Westborough Trust approves edits to down-payment assistance program

The Westborough Affordable Housing Trust voted unanimously Aug. 8 to accept recommended edits to the Homeborough down-payment assistance (DPA) program guide that staff and MetroWest Collaborative Development proposed.

Trustees approved recommended wording changes to clarify household income calculations and a revised reimbursement schedule designed to forgive the Town subsidy faster (forgiveness structured at about $3,000 per year with a larger final-year forgiveness so the outstanding balance reaches zero in 10 years). The Trust also discussed MetroWest’s suggestion to raise the maximum grant from $25,000 to $30,000 to reflect current homeownership costs.

Trustees debated residency and eligibility rules and agreed to start the pilot focused on people who currently live in Westborough or who have lived in town within the last five years. “Let’s start there,” said an active Trustee during the discussion, noting the Trust’s limited funding and the desire not to exhaust the pilot in a few weeks.

Trust asked town counsel to clarify whether the grant should be treated as taxable income before a final public launch; staff said they had sent a question to counsel and would remove language about taxability if counsel advises. With those caveats, Unidentified Speaker 4 moved to accept the changes and Unidentified Speaker 2 seconded; the motion passed 4-0.

Next steps: staff will transmit the updated guide to town counsel for the outstanding tax question, execute the contract with MetroWest Collaborative Development, schedule the implementation working group, and prepare outreach materials to launch the pilot program within about 30–45 days of contract execution.

The motion to accept the changes was recorded as passed unanimously; staff said they will return with any counsel guidance and modifications as needed.