Council committee approves ordinance separating Police and Fire from Health and Human Services

The Quality of Life Committee on Feb. 5 voted to approve a bill to amend Santa Fe’s code so the Police and Fire departments are no longer grouped under the Community Health and Safety title and to create a separate Health and Human Services department.

The measure, introduced as bill 2024‑18 with an ordinance number to be determined, was sponsored by Councilors Amanda Chavez, Pilar Faulkner and Lee Garcia. Sponsors said separating the departments will clarify roles, reduce internal competition for scarce resources and allow each department to pursue work tailored to its mission. Faulkner said separating the departments would allow “breathing room” for the newly configured departments to set priorities and budgets.

Opposition and concerns Councilor Kelsey Castro spoke against the legislation, saying the change was rushed and that emergency management and other coordination functions might be better considered in separate legislation. Castro and others urged careful follow-up to protect coordination and emergency-management capabilities. City management and department chiefs told the committee they have operated under both structures in recent months and reported that direct-reporting to the city manager in the interim had improved operational coordination in some instances.

Text and implementation City staff read the bill as amending section 2‑8 of the Santa Fe City Code (SFCC 1987), changing the department title from Community Health and Safety to Health and Human Services, removing the police and fire departments from that section, and creating new sections 2‑8.8 and 2‑8.9 for the Police Department and the Fire Department respectively. Sponsors told the committee this vote is the first step in a series of code changes; additional ordinances will follow to address emergency management, code enforcement, and other departmental responsibilities.

Committee vote A motion to adopt the ordinance passed on a roll call vote. The recorded votes were: Councilor Kelsey Castro — No; Councilor Amanda Chavez — Yes; Councilor Lee Garcia — Yes; Councilor Pilar Faulkner — Yes; Chair (Madam chair) — Yes. The motion and second were entered on the record but not attributed to a named mover or seconder in the transcript.

Why it matters Sponsors said the reorganization aims to reduce bureaucratic friction and allow Police, Fire and Health and Human Services to pursue clearer, mission‑aligned priorities. Detractors urged the council and staff to ensure coordination mechanisms, emergency-management capacity and budgeting transparency are preserved as the city moves to implement the change.

Next steps Staff and sponsors said additional legislation will follow to define the new department lines, to address emergency management and to propose code changes for functions such as code enforcement and risk management. Committee members requested follow-up materials about how the change will affect budgeting, reporting lines and emergency-management responsibilities.