Low-income housing advocates campaigning to defeat state budget amendment

YOUNGSTOWN

Local agencies that have received millions of dollars over the years through the Ohio Housing Trust Fund for projects to address homelessness and support affordable housing for low-income residents are concerned about a proposed Senate budget amendment that would cut the fund in half.

In addition, according to Bill Faith, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, the amendment would return the Ohio Housing Trust Fund proceeds to the counties for distribution and create 88 county bureaucracies to fund housing.

The amendment requires that the county auditor, county recorder and county commissioner or their delegates determine by majority vote how the funds are to be used.

It’s one of the hundreds of changes that Senate Republicans made to the two-year, $71.3 billion budget.

“It is a terrible idea to have certain government offices unfamiliar with housing administration suddenly begin allocating housing dollars,” said Faith.

Leaders of local agencies involved in low-income housing agree and are campaigning with their local state elected officials to have the amendment removed.

Read more about the issue in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.