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Committee backs establishing a municipal housing trust fund, debates how to fund it
Summary
Steering-committee members supported creating a municipal housing trust fund and discussed funding mechanisms including modest fees on zoning permits, redirected lease revenues, grants and a state matching program referenced in statute but not funded.
Committee members on Sept. 22 agreed to include establishing a municipal housing trust fund as a near-term ("blue box") strategy and then to explore realistic funding streams to make it effective.
The presenter described the fund as "a fund that's set aside to accumulate funds, which can be used for housing purposes" and said the group should "establish the fund even though it's got a dollar in it on day 1" while the committee then investigates funding sources. He gave two example permit-fee approaches used by other towns: a fee of $5 per $1,000 of construction value in one town and $10 per $1,000 in another. "Surprisingly, it's the community that picked 5 that's generated the most money simply because it's a larger community... but they have become quite creative with the money," the presenter said.
Funding options discussed included redirected municipal revenue or lease income, one-time donations or estate gifts, grants and a potential match from a state Municipal Housing Trust Fund that the presenter said exists in statute but has not been funded. Committee members urged pairing the fund with concrete funding steps: "It's not enough to establish it... You have to fund it," one member said.
Members also discussed administrative questions: who administers the fund and who makes final spending decisions. The presenter said in some communities the affordable-housing committee acts as the operative entity while the legislative body makes ultimate funding approvals.
Why it matters: A funded housing trust can provide seed capital for acquisitions, subsidies or other interventions that convert or preserve affordable housing; the committee emphasized planning for both establishment and realistic, recurring funding.
What happens next: The presenter said he would revise wording to separate establishing the fund from investigating funding options, and the committee assigned continued exploration of specific funding mechanisms for the draft plan.
