Connect with us

Comm Voice

Community Voices: State proposal would cut 70 percent of affordable housing funding

Mike Sutton

Published

on

Welcome to the Catalyst’s Community Voices platform. We’ve curated community leaders and thinkers from all parts of our great city to speak on issues that affect us all. Visit our Community Voices page for more details.

In Pinellas County, it is estimated there is a shortage of 54,000 affordable housing units for low-income residents. In neighboring Pasco County, fifty-six percent of low-income households are considered housing cost-burdened. Statewide, one in six Floridians spends half or more of their income on housing. It’s no secret we have an affordable housing crisis in our state; the problem gripping our community is not new.

However, the funding source created to address this crisis, called the Sadowski Affordable Housing Trust Fund, is again under attack. This time, cuts will be permanent.

A recent proposal by Speaker of the House Chris Sprowls and Senate President Wilton Simpson would permanently cut the State’s affordable housing funding by almost 70%. According to a joint press release from the Speaker and Senate President, the new infrastructure plan would direct one-third of the existing distribution to the Housing Trust Fund to the Always Ready: Flooding and Sea Level Rise Agenda (priority of Speaker Sprowls), one-third would be directed to the Wastewater Grant Program within the Department of Environmental Protection (priority of President Simpson) and one-third would continue to be distributed to state and local affordable housing programs, with language that prevents these distributions from being swept to general revenue. While we believe funding for flooding and sea level rise as well as wastewater initiatives are vital, we also believe Florida can meet all its infrastructure needs without taking the housing money which is desperately needed to help Florida’s workforce and seniors.

If enacted, cuts would total over $14 million annually in Pinellas/Pasco Counties and almost $300 million annually statewide. Let me reiterate that these would be permanent cuts. For affordable housing advocates and providers, cuts to affordable housing for other legislative priorities are nothing new. Over the past decade, legislative sweeps out of the Housing Trust Funds have totaled over $1.5 billion. Yet this proposal would double that number over the next 10 years to $3 billion directed away from affordable housing.

Cuts will disproportionally impact low income families as these funds are explicitly used to serve moderate to low income citizens. Cuts would also disproportionally impact our Habitat affiliate, as 65% of the State Housing Initiatives Partnership (funded by the Housing Trust Fund) must be spent on homeownership activities. Impacts would be felt far beyond our Habitat affiliate and would cascade through the entire housing continuum. Housing Trust fund dollars are often used to fund programmatic gaps that federal funding does not allow for, or local funding cannot provide. Many of these programs are vital to supplying as well as preserving affordable housing in communities throughout Florida.   

These programs include property acquisition funding, emergency home repairs, home rehabilitation, down payment assistance, construction financing and housing counseling programs. Again, all of these programs specifically aid low income families in obtaining affordable housing. A 70% permanent reduction in these programs would be disastrous, curtailing any advancements made over the past years and aiding to intensify the affordable housing crisis detailed above.

While we at Habitat laud both Speaker Sprowls and President Simpson’s efforts to address flooding and sea level rise as well as wastewater initiatives; it should not come at the expense of affordable housing. $300 million a year in permanent cuts is a bridge too far. We must leverage all available resources and use all the tools in the toolbox. It is time to make affordable housing a proper priority and continue to make Florida the greatest state in the nation.

We urge you to reach out to your local State Representatives and advocate to #CancelTheCuts by opposing the restructuring of the Sadowski Affordable Housing Trust Fund.  

Mike Sutton is President and CEO at Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas and West Pasco Counties.    

Continue Reading
1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Avatar

    Bunny Newman

    March 27, 2021at6:02 pm

    How incredibly sad.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

By posting a comment, I have read, understand and agree to the Posting Guidelines.

The St. Pete Catalyst

The Catalyst honors its name by aggregating & curating the sparks that propel the St Pete engine.  It is a modern news platform, powered by community sourced content and augmented with directed coverage.  Bring your news, your perspective and your spark to the St Pete Catalyst and take your seat at the table.

Email us: spark@stpetecatalyst.com

Subscribe for Free

Share with friend

Enter the details of the person you want to share this article with.