Valencia County accepts $1.8M state housing grant, adopts down-payment program with revisions
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Summary
The Valencia County Commission approved an intergovernmental agreement to accept $1.8 million from the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions and adopted a down-payment assistance program with manager-directed revisions to protect fund reuse and tie eligibility to the county ordinance.
Valencia County commissioners on Feb. 18 approved an intergovernmental agreement to accept $1.8 million in state housing funds and adopted a down-payment assistance program aimed at speeding home purchases for county residents.
The grant from the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions must be expended by June 30, 2026, and the county was told its final invoice is due June 10, creating a compressed timeline for awarding contracts and deploying funds. County counsel and staff told the board they would publish a solicitation and seek a program administrator for a proposed $30,000 down-payment assistance award paired with a builder match for new construction.
Housing authority staff Sonia Unruh, assistant director at the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority, gave the commission an overview of the Affordable Housing Act and county requirements, noting Valencia County already meets the statute’s prerequisites. “Valencia County, in fact, has satisfied this requirement,” Unruh said, referring to the required affordable housing plan and an adopted ordinance.
Commissioners discussed program design and amendments at length. Commissioners asked that the program track any final ordinance decision on maximum income eligibility (AMI), remove an automatic forgiveness clause in favor of repayment upon sale so funds can return to a county housing trust, and make the builder match explicitly for new-construction awards while allowing the $30,000 assistance to be used for purchases of existing, smaller homes and down-payment assistance.
County staff said they have drafted solicitation language and will publish it for 10 days in hopes of awarding a contract at the March 4 meeting. County counsel emphasized the tight timeline: “This agreement, the funds have to be expended by 06/30/2026,” he said, adding that the final invoice date is even earlier.
The motion to adopt the program with the requested revisions passed with one commissioner dissenting. Commissioners directed staff to (a) tie program AMI limits to the ordinance after the ordinance’s public hearing, (b) remove forgiveness so that down-payment funds would be repayable on sale and returned to an affordable housing fund, (c) limit the builder-match requirement to new construction, and (d) ensure existing homes are eligible for down-payment assistance where appropriate.
Next steps: staff will incorporate the amendments into the solicitation and seek an administrator to deploy the funds quickly so Valencia County can meet the June expenditure deadline.
