Officials report lodgers-tax grant baseline: 34 applications, 29 awards, outreach gaps noted

Taos County staff presented baseline data from the first full year under the new lodgers-tax grant guidelines and identified geographic and sector gaps in applications.

Jessica told the commission the county received 34 applications over two cycles and made 29 awards, and she reported that about $412,179 was awarded from roughly $622,901 in requests; she said grantees have until May 15 to request reimbursements and that the county has reimbursed just over $100,000 so far. Jessica emphasized the need for more outreach outside Taos proper: "Not surprising that about 50% of the funding was concentrated in Taos, but this also shows me that we need to do some outreach into the northern and southern parts of the county to make sure that funds are getting distributed broadly," she said.

Jessica also said the next application cycle opens March 3 and closes March 31 for funding that would begin in July. The advisory board funded approximately 91% of applicants and generally awarded a high share by design, she said, and staff will pursue higher-touch, in-person outreach to strengthen applications in underserved areas.