On May 1, 2025, City Council granted preliminary approval for the Planning and Land Use Department’s FY26 budget.
After hearing the budget presentation by Director Lamboy and Assistant Director Graham and having discussions with other Staff, our Association continues to have deep concerns that 40% cuts to Contractual & Utilities services will negatively impact Department Services and its ability to serve our industry.
Read our Association’s April 30th letter to City Council below. While City Manager Scott indicated the administration would be flexible in how the department budget cuts would be handled, our discussions with Department staff leave us concerned that cuts the Contractual Services will result in slower delivery for:
- Civil Engineering & Technical Reviews
- Terrain Management Reviews
- Commercial Plan Reviews
- Certain Inspections
Our Association encourages Council and the Administration to identify opportunities in the budget that RESTORE funding for contractural services to avoid slow down in service deliveries and overburdening City Staff that would lead to burnout and attrition.
April 30, 2025
Bold Action, Shifting Culture, and Building Efficiency at Planning & Land Use Department
Honorable City Councilors, Mayor Webber, City Manager Scott, and Director Lamboy,
Under the leadership of Director Lamboy, and in collaboration with our local build | design associations, the City’s Planning and Land Use Department [PLUD] has begun the overdue process of upgrading its hardware and IT systems. These efforts, alongside investments in professional development, can revolutionize how the building community obtains permits and inspections for our work on Santa Fe’s built environment.
As we part ways with manual and paper-intensive processes and embrace AI technology, electronic plan review/permitting, and even remote video building inspections, the structure and capital needs of the department are changing.
Our industry deeply needs a City budget that supports and advances these efforts. We are concerned that cuts to the department’s contractual services and operating costs (Pg. 37 of the proposed budget book), or the potential for freezing unfilled positions could jeopardize the goal of evolving operations up to modern standards.
We respectfully petition leadership and the governing body to carefully examine and consult with PLUD Staff, and bargaining unit representatives before approving the budget to determine where savings can be best applied to avoid cuts to essential contract work, core modernization efforts, technology upgrades, or leave essential positions vacant.
It is worth noting that the Planning and Land Use Department is fully enmeshed in work that is NOT part of business as usual. The Long Term Development Code Update and General Plan Rewrite are once-in-a-generation projects that stretch staff’s capacity, diverting resources from daily service delivery and increasing workload across the board.
“Time is money.” For Santa Fe’s build | design industry, the delays and inefficiencies in the current permitting process translate directly into higher construction costs and longer project timelines. Our August 2024 survey of New Mexico builders found that over 15% of a home’s cost stems from pure delays, permitting, zoning, and entitlement processes. Investment and modernization of the Department is not merely an internal efficiency—it’s a direct lever for housing affordability and economic development.
Thank you for your commitment to public service and for considering critical investment at PLUD.
Sincerely,
Miles D Conway, Executive Officer
