Funding Continuation to be Discussed at a Special Meeting on Monday

The monthly affordable housing surcharge is a hot-button issue for conservatives who don’t like the idea of subsidizing housing for police, firefighters, teachers, service workers, and others.

Archuleta County is an expensive place to live with the average home price of $580,000 and monthly rents at $2,168 (per Zillow). Even with help from the county, private donations, non-profits, and PAWSD, the units built by Habitat for Humanity still cost more than $300,000.

Opponents Are No Shows

Over the past month there has been a letter-writing campaign by conservatives who are triggered by the $6-a-month affordable housing subsidy.

It’s bad enough, liberal interlopers on the PAWS board have added a perpetual affordable housing tax to everyone’s water bill, for a small group of developers to build apartments, without the customers voting whether it was wanted or needed. 

Greg Giehl, letter pubblished Aug. 13, 2025, in the Pagosa Sun

The PAWSD board set aside time at its regular August meeting for opponents to leave their keyboards and appear in public. None did.

Financial Picture Unclear

At the Aug. 14 PAWSD meeting, Habitat and the Pagosa Springs Community Development Corporation appeared and asked for continued funding. (The board packet from the 14th is no longer on the PAWSD website, but you can find it here.)

Neither Habitat nor the Pagosa Springs CDC asked for a specific dollar amount. Both agencies build a handful of homes each year. PAWSD staff did not provide available funding dollars.

The Pagosa Springs CDC noted that past PAWSD contributions totaled $36,910 over four years. The board granted waivers for several homes that appear to be for Habitat, but are listed by account numbers. I could not find a summary.

As ratepayers know, there are two affordable housing surcharges: one for water and one for sewer. The 2025 affordable housing surcharges per home or apartment is $1.87 for water and $3.57 for sewer. The fees are held in separate accounts.

Numbers Now Available

The board packet for Monday includes a financial data dump, and past PAWSD Affordable Housing resolutions.

When combined, both funds have a negative $343,000, if I read the graphic correctly. The combined balance is scheduled to be a positive $206,000 by the end of 2025, according to PAWSD projections. What powers that $543,000 swing from the red to the black isn’t clear to me.

Private developers can also apply for affordable housing funding. For example, the 50-unit Trails at Pagosa Springs apartments by Walmart is seeking additional help. The calculations for a subsidy amount are complex, but subsidizing 50 units will cost far more than the dozen or so proposed by the non-profits. As I recall, the 2024 wastewater waiver of $832,000 was for this project.

The upcoming work session is a chance for the Board to discuss the effectiveness of these policies and explore future steps. Action will likely be taken at the Sept. 11 meeting.

I encourage community members to stay informed on this vital issue.