Together with concerned organizations and individuals, AHS asked Arlington County to double the proposed allocation to the Affordable Housing Investment Fund in the FY 2022 budget after the County Manager proposed slashing the fund.
The County Board responded by accepting many of our requested changes on Tuesday, April 20 when they approved the final FY 2022 budget. Highlights include:
Increasing funding for AHIF, bringing the total in the FY 2022 budget to $16.9 million, an increase of $8 million above the proposed level and $0.9 million above the FY 2021 enacted level. The increase was made possible by using one-time funds;
Maintaining expanded COVID-related eligibility criteria for existing recipients of Housing Grants using one-time funds;
Reducing Housing Grants client’s contribution towards rent from 40% to 30% of income using ongoing funds. Together with the one-time funding maintaining the COVID eligibility criteria, the total FY 2022 funding for Housing Grants totals $14.2 million.
The board also directed staff to increase resources used to ensure the health and safety of the affordable housing funded by the County and to conduct an analysis of the Housing Grants program with the goal of expanding eligibility and adjusting rent standards for FY 2023.
AHS’s full letter to the County reads:
Dear Chair de Ferranti and Members of the County Board:
We are writing on behalf of the Alliance for Housing Solutions Board of Directors, along with the undersigned organizations and individuals, to provide comments on the County Manager’s proposed budget for FY 2022.
First, we want to acknowledge how difficult the local policy environment has been in the past year since the COVID-19 crisis began. County elected leaders, staff, community partners, and volunteers have been working tirelessly to help residents and businesses who have been hit hard by the multi-faceted impacts of this pandemic.
During this time, we have become more aware than ever how vitally important a safe and affordable place to call home can be. Today, a home is not only where we rest our heads at night but it is also where children receive much of their education and many adults either work or take refuge from the danger created by this rampant virus. We must do everything in our power to prevent compounding this stress with the risk of becoming increasingly housing cost-burdened, losing one’s home, or being forced to leave the community.
We provide the following comments on this year’s budget proposal as it was presented earlier this year. Since that time, however, we know that the passage of the American Rescue Plan means that Arlington expects to receive a substantial amount ($46 M) of federal assistance, which relieves the pressure that led to certain cuts in the original proposal.
The following recommendations should be considered for local funds that have been freed up by this assistance:
Update the Housing Grants Program for a Post-COVID Environment
Retain Local Commitment to Eviction Prevention and Flexibility Added During COVID
Increase Investment in AHIF and Realign Income Levels Served
Strengthen the MIPAP Homeownership Program
Support Staff and Consulting Capacity to Ensure Success
Update the Housing Grants Program for a Post-COVID Environment
We appreciate the proposed increases in the Housing Grants and Permanent Supportive Housing programs by 26% and 28% respectively, including the continued increase in maximum allowable rents. At a time when many Arlingtonians have dropped into lower income brackets as a result of the pandemic, this increase in tenant-based housing assistance will help cushion that fall for some.
This would be an ideal time for the County to consider what changes it should make to the long-term design and eligibility of the Housing Grants program for post-COVID needs. As you are aware, immediately prior to the onset of COVID-19 we were advocating for the County to look into expanding eligibility within the program to cover additional groups who are currently unable to receive assistance. We continue to believe that these eligibility updates should be evaluated.
We also believe that the County should consider updating the percent of income paid toward rent from the current 40% of income to a more reasonable 30% of income, as used in the federal Section 8 and similar programs. If housing burden is defined as a household paying more than 30% of income toward rent, we question why the County’s program would be designed to keep these very low-income recipients cost-burdened rather than to help them have enough cushion to cover other important and often unpredictable expenses.
Retain Local Commitment to Eviction Prevention and Flexibility Added During COVID
We welcome the inclusion of funding for emergency rental assistance ($5M) as part of the COVIDcontingent, and we believe that the flexibility added to the program during COVID should be retained permanently. Although there is money coming from the federal government to help in the short run, these funds will not last throughout the full 2022 fiscal year. Flexible local dollars are extremely important as well because of the need for financial assistance that covers expenses or households not eligible for federal or state funding.
In the past year, emergency assistance programs have allowed an extended time for assistance and increased caps on assistance received for each household. Both of these changes we supported even before the current crisis as a way to allow a more realistic “runway” for residents to resolve delinquencies and develop a near-term financial plan to recover. In addition, we have learned during the pandemic response that the flexibility to help residents pay past due rent, legal and late fees, and other related costs will go a long way toward keeping people housed even after COVID recedes.
Increase Investment in AHIF and Realign Income Levels Served
The Manager’s proposal slashes the total Affordable Housing Investment Fund (AHIF) allocation from last year’s level of $16 million to less than $9 million by cutting out all one-time funds for the program. Given the infusion of funding made available from the American Rescue Plan, the County should reallocate proposed one-time funding to AHIF to bring the total investment to the proposed FY 2021 level of $18.7 million. We continue to believe that AHIF should receive increases in the amount of ongoing funding as well.
In early 2020 we were advocating for a $25 million County allocation to AHIF, a level that is still warranted. Funding received from developer contributions, including the Amazon Metropolitan Park contribution, are excellent one-time opportunities for additional investment but should not be used as a replacement for ongoing General Fund support of the County’s affordable housing priorities. In addition, new revenue sources such as the recently increased Cigarette Tax should be dedicated to AHIF on an ongoing basis as discussed during the FY 2021 budget process.
Furthermore, recent data made available on County housing needs calls attention to the dramatic mismatch between the income levels of Arlington households and the affordability level of Committed Affordable units in the County. To help realign affordable units with need, the County should not only be including a share of units at 30% AMI and below in all-new AHIF-funded projects but should also seek opportunities to transition existing 60% AMI units to lower AMI levels using infusions of AHIF within existing Committed Affordable properties.
Strengthen the MIPAP Homeownership Program
The County’s Moderate-Income Purchase Assistance Program (MIPAP) has been funded at a level of only $419,000 after receiving no additional funding in FY 2021. The small size of this program – serving only four households per year – calls into question whether the program is substantial enough to have an impact. The County’s most recent Housing Needs Analysis notes the effect of the rising cost of homeownership on diversity, including the loss of prime working-age adults and moderate-income households, and calls it a “threat to long-term community and economic stability.”
MIPAP can help first-time homebuyers get started on the path to accumulate generational wealth. The program’s down payment and closing cost assistance is the only option for many lower-income households to overcome the hurdles toward homeownership. While there may be some longer-term discussions underway on the County’s overall homeownership strategy, the FY 2022 budget year provides an opportunity to serve additional households in the meantime before prices continue to rise as the economy recovers.
Support Staff and Consulting Capacity to Ensure Success
We support the updates to the Live Where You Work program (both ownership and rental) that increase program funding and benefits for the County’s lowest-paid employees. With the high cost of housing in Arlington, this program is an important resource to help attract and retain employees who may feel pressure to locate in lower-cost areas. Investing in the County’s workforce this way adds stability and reduces costs due to turnover.
We believe that strengthening staff capacity for moving forward key policy priorities is needed to make sure policies are well implemented and set the County up for success. The proposed budget cuts Planning staff that are needed to move forward long-term land use updates including the Plan Lee Highway process, Missing Middle Housing Study and other planning-related initiatives such as consideration of next steps for the Rouse Estate. Likewise, proposed cuts in the Housing Arlington initiative’s consulting capacity should be restored in order to give staff the support needed to move this initiative forward in a timely manner.
Finally, the County should evaluate and strengthen its approach to ongoing oversight of the CAF portfolio, including both AHIF-financed units and Affordable Dwelling Units obtained through the site plan process. Staff should conduct proactive outreach to residents to ensure their needs are being met, and partner with housing owners, managers, and community organizations to employ the highest standards with regard to tenants’ quality of life and the stewardship of the County’s affordable housing inventory. Given the size of the CAF portfolio, this level of focus may require dedicated staff rather than being a collateral responsibility of other positions. The long-term success of the County’s affordable housing program depends upon the positive experiences and support of residents, partners and neighbors of committed affordable housing.
Sincerely,
Jenny Lawson, AHS Board Chair
Michelle Winters, AHS Executive Director
AHC Inc.
Arlington Food Assistance Center
Arlington Thrive
Coalition for Smarter Growth
Habitat for Humanity of Northern Virginia
NAACP Arlington Branch
Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance
Social Action and Mission Board of Rock Spring Church of Christ
The Arc of Northern Virginia
Wesley Housing
Judith Collins
Susan English
Diane Hazzard
Alice Hogan
Mary Hynes
Dave Leibson
Joan McDermott
Kathleen McSweeney
Karen Serfis
Kathryn Scruggs
Michael Spotts