Multiple speakers press Richland County Council to create an affordable housing trust fund

A group of community leaders, clergy and educators used public comment at the April 21 Richland County Council meeting to press the body to establish an affordable housing trust fund and to highlight the human consequences of the housing shortage.

Tammy Ashford Carroll, a professor at Benedict College, described how the lack of affordable housing affects students and working parents and urged council to adopt a trust fund as an established tool to expand affordable options. “Columbia will continue to have a brain drain if working‑class citizens cannot find safe affordable housing,” Carroll said.

Clergy members representing More Justice reinforced the call. Father Sandy McDonald detailed a case of a parishioner forced into a poorly insulated mobile home that generated high utility bills, arguing rehabilitation and investment in decent rentals should be part of county solutions. Dr. Ivory Thigpen, a former state legislator, said he has seen successful trust funds elsewhere and urged council to treat housing as a civic responsibility and long‑term opportunity. Reverend Judith Myers reminded council that despite a small housing ad hoc committee, nearly every council member had attended ad hoc meetings, and she invited council members and staff to a Nehemiah Action event on April 27 to continue the conversation with community members.

No formal action was taken by council during the April 21 meeting on the proposals discussed in public comment. Several speakers asked the council to consider a dedicated funding source for a trust fund and to prioritize both new units and rehabilitation of substandard rentals; those requests will need committee referrals and staff analysis before any ordinance or budget proposal is presented.

The public comment period also included other community presentations on workforce retention and arts programming, but housing was the most consistent policy ask across multiple speakers.