Santa Fe — The Santa Fe County Compensation Commission convened its first public meeting and moved quickly to organize work that county leaders say must be completed within weeks.

The panel, appointed under a county resolution that implements a 2024 state constitutional change, elected Cliff Reese as chair and Chris Grazer as vice chair, adopted an internal rules-of-order resolution and directed staff to compile comparative salary data for the five Class A counties. Valerie Agahi Park, the county’s human resources and risk management director, told the commission the mission is to "transfer[] authority to set salaries for county officials from the state legislature to the local boards of county commissioners," reflecting the constitutional amendment that shifted salary-setting to local control.

The commission faces a tight schedule. "We have 3 weeks to make our written recommendation to the board per the current resolution that we're operating under," Chair Cliff Reese said, urging the panel to focus on a concise, defensible recommendation rather than exhaustive research that cannot be completed in the allotted time.

Why it matters: County commissioners will consider the commission’s recommendation before the end of December. Any recommendation the board adopts could change pay for county-elected offices and affect who can afford to run for local office.

What the commission did
- Elected leadership: Cliff Reese as chair and Chris Grazer as vice chair.
- Adopted rules of order (Resolution 2009-02) to govern meetings and parliamentary procedure.
- Asked staff to prepare a comparative grid of current salaries across the five Class A counties (Bernalillo, Doña Ana, Sandoval, San Juan and Santa Fe), including the offices of commissioners, treasurer, assessor, county clerk, sheriff and probate judge; members requested contextual data on county budgets, parcel counts and departmental staffing.
- Set at least two follow-up public meetings: Nov. 14 (08:30 a.m.), Nov. 21 (1:00 p.m.) and tentatively Nov. 26 (08:30 a.m.).

On benchmarks and incentives: Commissioners debated how to benchmark pay. Some members favored restricting comparisons to the other Class A counties; others suggested adding similarly sized counties or cities outside New Mexico and consulting national sources such as the National Association of Counties. Former assessor Gus Martinez urged consideration of performance-based incentives, saying, "If you put performance based as part of the salary package, ... these are just ideas that you can strive for." Legal staff cautioned the commission to confirm statutory authority before proposing incentive pay. County Attorney Walker Boyd agreed to research whether statutes (including 4-39-4 for assessors) allow anything beyond a straight salary.

Legal and procedural constraints: Members discussed constitutional and statutory limits on when pay changes can take effect. The panel heard that, under New Mexico law, certain increases cannot be applied retroactively to incumbents during the term and that specific statutory pay components (for example assessor-certification incentives) may be treated differently. Walker Boyd advised the group on Open Meetings Act obligations, minute-taking and vote recording.

Votes at a glance
- Adopt agenda: Motion by Cliff Reese; second by Gus Martinez. Outcome: Approved (voice vote).
- Elect chair (Cliff Reese): Nominated by Cliff Reese; second noted on the record. Outcome: Approved (unanimous voice vote).
- Elect vice chair (Chris Grazer): Nominated by Gus Martinez; seconded. Outcome: Approved (voice vote).
- Adopt rules of order (Resolution 2009-02): Motion and second; outcome approved (voice vote).
- Adjourn: Motion and second; outcome approved.

What’s next: Staff will assemble a comparative salary table and preliminary contextual data for the commission’s next meeting. The commission emphasized it may present a status-quo recommendation if analysis cannot be completed in time, but members indicated a preference to provide specific, documented numbers for the Board of County Commissioners’ consideration. The next public meeting is scheduled for Nov. 14 at 08:30 a.m.; additional sessions were scheduled for Nov. 21 and tentatively Nov. 26.

Sources: Public proceedings of the Santa Fe County Compensation Commission meeting; remarks by Valerie Agahi Park (human resources and risk management director), Chair Cliff Reese and County Attorney Walker Boyd.