Finance committee preliminarily approves HR budget after presentation on pay, benefits and hiring reforms

Santa Fe — The Santa Fe Finance Committee preliminarily approved the Human Resources Department’s FY26 budget during budget hearings on Monday, April 28, after a presentation by HR Director Bernadette Salazar and staff that focused on compensation, benefits and hiring-process reforms.

Salazar told the committee the recommended HR budget is $32,300,000 and highlighted investments intended to support recruitment and retention: funding to maintain the current medical benefits plan design, continued tuition assistance and training (including participation in New Mexico EDGE), and money to implement the final two phases of the city’s multi-year classification-and-compensation study if the governing body approves those steps. “One thing that we heard loud and clear was that people wanted to receive credit for their time and service,” Salazar said, describing the consultant’s “hybrid parity” approach to awarding pay increases that credits both total city service and classification service.

Why it matters: HR’s budget affects payroll costs, recruitment and…