Council considers proposed changes to Lexington’s Affordable Housing Fund
On Tuesday, March 21st, the Budget, Finance, and Economic Development (BFED) Committee discussed updates to Lexington’s Affordable Housing Fund, including a potential dedicated annual funding commitment.
The Affordable Housing Fund was established in 2014 to invest in safe, quality, affordable housing.
When the fund was established, the consulting firm hired by LFUCG recommended a dedicated funding source and an annual commitment of $36M for 10 years.
At the time, Council committed an initial investment of $3 million, with subsequent annual investments averaging around $2 million, but no dedicated funding source.
This meant that Council had to allocate funding for the Affordable Housing Fund through the General Fund every year during the budgeting process.
In recent years, Lexington's investment in Affordable Housing has increased, thanks in part to ARPA funding.
In this presentation, Councilmember James Brown proposed repealing and replacing the Ordinance that created the Affordable Housing Fund with a new Ordinance that would allocate 1% of the general fund revenue collected from the previous full fiscal year to the Affordable Housing Fund. Given the size of Lexington’s General Fund revenue, this would likely mean a significantly increased investment for the Affordable Housing Fund annually, and a more secure commitment to the Fund in the budgeting process. You can view the full presentation here.
Councilmembers were generally excited for these changes which would significantly increase the investments that LFUCG makes to the city’s affordable housing projects.
Though there was some confusion around the pieces of this legislation that concern Homelessness Prevention and Intervention funds, the Committee decided to move forward with this ordinance and take time to consider that piece before sending it into Work Session. During the Work Session later that evening, Councilmember Sheehan added a review of the Innovative and Sustainable Solutions to End Homelessness Fund into the Social Services and Public Safety Committee.
The Budget, Finance, and Economic Development Committee met on Tuesday, March 21, 2023 at 1PM in Council Chambers. You can watch the recording on LexTV.
