Howard County community groups have called for a dedicated trust fund for affordable housing, but county executive hopefuls hesitated to endorse the idea at a recent forum.
“I don?t have a position yet,” Republican candidate Chris Merdon said.
Like his two opponents, Democrat Ken Ulman and independent Stephen Wallis, Merdon said he wanted to wait to see the recommendations from an affordable housing task force due Oct. 31.
An affordable housing trust fund would provide a dedicated annual pot of money to fund affordable housing.
The county?s Housing Commission currently is funded through a portion of the transfer tax, but that money ? which was roughly $4 million last year ? also funds homebuyer loan programs.
The transfer tax is exacted when a change of ownership occurs on real property.
Merdon said the county should set a target number of affordable housing units, rather than a percentage in each development. The county could then determine how to meet that goal each year.
“My preference is that we rely on the development community before the public dollars are used,” he said.
Ulman questioned where the money would come from.
“The job of the county executive is to actually balance the budget each year,” he said.
Independent candidate Stephen Wallis also said he would build partnerships with community groups and developers to examine the
issue.
“I would take a more reasoned approach and look at the whole specter of funding,” he said.
The money could come from transfer taxes, homebuyer fees and related real estate transactions, said Roy Appletree, board president for the Association of Community Services, which has advocated for the fund. “That?s one of the things one has to figure out,” he said of the funding source.
People Acting Together in Howard, a group mostly consisting of religious leaders, has called for a $30 million fund dedicatedto affordable housing.
“Because of the crisis we have in affordable housing, there is more of a need now than ever before to use [the fund] as at least one strategy,” said Hector Rodriguez, PATH?s organizer.
The county executive candidates spoke at a forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters, Howard County Commission for Women, Association of Community Services, Howard County Citizens Association and Ellicott City Restoration Foundation at Howard Community College last week.
