Living in Santa Fe: It needs to happen

It is obvious that the city of Santa Fe is not making it a priority to ensure that police officers live within city limits, or at least in Santa Fe County. Witness news from the weekend that Chief Andrew Padilla has moved to Rio Rancho. The chief previously had been driving in from Alcalde and also had spent a short spell in Santa Fe.

As Mayor Alan Webber pointed out, Padilla is not unusual — several recent chiefs have lived outside the city limits. It’s not a requirement for department heads to live in the city, after all. For a chief, competence and understanding of the city are more important than an address. Padilla has demonstrated both.

Yet city residents would like their officers to be their neighbors, too. The take-home car policy — which means that taxpayers pay for officers’ commute — makes it easy for cops to work here and live there. Four-day workweeks give officers fewer days to drive, too, so they don’t mind the commute. Department policies,

then, almost seem to encourage living away from Santa Fe. Santa Fe makes it easy.

And now, there’s Padilla’s choice of Rio Rancho.

We understand that homes are more affordable in Rio Rancho. That is why housing — more of it and more affordable places — continues to be such a priority for the city. However, it’s likely that a police chief, or any city department head, could afford to buy a house in Santa Fe. They are paid well. Turns out, Padilla is now the only department head who does not live in the city or county.

For many officers, the choice of Rio Rancho comes down to a desire to separate their work lives, which involve dealing with bad guys and often irate citizens, and their home lives. Officers with children say they prefer the schools in other cities. Some say their spouses can’t find jobs in Santa Fe.

We don’t begrudge people choosing what they believe is best for their families. But we still want more officers and other city workers to live in Santa Fe. The 2014 study that found some 15 percent of workers in Santa Fe commute from Albuquerque, with another 7 percent from Rio Rancho, sticks with us. It means that dollars earned in Santa Fe are spent elsewhere, benefiting the economies of other cities and counties. A 2007 Homewise Inc. study estimated that the local economy loses some $301.6 million in annual spending because of workers who live outside Santa Fe.

Obviously, not all workers want to live in Santa Fe. But if the city could keep, say, 10 percent or 20 percent more of such workers, we would have additional tax revenue, more children in our public schools and increasingly vibrant neighborhoods. Think of the volunteer base, too. People with the gumption to drive two hours to and from work have a lot to contribute, and we need their energy in Santa Fe.

In the meantime, city officials — especially for public safety agencies — need to develop policies that encourage residency in or close to Santa Fe.

Grow officers through partnerships with public schools and Santa Fe Community College, building on programs in place and establishing a criminal justice track that spots potential cops early. Find ways to offer bonuses to officers who live locally, whether help for spouses seeking jobs, cash incentives or even a public safety scholarship program for their children.

Eventually — and we know it’s difficult given the hiring competition for cops — discontinue the take-home car policy for commuters. Taxpayers do not want to pay for the wear and tear on cars just so the officers who serve our city can live somewhere else.

Instead, taxpayers want a police force with officers who choose to live among us, as neighbors and even friends. Residents would see those officers at the grocery store, talk to them over PTA meetings and watch their kids make friends at the park. That would create true community policing and should always be the city’s goal.