Should public-sector employees like teachers and emergency service workers be allowed access to state bonds to get a foot in the door of a too-tight housing market?
Montgomery County Council Member Mike Subin and state Sen. Patrick Hogan announced a plan Wednesday to do just that at Montgomery County’s Affordable Housing Conference annual meeting.
“There is no affordable part of the county. I don’t think the state has done everything we can to promote affordable housing,” Hogan said.
Though details remain unclear, the plan would funnel the bond notes through banks to allow lower-than-prime-rate loans to those identified as critical public-sector employees, Subin said.
Hogan said they need to begin seeking public support for the proposal now if it is to be approved during next year’s legislative session.
Schools chief Jerry Weast said about 1 in 5 public school employees commute every day from beyond the county’s borders, with the school system paying to bring a school bus full of workers from West Virginia every day.
Housing facts
» 23 percent of Montgomery firefighters live inside the county.
» 5,000 of 24,000 public school employees commute from outside the county.
» 8,222 people remain on the housing voucher waiting list.
» 6,952 remain on the public housing waiting list.
