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HRDC assessment: Livingston residents list affordable housing and living-wage jobs as top needs
Summary
HRDC's Park County needs assessment presented to the commission shows affordable housing as the top concern (71% of respondents), a sharp rise in the need for living-wage jobs and linked pressures on child care and mental health access; HRDC invited the city to use the data in planning and partnership discussions.
Lori Bishop of the Park County Local Advisory Council for HRDC presented the agency's triennial community needs assessment to the Livingston City Commission, saying the report summarizes resident priorities across Park County and isolates Park County-specific findings for local planning.
Bishop said HRDC's local results list the top five needs for Livingston residents as safe, affordable housing; jobs that pay a living wage; affordable child care; access to mental health services; and planning for growth and development. “Affordable housing continues to be the top need. It was identified by 71% of all respondents,” Bishop said, adding that the need for jobs that pay a living wage has “surged dramatically, increasing by 369% since 2022.”
Bishop urged the commission to use the assessment data in planning and budgeting, and to consider HRDC as a partner in strategic planning and program design. Commissioners asked for trend data that compares Park County with Gallatin and Montana, and discussed local housing projects already in the pipeline that could ease supply pressure, including near-term developments described during the meeting.
Commissioners also discussed service partnerships: staff reported HRDC's role coordinating food and senior services, and commissioners and staff noted partnerships among the food resource center, warming center and other nonprofits. Bishop said HRDC can supply trend analyses and support follow-up work to dig into specific topics such as housing cost burden and workforce development.
Next steps: HRDC contact information and the full assessment will be circulated to commissioners; staff and commissioners discussed scheduling a deeper work session to translate assessment findings into budget or program priorities.
