Pensacola News Journal Editorial Board | February 5, 2016
Add us to the list of groups and organizations asking the state Legislature to fully fund this year’s request for affordable housing.
Last week, the Senate did the right thing by allowing full funding — about $317 million — for the SHIP/Housing Trust Fund and the State Apartment Incentive Loan (SAIL) program for next year’s budget. SHIP is the State Housing Initiatives Partnership program. It funds housing programs in all 67 counties. The SAIL money can be used to rehab apartments that desperately need repair or to build new units, that house “Florida’s most vulnerable populations, such as the frail, elderly and persons with disabilities,” the Sadowski Housing Coalition said in information they provided during a visit to the News Journal Editorial Board before the legislative session began.
Last week, the coalition, a nonpartisan group of more than 30 organizations, thanked senators for their support and we join in that praise. Senators clearly recognize the need to make it easier for families to own a home.
“As we move forward this session, we ask that the House take the Senate’s position during budget negotiations and use all housing trust fund monies for housing,” Jaimie Ross, president and CEO of the Florida Housing Coalition and facilitator of the Sadowski Coalition, said in a news release.
Now, the funding must get passed by the state House, where representatives have a recommendation of just more than $141 million, less than half the Senate’s approval. What’s troubling is that although the balance of the money is earmarked for housing-related issues, it could be diverted to pet projects elsewhere. We urge state Reps. Clay Ingram, Mike Hill and Doug Broxson to follow the Senate’s leadership and make the full amount available.
After all, more affordable housing is desperately needed, especially in portions of Escambia County, one of the state’s poorest.
Early estimates for Fiscal Year 2016-17 projected nearly $3 million for Escambia County and more than $1.8 million in Santa Rosa.
While it’s big money, the programs are funded through the documentary stamp tax paid on all real estate transactions and dedicated housing trust funds. However, the Legislature in the past has chosen to divert some of the money elsewhere. We believe the money should be spent as promised, not “swept,” in the parlance of Tallahassee’s bureaucracy, to another part of the budget.
Lest anyone think this is a state-sanctioned giveaway, consider the economic impact, courtesy of the coalition: “SHIP and SAIL are highly leveraged, with private-sector loans and equity providing $4 to $6 for every $1 of state funding — thus, greatly increasing economic impact.”
With affordable housing being built, that means local construction jobs which strengthens the community, another reason to support the funding.
The coalition tells us “more than 900,000 very low-income Floridians pay more than 50 (percent) of their income on housing — they are one missed paycheck away from homelessness.”
Lately, we’ve reported on the plight of the homeless, particularly children, in the two-county area. They need help with affordable housing. Adequate funding in next year’s budget is a good start.