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Committee advances employee wellness pilot without recommendation amid staffing and cost concerns
Summary
The finance committee voted to forward a resolution updating and extending an employee physical and mental wellness pilot to the full governing body without recommendation after members raised concerns about part‑time eligibility, staffing coverage and fiscal effects.
The Santa Fe Finance Committee on June 23 advanced a resolution updating and extending a pilot program that provides city employees scheduled time for physical and mental wellness. The committee moved the item to the full governing body without recommendation after members raised questions about coverage, part‑time eligibility and potential fiscal impacts.
Human Resources representative Alvin explained the program's options for eligible employees: full‑time classified, exempt and term employees may use two hours per week (structured as either four half‑hour segments across different days, two one‑hour blocks, or one two‑hour block). Part‑time employees are eligible for one wellness day per calendar year under the proposed language; they are not eligible for the two‑hour weekly option as written.
Councilor Signe Lindell opposed the resolution as drafted because it includes part‑time employees in the pilot language discussed previously and said the proposal “overreached.” Lindell, citing small‑business norms, said giving part‑time employees an equivalent of 10% of a workweek off “doesn’t make any sense fiscally to me.” Councilor Lee Garcia and others said the program had strong uptake among participants: HR reported enrollment of 305 employees in fiscal 2024, with 303 of those enrolled using the benefit (approximately 99.3% of enrollees). HR further provided comparative figures showing health‑care claims of about $16.8 million in FY23 and $19.3 million in FY24, sick‑leave usage rising from about 25,000 hours in FY23 to about 32,000 hours in FY24, and paid leave payouts increasing from roughly $763,000 in FY23 to about $1,020,000 in FY24; staff said those figures cover a period when COVID‑era leave rules and telehealth patterns changed and cautioned that longer observation is needed to evaluate net fiscal effects.
After discussion, the committee adopted a motion to forward the resolution without recommendation to the full governing body on a roll call (yes: Lindell, Garcia; no: Romero Worth). Staff said they will provide additional clarifications about part‑time eligibility and longer‑term usage and fiscal impacts before full council consideration.
