Public Housing Prioritized in Governor Patrick's First Budget

Citizens' Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA) applauds Governor Deval Patrick's first budget for providing significant funding increases for affordable housing production and preservation, which are greatly needed to address the growing housing needs of Massachusetts residents.

The Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) would receive $124.9 million in direct budget appropriations under the Governor's proposal, compared to $111.6 million in FY '07 (not including supplemental budgets). Most programs are level-funded; however, there is a $15 million (33%) increase in funding for state public housing. Though not included specifically in the budget, Governor Patrick publicly stated that $40 million in new funds will be made available from MassHousing for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and that the SoftSecond Home Mortgage Program will also receive an increase though funds to be provided by the Massachusetts Housing Partnership. Administration officials have also indicated that the bond cap will be increased for public housing modernization.

The Governor's budget also proposes to merge various line-items, including the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program, Residential Assistance for Families in Transition, the Tenancy Preservation Program, the Individual Development Account Program, and the Housing Services line-item (which includes the Housing Consumer Education Centers) into one consolidated account. To the Administration's credit, the funds in the new Homelessness Prevention and Elimination Services account exceed what was included last year in the individual accounts by $2.4 million. A similar merger was included in the shelter accounts administered by the Executive Office of Health and Human Services. While CHAPA understands why the Administration would want this flexibility and the benefits that it might provide in terms of facilitating the transfer of funds and streamlining of services, more information is needed to determine the possible impacts on the individual programs and the low income populations they serve.

The House and Senate Committees on Ways and Means have scheduled the FY '08 Budget Hearings. DHCD's hearing will take place in Winthrop on Friday, March 9, at 10:00 a.m. at Winthrop High School, 372 Main Street. The public hearing will occur on Thursday, March 15 at 10:00 a.m. at the State House in Gardner Auditorium. The Governor's budget is available at www.mass.gov/budget.

Affordable Housing Bond Bill First on Committee's Agenda

The Joint Committee on Housing has issued its public hearing schedule for the 2007-2008 legislative session. The first hearing is scheduled for March 13 at 10:00 a.m. in Room A-1 at the State House. Bills before the committee on March 13 will be the Affordable Housing Bond Bill and the Weak Market Homeownership legislation.

Selection of Upcoming Events

Friday, March 9, 9:30 - 11:30, Which Way to a Greater Boston Region, 75 State Street, 2nd Floor, Boston.

Thursday, April 26 and Friday, April 27, Housing Boston 2012: Strategies for High-Cost Cities, Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

Saturday, April 28, Resident Controlled Housing Conference: Strategies for Creating Healthy Communities, Hyatt Regency Hotel, 1 Avenue de Lafayette, Boston.

To view the complete list of events on the CHAPA calendar, and to use our online registration system, visit our web site or click here.