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 retention citywide and covers the department’s work that supports other services — from onboarding and labor relations to workforce development and benefits administration. Committee members questioned and discussed how prior classification-and-compensation adjustments are being implemented and how future increments will be assessed.

Key details from the presentation and committee discussion: - Compensation: Salazar said the HR team recommends implementing the third and fourth phases of the compensation study this fiscal year if the governing body approves. The study’s implementation has been phased in approximately 25% increments, Salazar said, and earlier increments were calculated using a “point in time” evaluation tied to the study’s findings.

- Benefits and wellness: The budget keeps the current medical plan design and continues funding for employee wellness activities; Alvin Valdez, benefits and wellness manager, described department wellness challenges and worksite options for employees who work outside standard office hours.

- Recruitment and hiring process: Salazar reviewed Project Propel, a city initiative to streamline the new-hire experience from application to start date, and said HR will continue to enhance the job-application portal and measure time-to-fill metrics.

- Performance evaluations: HR has contracted for an electronic performance-evaluation product called Express Evaluations. Salazar said the system will allow two-way feedback between supervisors and employees and replace paper processes.

- Staffing and vacancies: Salazar said HR currently has three vacancies on the HR team; several councilors pressed on difficult-to-fill positions across the city and on how departments are addressing hard-to-recruit job classes (for example, transit drivers and maintenance roles).

- Contracts: Salazar listed major HR contracts, including Aon (benefits consultant), the benefits claims administrator (previously Cigna, transitioning to Blue Cross Blue Shield), and Concentra (pre-employment physicals and drug screening).

Quotes and attributions in this article are taken from the meeting transcript and from the list of speakers appearing for HR: Bernadette Salazar (HR director); Alvin Valdez (benefits and wellness manager); Andy (finance director); and several councilors who questioned the presentation (Councilor Cassett, Councilor Lindell, Councilor Faulkner) and the Mayor, who summarized multi-year pay trends for city employee groups.

Action: The committee moved and seconded a motion to preliminarily approve the HR department budget; the roll call recorded from the transcript shows recorded affirmative votes by Councilor Cassett, Councilor Lindell, Councilor Faulkner, Councilor Lee Garcia and Chair Romero Worth. The motion passed as a preliminary approval and will advance the budget in the ongoing budget process.

What’s next: Committee members asked HR to include more employee feedback in future quarterly benefits reports (for example, reports from the benefits advisory committee) and to provide quarterly updates on the new medical insurance carrier transition. The performance-evaluation rollout and the HR rules-and-regulations review were flagged for continued follow-up.