By Matt Hoffmann, WCTV
The Capital Area Justice Ministry is calling on Leon County commissioners to reallocate nearly $1.2 million a year for affordable housing at their meeting next Tuesday.
However, that money is already allocated for road improvements. County commissioners would have to take money from the road improvement project and put it towards affordable housing instead.
The ask is about 20% of the money Leon County receives from one-cent sales tax each year.
“So if we’re serious about dealing with the homeless issue, this is what we got to focus on,” Robert Deyle, a member of CAJM’s Affordable Housing Strategy Team said.
Deyle said 16,000 families in Leon County spend more than half their income on housing, meaning they have to choose between paying the rent and other necessities.
Under the nonprofit’s plan, the county would use the $1.2 million annually to buy land in conjunction with a developer. The county would then lease that land back to the developer, under an agreement that the developer set aside units for low-income residents.
Deyle said most low-income complexes in Leon County are negotiated up front, and the requirement to build low-income units is done through regulation of the land itself. He said developers can sometimes “weasel around” those agreements by re-negotiating what exactly it means to be “low income.”
This approach would be different. Because the lease would be 99 years long, rental stability would continue for almost a century, and the local government retains control of the land itself.
“(This is) a contract and it doesn’t change,” Deyle said. “There’s no way for a political process to go in and change it.”
That reallocation was almost passed at a previous Blueprint meeting. Blueprint is a sales tax authority whose dollars are controlled by a joint board of city and county commissioners.
However, Deyle said the nonprofit hasn’t gained traction from the city commissioners, so they’re going across the street to the county.
Since most of the county lawmakers voted in favor at the Blueprint meeting, they hope lawmakers will vote in favor again with dollars directly under their control.
According to meeting minutes, Planning, Land Management & Community Enhancement Director Artie White said, “(The proposal) would not be feasible as there is no projected surplus revenue to allocate to the program even if added to the approved project list.”
But, by going directly to the county, Deyle hopes for a different result. While Blueprint, the joint-city county board, controls most of the money, the county does receive some straight under its control.
“They understand it, but they have not up now, been willing to either come up with a new source of money or reallocating money within their existing budgets to do it,” Deyle said.
CAJM plans to attend with some 80 residents to the county commission meeting on Tuesday to specifically ask the county staff to implement their plan.
If the program takes off, the developer would then be required to set aside a certain number of units for low-income and extremely low-income residents at each apartment complex.
Traditionally, at least 10% of the units are set aside but CAJM is hoping for more. Deyle said a similar program has worked here in Florida in Pinellas County.
CAJM admits even if its plan was implemented, it would only make a small dent in the overall issue. Right now, Deyle said only about 20 affordable housing units are built each year in the capital county.
While their proposal would double that, the 16,000 family backlog won’t be solved. Deyle said he wants to prove to the county commission that the proposal works, and then ask for an increase in tax dollars.
“The city and county commissioners understand this,” he said. “The problem is, we need the political will to come up with the funds and a way to do it.”
The political will could run headlong into the non-profit’s dreams on Tuesday. Road maintenance and improvements are also often a top priority for local lawmakers, who hear from constituents when routes aren’t properly maintained.
Deyle acknowledged that road improvements are often scheduled far in advance, and the county would need to re-work that schedule to accommodate the housing request.
But, he said roads can also be funded via a gas tax. More importantly, he said housing is the bedrock of stability for all Leon County residents.
Deyle said at least two county commissioners have committed to supporting CAJM’s proposal, but they’ll need at least four to have it passed.
The previous Blueprint meeting may give some indication of how Tuesday’s meeting will go. Leon County Commissioner Nick Maddox said he wasn’t in favor of doing the program through Blueprint because other projects would have to be scrapped.
But, it’s unclear how directly controlled dollars could be different.
Leon County Commissioner Brian Welch said he didn’t want to undermine the voters’ confidence in Blueprint, but again, direct dollars could be viewed differently.
Ultimately, every county commissioner except Christian Caban and Welch voted for the motion. But, a supermajority was required, so the proposal failed.
Tuesday’s vote could be different.
View the original story here.
