Rental Assistance and Public Housing Increased in House Budget

The House Committee on Ways and Means released its FY 2008 budget recommendation yesterday. The proposal calls for $125.2 million for programs administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development. This includes a $14.8 million increase in the public housing operating subsidy account and a $2.4 million increase for the state rental assistance program (MRVP). All other DHCD accounts are basically level-funded. You can see the entire budget by clicking here, and you can access a chart that compares the FY 2007 budget, Governor Patrick's recommendation for FY 2008 and the House Ways and Means budget for FY 08 by clicking here. As anticipated, the Legislature did not agree to Governor Patrick's program conso! lidation, instead returning to the individual line item approach.

The budget does not restore the Alternative Housing Voucher Program to its original funding level (though in his executive summary Chairman DeLeo indicated that $500,000 was supposed to be added to AHVP). It maintains the program at $3.5 million, the '07 level. CHAPA, along with United Disability Housing Partnership and many other organizations will work to adequately fund this program. Earlier this week, DHCD stopped reissuing AHVP vouchers because of a lack of funding.

More Towns to Consider Community Preservation Act

Over the next month, at least eight municipalities (Bolton, Deerfield, Essex, Hudson, Littleton, Lunenburg, Phillipson, and Templeton) will decide whether to joint the 120 communities that have already adopted the Community Preservation Act (CPA). On April 28, the Community Preservation Coalition is hosting a Western Massachusetts Conference on the Community Preservation Act. The conference will be held in Amherst. For more information visit the Community Preservation Coalition web site at www.communitypreservation.org.