The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded money to both Santa Fe County Housing Authority and Santa Fe Civic Housing Authority today—and gave the county more than any other county in the state.

Santa Fe County Housing Authority was awarded $262,158 and Santa Fe Civic Housing Authority got $776,699. The City of Albuquerque Housing Division was the only city awarded more than the city of Santa Fe, with $1,228,703.

The $6.2 million distributed to public housing authorities around the state is intended to be used for major repairs, energy-efficient upgrades, renovations and modernizations. 

Santa Fe County Housing Authority Executive Director Dodi Salazar says her agency actually received over $310,000 last year, and $313,000 in 2009. The money will be used for stuccoing, re-roofing, floor replacement and repair of appliances like water heaters for SFCHA's 200 units.

"You have these units that are very old – a lot of ours were built in the mid '70s, so they need a lot of work to be maintained in a decent safe and sanitary manner," Salazar says. "It's hard when you don’t get a lot of money—you're always looking for additional funding to make good improvements."