The Santa Fe City Council adopted an $82 million budget on Wednesday, May 25. Councilors devoted part of the city’s funds to addressing poverty and climate change in the capital.
Three-hundred thousand dollars from the budget is going to what’s being called the Verde Fund. City planners and nonprofits will use the fund for energy-efficient housing and sustainable building projects, with the goal of making Santa Fe carbon neutral by 2040.
This seed money is also aimed at addressing poverty and the city’s lack of affordable housing, but the budget doesn’t give specifics on how the money will be used on that front. Santa Fe will direct some land-use fees to the fund.
A hearing on the plan isn’t scheduled yet but will happen within the next 90 days.