Editorial: Raids on State Affordable Housing Fund Must Stop
Across the state, Florida mortgage struggles continue at alarming rates. According to the Tallahassee Democrat, the it’s easy to see where the blame for Florida’s affordable housing woes lies.
Jeb Bush, who did everything but don a bandana and an eye patch to lead raids on the state’s affordable housing trust fund during his years in office, is no longer governor.
But the plundering lives on.
Despite objections from Gov. Charlie Crist and Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, Florida legislators refused again this year to lift the limit on how much money can be drawn from a fund to help communities up the availability of low- and moderate-income workforce housing.
The structure of the fund, established 15 years ago, was both simple and equitable. A small portion of a tax on real estate transactions financed it.
As land and Florida home prices rose, so did the money available to help people struggling to buy a home. It made sense.
But the structure was smashed in 2005, when the Legislature imposed a cap on housing programs at Bush’s urging. He opposed trust funds because they make it harder for lawmakers to shift the cash where they wished.
The decision to limit the use of the trust fund for housing assistance was especially ill-timed because the Florida housing market was then red-hot.
Housing sales, Florida home mortgage activity and construction have cooled off tremendously since then, of course. Although prices have edged down, the cost of housing is still out of the reach of many low- and moderate-income workers.
In March, for example, the median sale price of existing single-family houses was $291,500 in the Sarasota-Bradenton market and $193,000 in the Charlotte County-North Port market.
Lawmakers could have opened access to approximately $414 million in the trust fund this year. Instead, they allocated $243 million for housing programs and shuffled the remaining $171 million to other uses.
In true budget emergencies, legislators should have access to trust funds to help meet the state’s financial obligations. But another raid on housing dollars was not warranted this year.
A huge gap remains between Florida mortgage loan prices and the ability of teachers, firefighters, police, retail workers and others to afford them.
And the gap is likely to widen when the economy warms up again.
Over the next year, candidates for state office should draw attention to the foolish way the Legislature has managed the state’s housing crisis.
The current crowd in Tallahassee cannot - and should not - be trusted around the affordable housing trust fund.
SOURCE: Tallahassee Democrat
