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Council advances plan to create CDBG-backed affordable housing modernization fund
Summary
Council member Rebecca Rathmill proposed creating an "affordable housing development modernization fund" funded by unspent CDBG dollars to repair health and safety deficiencies in older subsidized housing; the ordinance was moved to the planning committee by unanimous roll call.
Council members on Monday moved an ordinance to create an affordable housing development modernization fund, intended to use unspent Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) dollars to finance targeted rehabilitation of older affordable housing developments.
Council member Rebecca Rathmill, presenting the planning-committee item, cited Broome County’s 2024 housing needs assessment and the city comptroller’s reports to argue for preserving aging affordable housing stock. "There are 35 affordable housing developments throughout the City of Binghamton that comprise a total of 2,400 units," Rathmill said, and she noted the average year built for those buildings is 1981 with several dating to the early and mid-1900s.
Rathmill said the proposed fund would reserve CDBG-eligible rehabilitation activities to address health, safety and quality-of-life deficiencies on sites built before 1985, citing tenant complaints at Binghamton Housing Authority sites and Woodburn Court 1. She acknowledged federal timeliness rules and HUD reporting requirements but argued the city must build administrative capacity to help applicants meet reporting and record-keeping demands.
Council members voted to send the ordinance to the planning committee for detailed program design and to invite the comptroller and planning staff to clarify unspent CDBG balances and eligibility. The motion to move the item to committee passed by roll call 7-0.
