The Miami-Dade County Housing Committee voted to request a staff report on a 2023 Request for Applications (RFA) tranche of surtax-funded housing projects that had not met minimum thresholds and to include an additional breakdown for this year’s RFA by commission district.

Commissioners said the report should clarify the status of projects that were given extra time to come into compliance in 2023 and should show which applicants are currently competing for the present year’s surtax tranche. Director Nathan Cogan of Housing and Community Development told the committee staff is scoring a current RFA and can report on the 2023 tranche and on this year’s applicants to the extent legally allowable during an active solicitation.

Commissioners also pressed for clearer measures of return on investment, saying surtax allocations should be considered relative to units produced. Commissioner Eileen Higgins urged staff to include a cost-per-unit calculation; Higgins noted an example in which a $5,000,000 award would equate to roughly $130,000 per unit for a 39-unit project but only about $18,000 per unit for a 270-unit project.

The committee amended the motion to require a district-level breakdown of this year’s applications and an update on the 2023 group of applicants that received extension periods. Nathan Cogan cautioned that details may be limited while a solicitation is pending but agreed to provide what is legally allowable.

The amended motion was moved, seconded and approved by voice vote with no recorded opposition.