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Boston residents urge council to boost Acquisition Opportunity, city vouchers and community land trust funding
Summary
During the MOH budget hearing, community groups and residents urged the City Council to increase funding for the Acquisition Opportunity Program, expand the city rent subsidy (city voucher) program and provide recurring support for community land trusts.
A series of resident and advocacy speakers used the Committee on Ways and Means hearing to press the council for larger, recurring investments in housing preservation and subsidies.
Kathy Brown, director of the Boston Tenant Coalition, opened public testimony urging the council to expand the city subsidy program and make the Acquisition Opportunity Program (AOP) a permanent line item. ‘‘It's such a great program…asking to go to 16,300,000.0, a $4,000,000 increase,’’ Brown told the committee, and she recommended a $7,000,000 recurring AOP allocation and a small, ongoing community land trust (CLT) fund.
Multiple nonprofit leaders echoed that ask. Meredith Levy of the Boston Neighborhood Community Land Trust said AOP historically reached $28,000,000 at peak capacity and urged a $7,000,000 recurring city allocation to leverage state matching funds. ‘‘In its prime, we had $28,000,000 in the AOP fund. We'd love to see a line item budget,’’ Levy said.
The nut graf: Speakers argued that acquisition and voucher funding preserve long‑term affordability and stability for low‑income families. They called on the council to add $4 million for the city rent subsidy program and $7 million for AOP, and to create a recurring CLT fund to preserve small properties and support long‑term affordability.
Youth and community groups pressed similar priorities: Lehi Santana, a 16‑year‑old District 7 resident, urged the council to ‘‘put funding into affordable housing that serves people under $5,000 a year.’’ Dan Lynch, representing Father Martin Cooperative Homes, asked the council to consider a $4,000,000 increase to the city rent voucher program to help rent‑burdened cooperative residents. Organizers from Youth Justice and Power Union and the Boston Tenant Coalition repeated those numerical requests and framed them as necessary to prevent displacement.
Michael Caine of the Mass Alliance of HUD Tenants supported expanding the city rent subsidy and described operational reforms that could expand project‑based voucher uptake, including a rolling application process for organizations seeking project‑based assistance.
Ending: Several speakers asked the council to amend the FY26 budget to add targeted increases: $7,000,000 for AOP, $4,000,000 for the city rent subsidy and an ongoing CLT fund (advocates proposed $2,000,000 annually). They urged councilors to prioritize those line items as budget negotiations proceed.
