Council approves $30,000 seed grant to staff Legacy Homes rental program

The Whitefish City Council on May 4 approved a one-time $30,000 allocation from the city's affordable housing fund to help staff administration of upcoming Legacy Homes workforce rental units.

Riss Goetz, executive director of the Whitefish Housing Authority, told the council the authority and Housing Whitefish have already onboarded eight units and expect another 65 to come online this year. Goetz said the request would fund a single administrative position to coordinate income verification, landlord communication and case management as the program scales.

"We're requesting a one-time ask of $30,000 to essentially front load for this position," Goetz said. Daniel (Housing Whitefish) said Housing Whitefish will match the city's contribution and that the position should be sustained over time by administrative fees once units are operating. He estimated an eventual annual administrative fee income of about $37,000 to $40,000 when all units are onboarded.

City Manager Dana Smith told council the requested funds are available in the affordable housing fund and recommended drawing them from that source rather than resort tax proceeds. Smith said about $120,000 had been budgeted for the fund for fiscal year 2027, with roughly $40,000 still available through June 30 of the current fiscal year.

Councilor Giuseppe moved to approve the request with the funds taken from available FY26 affordable housing funds; the motion was seconded and carried unanimously.

The council's action funds start-up administration only; council and staff said future ongoing staffing would be addressed through program revenues and any additional budget requests that prove necessary.