Reinvest Toledo showcases neighborhood training and advocacy as residents urge council to forgive housing debt, restore CDBG aid

Reinvest Toledo presented its neighborhood-focused model of "advocacy, training and connectivity" to the Toledo City Council Housing and Community Development Committee on June 26, and several residents and nonprofit leaders used the public-comment period to press the council to release city-held debt on four housing portfolios and to restore Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) support for a local financial-wellness program.

The presentation, led by Amelia Givens on behalf of Reinvest Toledo, framed the group's work as grassroots leadership development. Givens introduced board members and invited community witnesses to describe projects including a youth-focused ‘‘Power Tour,’’ neighborhood estate- and long-term-care planning with Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, and a land reuse visioning project in Englewood. "Reinvest Toledo simply we exist to help affect positive change in low to moderate incomes to communities," Givens said as she outlined the group's three tools.

The presentation featured multiple short testimonies from neighborhood leaders and partner organizations. Tina Hall, a member of the Lincoln School Coalition and the Raised Voices Advocacy Cohort, said the cohort had "advanced 3 powerful initiatives" tied to the city's Forward Toledo plan and added, "We're not just discussing change. We're leading it." Athena Bowen of Advocates for Basic Legal Equality (ABLE) said, "Reinvest Toledo has been one of the most effective community members that ABLE has had the privilege of working with." Evelyn McKinney, a facilitator for the Toledo Neighborhood Capacity Building Institute, said, "Reinvest Toledo is cultivating an ecosystem of action." Several speakers described training that helps residents convert local organizing into policy engagement and connections to funders and service providers.

During public comments, William Farnsell, executive with Neighborhood Housing Services of Toledo (doing business as NeighborWorks Toledo Region), asked the committee to generate legislation to release outstanding city-held debt on four housing portfolios so more tenants could become homeowners. Farnsell said the portfolios — named in his remarks as South Toledo Homes, South Toledo Homes 2, United North School Homes 1 and United North School Homes 2 — together cover about 101 homes that have passed the affordability period tied to federal low-income housing tax credits and, he said, are now eligible for sale to tenants.

"I ask, Madam Chair, members of the city council to generate, develop legislation to release the debt on the 4 portfolios," Farnsell said. He told the committee that when a unit sells the portfolio presently remits roughly $38,000 to the city at closing and argued the city should release the debt so local nonprofit housing organizations can facilitate more sales and reinvest funds into properties that remain rentals.

Farnsell also told the committee his organization received notice last week that it would receive $0 from the city's CDBG allocation for the upcoming program year and urged the committee to restore funding for the Financial Wellness Center, which he said provides HUD-certified housing counseling, home-buyer education, credit repair and tax-preparation services. He said Neighborhood Housing Services prepared and filed more than 720 federal and state tax returns this year, returning "close to a million dollars" to local residents.

Committee members and other councilmembers responded during the meeting. Councilwoman Williams said on the record she supports forgiving the debt for portfolios located in her district and said she has discussed the matter with colleagues. A committee member (who indicated they would invite stakeholders back for the budget process) said a midyear budget adjustment discussion and a July 10 hearing on CDBG allocations were forthcoming; the chair said they planned to invite stakeholders to that process.

No formal vote or ordinance was taken at the committee meeting. The requests from Neighborhood Housing Services were made as public comment and a formal proposal or legislation to forgive the debt was not on the committee agenda.

What happened next: the committee chair said staff would schedule or invite participants to the midyear budget/CDBG review; Councilwoman Williams said she would move to forgive debt in her district. Committee members and several presenters noted ongoing partnerships with local institutions, including the Lucas County Land Bank and nonprofit funders, and Reinvest Toledo said it is pursuing fiscal sponsorship and grant opportunities to sustain its programming.

For residents: Reinvest Toledo highlighted upcoming programming including a 2026 Power Tour for ages 17 to 24, tenant-association organizing and neighborhood seminars on estate planning and land reuse in Inglewood and Englewood. Council staff indicated the CDBG process and midyear budget review would be the appropriate forum to raise funding questions.

No formal council action was taken at the meeting; the items raised in public comment will require follow-up through the council's budget and legislative processes.