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Blue Earth County board authorizes application for Minnesota 'Bring It Home' rental assistance program
Summary
The county authorized staff to submit an April 21 application to Minnesota Housing for the Bring It Home rental assistance program, which provides startup funding and higher administrative fees than existing Housing Choice Vouchers.
Blue Earth County commissioners on March 11 voted to authorize staff to submit an application for Minnesota Housing’s Bring It Home rental assistance program, a state-created rental assistance effort intended to supplement federal Housing Choice Vouchers.
County staff explained the state program is designed to mimic the Housing Choice Voucher program and to expand rental assistance where federal vouchers are insufficient. Staff said the program provides two months of upfront rental assistance for awardees, covers startup costs for local administrative systems and software, and includes a higher administrative fee than the county’s voucher program (staff cited an example administrative fee of about $105 per voucher versus roughly $70 under the existing voucher program).
Nancy, a county staff member, told commissioners the state intends the program to cover the full state and to work through local housing authorities and tribal nations. She said some jurisdictions will receive larger awards (for example, Mankato was identified in the presentation as receiving $728,393 and an estimate that could serve 60 to 80 vouchers). For Blue Earth County staff said the local allocation figure was not specified in the presentation but that the program could serve a small number of vouchers locally (staff estimated “approximately 5 to 7 vouchers” in one remark). She also said the county’s housing authority waiting list was long and that the application can target families with children and people experiencing homelessness. The application deadline staff gave is April 21.
Commissioners asked questions and then moved and seconded approval of the application submission. The motion passed on a voice vote.
Staff will prepare and submit the application and may pursue a single regional application or separate applications coordinated with neighboring housing authorities, according to staff comments.
The state program’s name and application timeline were presented to the board; precise Blue Earth County funding and voucher counts were not specified in the county presentation.
