Dedicated Funding for Affordable Housing

At the Council Work Session on Tuesday, April 15 I moved to put a resolution on Council’s next meeting docket that would provide a dedicated funding stream for the Affordable Housing Fund starting in FY 2016.  Council previously approved funding for FY 2015 from the FY 2014 Fund Balance.  My proposal required that an amount equal to 15% of the insurance license fees received in the previous year be placed into the Fund annually, approximately $3.96 million. On an 8-7 vote, Council voted against the motion, with those opposed preferring to wait to make this decision until the administration presents a detailed plan for the operation of the Fund.  You can watch the meeting here.  You can read the Herald-Leader report of the discussion here.

Earlier in the day, Comm. Paulsen presented at the Planning and Public Works Committee a preliminary plan for the operation of the Affordable Housing Fund .  A complete plan will be coming to Council before our summer break in July.  You can watch the Planning and Public Works Committee meeting here.

While I would have preferred passage of my motion, I am pleased that the issue continues to move forward.  I believe that the final outcome will be positive, and that we will allocate the resources necessary to address the long-standing issues of homelessness and the need for more affordable housing for our low-income community.