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Housing Call: May 14, 2024

NCHC Updates

New Bringing It Home Sessions: One Week Left to Register!

This is the last week to register for Bringing It Home 2024! Don’t miss the state’s annual homelessness conference on June 4-5 in Raleigh. Space is filling up fast, so register today! Registration closes Friday, May 17 at 5pm.

This Friday: Final Learning Collaborative

Register now for our final Learning Collaborative on Housing Barriers for Justice Involved Populations and Those at Risk of Overdose on Friday May 17 from 10-11:00 am. Session 6 will connect the topics from previous sessions as well as cover issues of housing for disabled populations and the movement around fair housing and housing justice in North Carolina. Register now.

Special Guest: Alexandra Forter Sirota, Executive Director, NC Budget & Tax Center

Alexandra oversees the strategic direction of the organization including the stewardship of its financial resources, the creation of trusted partnerships and the leadership of a team of talented colleagues.  Alexandra works to connect the dots across policy areas and identify opportunities for building the base of support for policies that will deliver better outcomes for all North Carolinians. Before joining the Budget & Tax Center, Alexandra worked at Action for Children NC (now NC Child) on economic security policy and at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in the community affairs department.  Alexandra has experience at community-based and international non-governmental organizations in the areas of community development, asset-building and family economic security. Alexandra received a joint Master’s degree in International Relations and Public Policy from the University of Chicago and studied anthropology at Haverford College.  When she’s not working, you will find Alexandra making prints and traveling with family.

This year we learned that we are to have a revenue surplus – an estimated $1 billion more than expected for the next two fiscal years… What does this mean?

One key takeaway that’s important to note is that just because we have more revenue, doesn’t mean we have what we need. 

Oftentimes when OSBM – The Office of State Budget and Management and Fiscal Research Division release budget revenue projections, there is conversation about how great the outlook for our state is when revenue is greater than what was projected. The reality however, is that NC has a backlog of unmet needs. And over the last several years, the tax code has been shifted in many ways to reduce income taxes.  Major economy shifting events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and federal response, as well as state policy changes are part of why our numbers are showing up the way they are. 

This surplus does show that income was stronger than expected and consumer spending remained steady. With the surplus there is a tremendous opportunity to make the case for the long term commitment to developing affordable housing given the current housing crisis. This has to be a priority, and if these dollars from the surplus somehow go towards that cause – they would be a down payment towards the long term commitment needed. 

What we know about these numbers is that the growth in revenue year over year, however, is far below what we need in order to keep up with the needs in our communities. When you compare this growth to how it has grown in the past, it is very concerning. 

For example – from this year to next year (2024-2025) we’re looking at a 0.6% change far below the growth in cost of delivering services and keeping up with population growth for example. The reason is the income tax cuts that are scheduled for 2025 and will continue through 2030.  All told the personal and corporate income tax cuts will mean $13 billion dollars LESS in public money for priorities people have including housing. 

By 2030, North Carolina is on track to be a state where corporations pay zero in state income tax, causing a loss of $2 billion annually. And there will be a scheduled decrease of the personal income tax to around 2.49%.

With this surplus, we should invest in the urgent investments of our community, but we also have to call on our legislators to stop the income tax cuts this year and every year that the cuts are scheduled to take effect.

Visit www.ncbudget.org for more information 

– A recent blog post about the revenue surplus here

– A deeper dive into the tax changes in recent years – https://ncbudget.org/history-of-tax-choices-in-nc/ 

– A primer on the State Budget’s role in building thriving communities – https://ncbudget.org/dollars-democracy-a-primer-on-how-nc-can-build-thriving-communities/

Advocacy Opportunities!

And if people are welcome to join our petition – https://ncbudget.org/choosecommunities/ – , calling on lawmakers to pause the corporate income tax elimination and keep the rate corporations pay at 2.5 percent.

Federal Updates

FACT SHEET: Vice President Harris Announces $5.5 Billion to Boost Affordable Housing, Invest in Economic Growth, Build Wealth, and Address Homelessness in Communities Throughout America Last week, HUD announced $5.5B in new funding through the HOME program, CDBG, the National Housing Trust Fund, the Recovery Housing Program (RHP), ESG, and HOPWA. NC will receive $138M:

  • $77.5M CDBG
  • $34.3M HOME
  • $13.7M HOPWA
  • $6.8M ESG
  • $1.2M RHP
  • $4.4M National HTF

HUD is Expanding Solutions to Tackle Homelessness with Housing Vouchers HUD recently announced that Housing Authorities can now request to accept self-certification of income to determine Housing Choice Voucher program eligibility for people experiencing homelessness.

 

State Updates

 

State Legislative Updates 

  • Members of our policy team will be at the General Assembly next week on Wednesday May 22, 2024 – stay tuned for more information about our visit and our follow-up call to action.

Bills we are following:

  • SB 166 – 2024 Building Code Regulatory Reform – Sent to the Senate
  • SB 868 – HB 962 – Governor’s Budget
  • A bill to create a statewide Dept of Housing & Community Development – HB925
  • A bill that integrates a number of recommendations from the House Select Committee on Homeowners’ Associations to improve HOA accountability and transparency. – HB959
  • A technical corrections bill that makes modifications to the FY23 budget. One correction of interest would repeal a provision that was put in the state budget last fall to keep local governments from using zoning to block the development of affordable housing. – SB508 (Ratified)

 

Local Community Updates

Citizen Advisory Committee to discuss state mitigation funding updates at May 17 meeting

The public is invited to attend a May 17 meeting of the state Citizen Advisory Committee for HUD Community Development Block Grant-Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) funding. The meeting is an opportunity for committee members and the public to learn about programs supported by the funding and CDBG-MIT action plan amendment currently under review by HUD. The action plan provides detailed information about how the N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR) intends to use the federal funds. A public comment period was held March 15 through April 15 to obtain feedback on the proposed action plan changes, which are available for review online.

People interested in attending the Citizen Advisory Committee meeting may attend in person or online using the link below. Registration information and meeting materials are available online at: https:  bit.ly/CACmtgMay24.

What:    CDBG-Mitigation Citizen Advisory Committee Public Meeting

When:   12 p.m. Friday, May 17

Location: Kinston-Lenoir County Public Library, 510 North Queen Street, Kinston, NC 28501

Attend Online: Register to attend virtually

The Citizen Advisory Committee is a 15-member committee established by NCORR and the State Disaster Recovery Task Force to increase transparency in the use of CDBG-MIT funds, obtain public comment and input on proposed mitigation activities, and serve as an ongoing public forum to inform CDBG-MIT projects and programs. Committee members include representatives from areas of North Carolina defined by HUD as “Most Impacted and Distressed” by Hurricanes Matthew and/or Florence, as well as representatives with relevant technical and industry experience.

  • Asheville committee encourages ‘expedited’ process to address Ramada Inn housing project
    • Members of the Asheville Homeless Initiative Advisory Committee recently voted unanimously to encourage the City and CoC to expedite the process of finding a new partner for the Ramada Inn permanent supportive housing development. Plans fell through after the developer, Shangri-La, defaulted on their loan last fall amidst numerous lawsuits. The local CoC has regained momentum after formally adopting a charter and reorganizing to provide a more transparent structure.
  • Raleigh launches $5 million program to house homeless.
    • The City of Raleigh is investing $5M to help end homelessness. The Unsheltered Homelessness Response PIlot program will allocate $3M to help people move out of encampments and into housing and $2M will go towards repairing and expanding affordable housing options for people leaving encampments. The program is modeled after a successful initiative in Houston, TX that reduced homelessness by 64% and saved taxpayers $76K per year for each person who was housed.
  • Development pressures, higher taxes threaten to displace Black homeowners in SE Raleigh
    • NC Newsline recently spotlighted the work of our very own Hudson Vaughan and our Community Justice Collaborative, a project that supports historically Black communities in fights against displacement and gentrification. Hudson has been working closely with the Wake County Property Tax Working Group to help Black residents appeal their valuations. In addition to the Housing Coalition, the Working Group includes community members and organizations such as Men of Southeast Raleigh, Raleigh Village East, and the Biltmore Hills Neighborhood Association.
  • New affordable housing complex opens in Jacksonville, several others in the works
    • A recent ribbon-cutting in Jacksonville celebrated the completion of 72 new affordable units at Crestfield Pointe Apartments. The city recently lost about 700 affordable units when Town Center Apartments was sold. The project is funded through tax credits, NCORR’s Affordable Housing Development Fund, the NC Housing Finance Agency’s Rental Production loan, and conventional funding.
  • Dare County to return $35M in housing funds to the state | Island Free Press
    • Dare County will return the $35M in affordable housing funds allocated from the state budget after a provision was added by the General Assembly that required Dare County to return the money. The funding from the state was allocated with the stipulation that housing could be built without being subject to local zoning regulations. Previously local governments in the county have used zoning to block the construction of affordable housing by not allowing multifamily housing.

 

 

Events

  • May 17th Citizen Advisory Committee meeting with NCORR – 12:00PM / Virtual or at the Kinston-Lenoir County Public Library, 510 North Queen Street, Kinston, NC 28501
  • NCWAHN and Paraison Invitational Golf Lessons and Picnic Luncheon | May 16th 11am – 1pm at The First Tee Learning Center in Pineville. Join the NCWAHN members for lessons with expert coaches in conjunction with the Paraison Invitational. Register here!

 

Reports & Resources 

 

In the News

Recommended read

Housing Call: May 7, 2024

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