Boulder County is taking a new approach to solving the county’s housing problems by bringing all of the housing and homeless services together in a single department.
The new direction was prompted by the success of the Affordable and Attainable Housing ballot measure which was passed in November. The measure extends an existing countywide sales and use tax of 0.185% for 15 years. The funding supports existing and additional affordable and attainable housing and related supportive services in the county.
The new department will include all county housing and homelessness-related programs and services as well as Boulder County Housing Authority. The department will be led by a housing director who will also act as the executive director of BCHA. No positions will be eliminated or created by merging the services. The county commissioners will look internally for a candidate to fill the housing director position, according to a news release from Boulder County.
By centralizing housing efforts, the county can more effectively respond to housing challenges through strategic allocation of resources to areas such as affordable housing development, rental assistance, homelessness prevention, and housing rehabilitation,” the news release stated.
