Community Development Director Alisa Montoya and Office of Economic Development staff presented preliminary results from civic engagement on a proposed city living wage during the City Council meeting on Oct. 8.

Montoya summarized outreach that produced two parallel surveys (a City of Santa Fe survey with more than 600 responses and a Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce business survey with 67 respondents), committee endorsements and community conversations. She said the Economic Development Advisory Committee voted 6–2 to endorse the living wage proposal.

What staff reported

Montoya told the council the city survey is bilingual and distributed widely; she said 77% of respondents live in Santa Fe and that nearly three‑quarters of respondents supported raising the city’s living wage to $17.50 per hour. She said respondents repeatedly identified housing affordability, childcare and transportation as related issues that must be addressed alongside wages.

On business feedback, Montoya said the Chamber survey sampled 67 businesses across hospitality, retail, professional services and nonprofit sectors. That survey showed a nuanced picture: many businesses already pay above the proposed $17.50 level and offer benefits, while some small businesses expressed concern about higher labor costs, potential price increases and the risk of reduced hours or layoffs during low seasons.

Chamber and city survey details

Montoya gave these preliminary takeaways from the city survey: about 45% of respondents identified as workers, 21% as retired and 11% as business owners; roughly 30% reported household incomes over $100,000 and about 6% reported household incomes under $25,000. She said about 44% of respondents said their household spends 25–50% of monthly budgets on housing. In the city survey she said 63% “strongly support” and another 7% “somewhat support” the $17.50 proposal; 18% strongly oppose.

From the Chamber of Commerce survey, Montoya reported that roughly 40% of responding businesses had one to five employees, and that more than 50% of respondents reported paying above $21 per hour for many positions. She summarized that about 65% of those business respondents already pay more than $17.50 per hour, though a sizable minority raised concerns about increased costs.

Council comments and next steps

Councilors emphasized that a living‑wage policy must be paired with other actions addressing housing affordability, childcare and workforce development. Councilor Merworth and others highlighted that prior local studies had found modest employment impacts and measurable benefits such as reduced turnover and higher employee retention; staff said the city will post earlier studies and make experts available for committee hearings.

Montoya and Johanna Nelson, director of the Office of Economic Development (present via Zoom), said the city has launched a small business navigator program to provide one‑on‑one support, training and connections to resource partners and that expanding that program would be a part of implementation planning should the proposal advance.

Montoya reiterated that the engagement is ongoing and that both surveys remain open (City survey and Chamber survey close in two days) and will be updated; she said staff expect the proposal to move through standing committees where councilors may offer amendments and request more detailed analyses.

Why it matters

Councilors said the data show strong resident support for an increase but also illustrate that wage policy is only one tool; council discussion focused on balancing worker needs with measures to support small businesses during implementation and on coordinating wage policy with housing, childcare and workforce strategies.

Provenance

Topic intro: “Item 8 b, results of the civic engagement on the living wage proposal. And here to speak is community development director, Alisa Montoya.”

Topic finish: discussion and committee planning concluded prior to the next agenda item at the top of the Oct. 8 meeting.