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Topeka officials move to activate Affordable Housing Trust Fund; committee recommends special sales tax
Summary
Deputy City Manager Braxton Copley presented an RFP framework to activate Topeka's Affordable Housing Trust Fund and said the review committee recommends a dedicated special‑purpose retailer sales tax as a stable funding source; staff plans to release an RFP in January 2026 and deliver recommendations to the governing body.
Deputy City Manager Braxton Copley told the Topeka City Council on Dec. 16 that staff will release an RFP in January 2026 to solicit proposals for affordable‑housing projects and use a scoring rubric to guide funding recommendations. Copley said the trust fund met an initial $1,000,000 goal in June 2023 and described the fund's role as gap financing to help projects reach financial feasibility.
"Tonight, we're gonna, talk about the Affordable Housing Trust Fund," Copley said as he summarized the committee's work on guidelines, scoring and project budgets. He described eligible proposals ranging from duplex rehabs to new multi‑unit developments and said the application awards bonus points for activating city land, generating revenue for the trust fund or providing workforce housing.
At its Nov. 12 meeting, the Affordable Housing Trust Fund review committee "voted and have made a recommendation to this governing body, that we, support a point 01% special purpose retailer sales tax to address homelessness and affordable housing," Copley said. He also summarized that the committee favored a "stable, renewable source of funding" and referenced models used by peer communities.
City staff and council members emphasized public outreach. City Manager Robert Perez said the RFP schedule may be tweaked to allow additional public notification so residents and potential applicants have sufficient time to respond. Councilmembers asked how the fund could be used for rehabs, vacant‑lot activation and workforce units; Copley replied the guidelines were written broadly to allow both small‑scale rehabs with long‑term affordability restrictions and larger projects committed to income targets.
Public commenters supported the idea of a ballot measure that dedicates revenue to housing. Pastor Gage, representing Jump, said the funding proposal could sustain services for homeless families and recommended that a significant portion of any sales‑tax proposal be allocated specifically to the trust fund.
Next steps: staff plans to release the RFP in January 2026, review proposals in February and have the committee forward recommendations to the city manager for formal consideration by the governing body.
