raises uniform and safety footwear allowances and expands bilingual pay tiers, among other housekeeping updates Salazar described as not updated for “a decade or more.” She thanked AFSCME leadership for working with city negotiators. Several AFSCME members and leaders, including Therese Martinez, spoke during public comment and ratification, thanking the governing body for finalizing the agreement.

On a roll-call vote the council approved the contract; the motion passed unanimously. Salazar said the contract will allow the city to implement the classification-and-compensation study increases and the negotiated pay adjustments going forward.

The contract packet and Salazar’s timeline which documents the interim amendments and retention payments were discussed on the record; Salazar said the city will implement the new pay and allowance changes as specified in the agreement.