Taos Housing Partnership presents employee survey showing widespread housing cost burden among county workers

Lisa O'Brien, executive director of Taos Housing Partnership, opened the presentation to the Taos County Commission on the partnership’s employee survey, saying, "I'm the executive director of Taos Housing Partnership." Daniel Warwath, a housing consultant who worked on the survey, told commissioners the survey was conducted in 2025 with both online and hard-copy responses and promoted by department heads, and achieved "a really great response rate of 51%" of employees.

Warwath said the sample—over 100 responses—provides enough data to draw meaningful conclusions for county planning. He emphasized that the results show housing stress across the workforce: "We're talking about 60% of employees are paying unaffordable, rents," he said, describing cost-burden as paying more than a third of income for housing. He also reported that 90% of respondents were full time and nearly half of employees had six years or more of service, which he said indicates a rooted workforce facing affordability pressures.

The survey found that 80% of renter households want to buy a home but only 26% had tried, with price, credit and down payments identified as primary barriers. Warwath described common housing types among staff: roughly half of homeowners reported living in manufactured housing, which raises long-term stability and maintenance concerns. The presentation flagged larger systemic mismatches: median existing home prices are roughly $400,000 while median local affordability implied by incomes is far lower, and new construction pricing is coming in well above local need.

Presenters recommended a mix of responses rather than a single fix. Proposed programmatic actions discussed included down-payment assistance, credit counseling and homebuyer education, weatherization and energy-efficiency assistance for existing homeowners, and exploring construction approaches (modular or industrialized housing) and land-use code changes to enable more “starter” homes on county land. Warwath said the county’s 9-acre parcel adjacent to the commission chambers is part of the ongoing work to identify sites and program options.

Commissioners thanked the presenters and asked for broader employer survey results as the consultants plan a next stage of work to include other large employers and a follow-up memo with detailed recommendations and data.

The commission did not vote on any programmatic changes at this meeting. Warwath said the team will return with a detailed memo and program recommendations for future consideration.