A section of the Santa Fe City Hall may be given over to a new police substation if funding for the project is approved by the city council.
The space is located on the W. Marcy Street side of the City Hall building, whose official address is 200 Lincoln Avenue.
Mayor Alan Webber, in his 2023 fiscal year budget, is proposing that up to $100,000 in city funding be used to build the substation space, some six miles to the northeast of the police department’s headquarters at 2515 Camino Entrada.
According to the Santa Fe New Mexican, Santa Fe Police Chief Paul Joye said the new station could be used as a hub for the police force’s downtown bike team.
“We haven’t had a real presence or substation on the north side in several years,” Joye remarked, adding: “It’s something we had had discussions about quite a bit and it’s something the Mayor has really been wanting to happen.”
The $100,000 requested by Webber is a small slice of a total proposed $382.8 million budget. The recommended fiscal year budget for the Police Department amounts to $33.4 million, an increase of 21% in the last four years. That budget additionally includes $1.1 million for new police car, body, and evidence cameras, as well as new management software.
The Santa Fe Police Department formerly operated a small one-story substation at 1030 W. Alameda Street, about two miles to the west of the City Hall.
By Garry Boulard
