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Advocates urge Topeka to place sales-tax proposal on ballot to fund Affordable Housing Trust Fund
Summary
A representative of Topeka Jump urged the committee to support a proposed one-tenth of 1% sales tax dedicated partly to an Affordable Housing Trust Fund and partly to homelessness recommendations, and to forward ballot language in time for a March 2027 election.
During the public-comment period on July 10, Melissa Weichel, representing 36 congregations in the Topeka Jump coalition, urged the Policy and Finance Committee to secure ongoing public funding for an Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
Weichel told the committee that current investments in affordable housing and homelessness response cannot be sustained without dedicated annual public revenue. She urged a proposed one-tenth of 1% sales tax with half of proceeds directed to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and the other half to top recommendations from a 2024 homeless-innovation study. She said more than 10,000 families cannot afford safe housing in the community and asked the committee to include the sales-tax discussion on a future agenda so ballot language can be ready for a March 2027 election; she noted the committee did not include the item on the July 10 agenda.
The committee chair acknowledged the comment, said the committee will discuss the item at the next meeting and announced the next Policy and Finance meeting date. No formal committee action on the sales-tax proposal occurred during the July 10 meeting.
