The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
By Katherine Nettles
Housing needs assessment funding
Gunnison County commissioners agreed to allocate $3,000 from county discretionary funds to help the Gunnison Valley Regional Housing Authority (GVRHA) fund its housing needs assessment data collection effort. The data collection is required every three years to be in compliance for Proposition 123 funds (aka the Colorado Affordable Housing Financing Fund, which supports land banking, equity and concessionary debt for affordable housing) and was last done in 2021. This spring, commissioner Laura Puckett Daniels presented the request, explaining that while the data collection from large employers in the valley is largely complete, using a $25,000 grant from the Colorado Housing Investment Fund (CHIF), the GVRHA would like to send out an employee household survey as well, and that requires more time and money to accomplish.
New property value assessment protest schedule
Commissioners unanimously approved Gunnison County assessor Kristy McFarland’s request to use the alternate protest and appeal procedure in 2024. Gunnison County has been using the extended appeal period since 2017. The regular schedule, by which the assessor level appeals happen from May 1 through June 8, and the assessor mails notices of determinations from June 30 to August 15, will remain the same, but the schedule by which property owners petition to the county board of equalization will change from July 1 through 15 to the alternate date of September 1 through 15, and the board of equalization will conduct hearings from September 15 through October 31 instead of the regular schedule of July 15 through August 5.
McFarland said this year she heard from other counties that they didn’t have time to view all their property appeals on site due to the volume and shorter timeline, while Gunnison County used the alternate schedule and was able to do so. “So the length of time petitioners can appeal to the next level is the same, but hearing dates are spread out a little bit longer. And they are no longer taking place in the summer,” she said, which might also help. “I do not see any downside. I have not had any complaints from the public.”
Managing deed restricted units
Commissioners approved a resolution allowing county manager Matthew Birnie to exercise authority over master deed restrictions for county-owned workforce housing units. This grants Birnie authority to enter into contracts, leases, agreements and other documents that bind the county in deed restricted leases or in transferring affordable housing units in accordance with county policy. It also updated the language around management of such units under the Gunnison Valley Regional Housing Authority guidelines and using the Gunnison County master deed restriction contract.
March sales tax decline
Total taxable sales in Gunnison County for the months of January, February and March were tallied, showing that January and February sales were up 2.6% and 2.8% respectively from last year, while March taxable sales were 6.31% lower this year. County-wide sales tax revenue came in 6.42% higher in January, 6.98% higher in February and 4.35% lower in March as a result. By industry, online sales brought in the highest taxes at $108,507, followed by restaurants, bars and liquor stores at $87,239 then lodging at $81,566, grocery stores at $60,823, miscellaneous services at $55,792 and building materials and trades at $43,125. Other industries fell in below $40,000 for the month.
