TheReview_July_Aug_2021

RDABLE R FFORDABLE OUSING N A R B O R YES!PROPC for affordable housing Municipal Finance Column Successful Housing Millages By Rick Haglund R

PA ID FOR WI TH REGUL ATED FUNDS BY PARTNER S FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING | 3435 BRENTWOOD C T, ANN ARBOR, MI PARTNERS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING.ORG R esidents of two Michigan locales are digging into their own pockets to help relieve a growing, critical shortage of affordable housing that threatens to widen the Ann Arbor's Housing Millage Ann Arbor’s housing millage request, known as Proposal C, was overwhelmingly passed with nearly three-quarters of city voters saying “yes” to the proposal for a 1 mill levy over the next 20

economic divide in those communities. Last November, voters in the City of Ann Arbor and Kalamazoo County approved millage issues that, combined, will raise nearly $200 million to build housing units for a range of residents, from the homeless to middle-income working families in those locales. “We’re targeting a wide range of people to get back on their feet,” said Mary Balkema, Kalamazoo County’s housing director. The two successful millage issues have garnered national media attention, including a story in the Washington Post that noted the two locales are among just a few local governments nationwide that fund affordable housing with property taxes. Most affordable housing is financed from a variety of state and federal programs, including tax credits for developers. But those sources alone are not fulfilling the need for affordable housing, which has skyrocketed in recent years because of escalating home values, zoning restrictions, rising construction costs, builders targeting affluent buyers, and other issues. The Ann Arbor Housing Commission has more than 7,000 people on its housing waitlists, including one list that includes the homeless and domestic violence survivors. “And we easily receive over 1,000 requests every year for housing from people not on our waitlist,” said Jennifer Hall, the commission’s executive director. This is happening in a wealthy community, home to the University of Michigan, where the median household income for a family of four is $106,600.

years. That’s expected to raise $6.5 million in the first year, or $130 million for affordable housing over the life of the millage. But Hall said it could be considerably more, taking into consideration the likely growth of the city’s tax base over the period. The housing millage will boost the taxes of homes with a taxable value of $250,000 by $250. Ann Arbor plans to use revenue from the millage to build about 1,500 units of housing, rehab existing housing, and provide related support services, including physical and mental health, daily living skills, job skills, and youth programs. Those earning between zero and 60 percent of median household income can qualify for housing assistance. The housing commission acts as a co-developer with a private sector development team that includes an architect, engineering firm, and general contractor. It plans to build several hundred units of housing over the next two years. In addition to the housing millage, the city will continue making its annual appropriation of about $880,000 into the city’s affordable housing fund. Plus, Ann Arbor is able to use a small portion of a millage that supports services for the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Department for affordable housing because the city does not utilize the sheriff’s department, Hall said. Millage funds are already being put to use. The Ann Arbor City Council in June agreed to allocate $1.5 million to local nonprofit Avalon Housing to help it construct a total of 86 apartments in two projects in the city.

36 THE REVIEW

JULY / AUGUST 2021