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Charlotte taxpayers may have to help fill affordable housing gap

By Brittney Johnson, wsoctv.com
By Brittney Johnson, wsoctv.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte city leaders are discussing several funding options to help solve the city's affordable-housing crisis. Charlotte is facing a shortage of more than 34,000 affordable-housing units and proposed federal budget cuts could create a gap that your local tax dollars would be used to fill.

A major issue is that average rents continue rising.The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is roughly $1,100.

The average monthly mortgage for a Habitat for Humanity home is $400. The city uses grants to partially fund affordable-housing projects through programs such as Habitat but there is a chance those funds could disappear and leaders are discussing asking taxpayers for more money in the next election.

Adam Hunter told Eyewitness News what he remembered about watching Habitat volunteers build his family's home when he was a kid.

"I got to go and pick up the loose, bent nails at the end of the day and put them in my bucket," Hunter said.

Now, as a site supervisor for Habitat, his favorite part of the building process is the walk through he gets to do with families.

"They start to get really emotional and start to say, ‘Wow this is really my home,’" Hunter said.

The city is giving Habitat more than $700,000 in Community Development Grants this year to build and repair homes, but they're bracing for possible cuts.

If passed, President Donald Trump's budget proposal would eliminate community development block grants to save $3 billion.

"Those cuts would have a dramatic negative impact at a time when Charlotte is really starting to rise to the occasion of looking more at how to invest in affordable housing," said Laura Belcher, president of Habitat Charlotte.

She said city leaders are discussing ways to invest more in housing, including possible incentives for developers and asking taxpayers for more money in a bond referendum.

There's no set amount or a proposal yet and leaders are still doing research. The Opportunity Task Force recommended the city increase a current bond of $15 million over two years to $50 million over two years.

Belcher supports the idea and hopes the community would, too.

"We know that home ownership really stabilizes neighborhoods," Belcher said.

The president's budget proposal would also cut the Americorps program; Habitat relies heavily on Americorps volunteers.

Habitat for Humanity is encouraging supporters to tell their lawmakers how they feel about proposed funding cuts.

The city's Housing and Neighborhood Development committee is discussing ways to boost affordable housing, including a possible referendum. The committee meets again April 26.

In 2015-2016, North Carolina received $43,725,220 in overall CDBG funding.

The North Carolina Department of Commerce sent the following breakdown and statement on the proposed cuts:

  • Of this total, $26,865,079 was allocated to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, where it is made available for local governments to apply for grant monies to construct public water and sewer infrastructure to mitigate public and environmental health problems in areas where the percentage of low to moderate income persons is at least 51 percent.
  • $15,822,641 from the overall total was applied to economic development programs administered by the Department of Commerce, such as our Building Reuse solution which helps local governments rehabilitate outdated buildings in order to attract new businesses to their communities. Some public infrastructure projects are also funded with CDBG money.
  • $1,037,500 was applied to administrative and program management requirements.

Regarding the potential impact of the president’s budget:

"This troubling proposal would gut a program that helps North Carolina towns and cities attract jobs, improve quality of life and protect health and safety. Cuts to Community Development Block Grants would leave local governments scrambling for ways to pay for needed projects such as revitalizing downtowns and improving water and sewer systems."

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