Santa Fe County commissioners push customer service, housing and broadband to top of strategic plan
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Summary
At a strategic-planning session staff and commissioners emphasized customer service and accountability, a focus on housing affordability and coordinated growth-management code updates, and efforts to capture broadband and sustainability funding; staff will synthesize a proposed plan for the December meeting.
Santa Fe County commissioners used a strategic planning session to lay out priorities staff will fold into a proposed resolution and public-facing workplan. Commissioners repeatedly returned to three themes: strengthening customer service and measurable accountability, confronting a countywide housing shortage, and capturing federal broadband and sustainability funds.
County management told commissioners the staff proposal will include department-level three-year customer-service plans and a pilot program to develop countywide key performance indicators (KPIs) that can be presented in a public dashboard. Manager Schafer said the KPI work and customer-service templates are intended to standardize reporting and make progress trackable across departments.
Housing — both production and preservation — was a central focus. Growth-management staff outlined a two-track timetable: technical revisions to the Sustainable Land Development Code (SLDC) addressing affordable-housing provisions, with chapter changes prepared for board review in about six months, and a parallel public-participation plan for an update of the Sustainable Growth Management Plan (SGMP) by February 2026. Staff said user groups including builders, architects and community organizations will be convened to test draft code language.
Commissioners pressed staff to make past accomplishments visible as priorities are reintroduced so the board and public can see what has already been implemented and where gaps remain. Multiple commissioners urged staff to include a short ‘what we achieved’ synthesis in the draft plan.
County staff also summarized ongoing efforts to leverage federal broadband funds. Leandro, who leads broadband work, said the county has a broadband working group and has used state-administered federal grants for planning, but that vendor awards and state processes have changed repeatedly; he said staff are exploring synergies with public-safety radio projects to help vendors meet cash-match requirements.
On sustainability, staff reported progress on electrification and energy-efficiency measures, an EV-fleet policy nearing completion and several grants in process. Commissioners asked for a fuller presentation on installed EV chargers and timelines.
Staff committed to produce a synthesized draft of the strategic plan that incorporates commissioners’ priorities, lists items to sunset, and identifies follow-up materials. The board asked for a brief synthesized presentation at an upcoming December meeting and directed staff to return with a resolution and a public-facing plan in time to inform the FY27 budget process.
The session closed with procedural next steps: staff will prepare a consolidated draft, circulate it to commissioners for comment, and present the synthesis in December; formal adoption is expected in early 2026.