By Dana Bykowski
March 31, 2003

El Paso Mayor Raymond Caballero plans to form a citywide Mayor's Task Force on Affordable Housing, after hosting a roundtable with CitiesFirst on March 13 in his city. Some of the many issues raised at the roundtable included rebuilding existing housing stock, building wealth and assets for residents, increasing subsidies for rental housing and maximizing the use of vacant land.

"This roundtable discussion has sparked an effort to form El Paso's first Affordable Housing Taskforce. Every city is working to support local efforts to provide decent housing and to prevent families from losing their homes, and the assistance and guidance from CitiesFirst™ will help all of us continue to focus on housing issues that are of great concern to El Paso residents and community leaders," the mayor said.

As the fifth largest city in Texas, El Paso has a number of strong community organizations working towards the goal of increasing housing options for residents. Access to affordable housing, and the exploration of alternative permanent housing opportunities will increasingly become issues for the city to address.

"We are excited that El Paso has chosen CitiesFirst™ as their model for creating this task force. Our Nehemiah Program¨ has already helped 243 El Paso families become homeowners, providing a total of $572,986.43 gifted funds in down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers. We look forward to doing more for their city," said Nehemiah Corporation President & CEO, Scott Syphax.

The combined population is estimated at over two million people today, and is expected to double by the year 2025. A cooperative effort is underway to enhance housing opportunities to help meet the demands of new growth.

"There must a number of opportunities and incentives from both the public and private sector in order for residents to gain greater access to affordable housing," said Deborah Hamlyn, Community Development Director for the city, "It must be a collaborative effort, and we must identify community needs, and adopt innovative approaches to addressing those needs."

Organizations throughout the El Paso region attended the roundtable, including: El Paso Mortgage Bankers Association El Paso Credit Union, YWCA El Paso, El Paso Collaborative for Community and Economic Development, El Paso Empowerment Zone, Fannie Mae, Greater El Paso Association of Realtors, Office of Community Development for the city of El Paso, Desert View Homes, and the El Paso Housing Authority. Hazaiah Williams, Executive Director of The Nehemiah Community Foundation, attended the roundtable on behalf of CitiesFirst™.

"It is wonderful to see mayors, like Raymond Caballero, utilize this program. I encourage more mayors to use CitiesFirst™ as an additional component of the existing affordable housing and community development strategies already taking place in our great cities," said Conference Executive Director J. Thomas Cochran.

For more information about CitiesFirst™, or to host a roundtable in your city, please contact Managing Director, Dana Bykowski, at the U.S. Conference of Mayors, at 202-861-6764 or dbykowski@usmayors.org.