The Santa Fe City Council has approved a hefty budget for the 2023 fiscal year. 

According to KOB 4 News, the approved $382.8 million budget for fiscal year 2023 is $25 million more than the proposed budget in 2019.

Although the new budget is much higher than previous years, the city is currently under audit from the state because millions went missing last year. According to Albuquerque Journal, roughly $4-5 million was not reconciled for and state auditors are looking into how the city's budget could've been mismanaged so poorly.

"We are so deeply concerned that the City of Santa Fe financial house is in disarray that we are coming in to provide a backstop and brought oversight and to try and get them from where they are to where they need to be," New Mexico Auditor Brian Colón said, according to KOB 4 News. "People are asking the questions, ‘Well has there been money stolen, is it missing?’ Look, we can't even answer these questions because they can't give us the data."

A portion of the budget increase is going to pay increases for city employees including a 16% pay raise for union police, 8% increase for all city employees and money for a new police substation.