Affordable Housing, Homelessness, Economic Development and Neighborhoods
This is based on the CDBG proposal.
To: City of Madison Community Block Grant Commission
From: Brenda K. Konkel
Re: 2015-2016 Community Development Program Goals and Objectives
Date: March 20, 2014
I read the 22 page document and the two page explanatory memo outlining CDBG Goals and Objectives and I was struck that not once do these documents mention the critical issues we are currently facing in the City of Madison, or the strategies that we might employ to address them in a more meaningful manner. Frankly, I find this document very little different than when I first read it 20 years ago. It’s tired and stale. With this consistent strategy, we have seen the issues in our community deteriorate instead of improve. Honestly, we are failing our community and not changing our strategies to address the emerging pressing needs. I would like to see a document that addresses the following:
AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOUSING
– We have an 18.7% poverty rate. 9.2% of our families are below poverty. (AI Fair Housing Report)
– Our rental population is high compared to other communities – 50%. And 56.7% of these renter have rental costs exceeding affordability. (AI Fair Housing Report)
– In Dane county we have 23,829 extremely low-income renter households (24,850) and only 5,003 affordable rental units, which leaves a gap of 18,826 affordable units. For every 100 ELI household, there are only 21 affordable and available rental units. (America’s Rental Housing Crisis)
– We have a 2.05% rental vacancy rate. It is at historic lows and far below the national average of 8%. Impediments to Fair Housing Report recommends 5% vacancy rate. (MG&E)
– For a person making the top of the ELI at $24,850 to spend 30% of their income on rent the units need to be $621/month or below. Current rental rates in projects funded by the CDBG process exceed this.
– For someone on W-2 to live in affordable housing with their children, with an income of $673/month they can only pay $202/month. I am aware of no programs the CDBG commission funds that would accommodate this level of need.
– Our Section 8 waiting lists have been closed since at least 2007. Some of our public housing waiting lists are now also closed. (CDA Section 8, CDA Public Housing & DCHA)
HOMELESSNESS
– In 2012, 3382 people stayed in shelter, but 1,654 were turned away. (2012 Annual Homeless Report) Many more do not seek shelter. On 1/29/14 during the semi-annual HUD point-in-time count there were 94 individuals that were found sleeping outside, not in the shelters.
– Even families and those with case management cannot always find housing within the 30 – 90 days that they stay in shelter due to the vacancy rate and the change in laws that removed many protections in landlord screening.
– If there are more than 30 single homeless women per night, they get turned away with little time to find a legal place to sleep for the night. This is not safe and women should not be forced into survival sex or risk injury because they have no place to sleep. (Salvation Army)
– The Warming House only lets families stay there every 2 – 4 nights, where are families supposed to go on the other nights? (Salvation Army)
– Homeless men don’t have case management services provided at the shelter, unlike families and single women. I don’t see any agency actively helping them find resources and housing. (Porchlight)
– Child protective services has reported a caseload that shows and increase in homeless children being removed from their family. (Dane County HHN Minutes Nov. 6, 2013)
JOB CREATION
– In order to afford housing in this community, many people need more than a full-time job. A housing wage for a 1 bedroom = $14/hr, 2 bedroom = $16 and 3 bedroom = $22. (NLIHC) Many non-profits, including my own, do not pay starting wages at the minimum for a 1 bedroom apartment.
RACIAL EQUITY
– Eighty percent (80%) of people in shelter described themselves as non-white (2012 Annual Homeless Report)
– It’s seems like a major failure that this report does not at least recognize the racial disparities in our community revealed in the Race to Equity Report.
Continuing with these same priorities and goals will not change any of the above, only perpetuate it. I’d ask the commission to be forward looking, consider the impact you could have on the community and rethink the goals and objectives by beginning with determining what you are trying to accomplish and how to get there. Specifically, I’d like you to make the following changes:
GOAL ONE: AFFORDABLE HOUSING
OBJECTIVE 1.1 HOUSING SUPPLY
Priorities and Strategies
1. Add affordable rental housing for those at 30% AMI or below to the list of types of projects to specifically increase the supply of affordable housing.
2. Explore policy solutions to the 3+ bedroom dilemma. Developers specifically violate fair housing laws when they build to exclude families but it has not been addressed with the planning department.
Rental Housing Development Conditions
3. When evaluating the proposals for rental housing development also consider ability to reach lower levels of affordability. Consider giving more than $54,000 per unit for lower levels of affordability.
4. Why does the CDD have a policy of not assisting project that convert owner-occupied units to rental units? (#8)
OBJECTIVE 1.2 HOUSING ASSISTANCE
Priorities and Strategies
5. I am unclear if the numbering indicates a priority, but if it does, given our limited resources I would list expanding homeownership opportunities last, at this point with the issues we are facing, I don’t think we can afford to have that be a high priority when we need over 18,000 affordable rental units in our community.
Homeless and Special Needs Population Conditions
6. We need well trained, higher paid outreach workers that bring the skills necessary to do the job well, along with adequate support from the agencies to help them do their jobs.
7. Families and single women have many services (case managers) if they are in shelter, even while they are on the waiting list. Men have no case management services. This should be made a priority.
Homeless and Special Needs Population Preferences
8. I completely understand the desire to have permanent solutions to homelessness, that is the only strategy to solve the long-term problem, however, we can’t have people freezing to death in the meantime. There has to be a priority on cold weather services especially. The Salvation Army Warming Shelter (emergency overflow shelter) turns people away most nights. People can’t get into housing in the 30 – 90 days allotted to them in shelter, then what? We need solutions for this that start with sufficient shelter space and end with making it legal to sleep somewhere, anywhere, if you are not in shelter.
9. Rapid Re-housing and Housing First models seem to be working well for families, we need to do the same for men. We also need to examine the eviction rate for these programs to make sure that they are truly Housing First models.
Housing Resources Conditions
10. I would like to see a definition of what is expected from people doing “housing counseling”. I believe that we can save housing for many people by them knowing what their rights are, but this is very often left out of the discussion by people doing “housing counseling”. In a tight rental market, we need to use every tool we have.
GOAL TWO: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
11. Consider sustaining non-profit jobs that already exist with wages worthy of what the people doing the work deserve. True, family-supporting jobs. When our non-profit workers often qualify for many of the programs we run, that is a problem.
12. Consider prioritizing creating jobs in non-profit agencies as a priority instead of entrepenuers and start-ups.
GENERAL CRITERIA AND CROSS-CUTTING REQUIREMENTS
13. While I see the words “affirmatively further fair housing” I am certain that we are not really striving in any meaningful way to reach this as a goal. I would like to see it be a priority listed in each place it is appropriate and that it be one of the key considerations in funding. Particularly funding should be spent on the multiple recommendations in the Impediments to Fair Housing Report which includes “increase use of fair housing compliant procedures”.
14. I would like to see us take seriously the commitment not to displace people. There are several policies throughout the city that have displaced many residents over time – typically through the police department or demolitions. The city, as a whole, has done nothing to address these policies. I would like to see training or support provided for those departments that are aiding in the displacement of low-income tenants.
ALLOCATION OF FUNDS AND APPLICATION PROCESS
15. Honestly, looking at the chart it’s difficult to know how much will be allocated for rental housing and how much will be allocated to homeownership, but I think rental needs to be an extremely high priority.
16. I think that it is time we spend less on administration of the programs and more on the programs themselves. To me, the overhead looks high, but without a break down of what it is used for, it is hard to tell. 7 employees supported by $100,000 a piece seems to be a generous amount of money, though I am sure I am missing something without more information. Whatever the allocation of funds towards administrative costs percentage is, that should also be allowed for funded non-profits, on top of what it takes to run their programs
17. How does the ESG funding process relate to these priorities? I see the agencies making decisions in their own self-interest instead of what is best for the community. I also see the commission deferring to those decisions. I would like to see more direction from this commission in that process. I understand that the Homeless Services Consortium has a board to make these decisions by HUD mandate, but I would like to see a member of this commission on that board so you as a group can stay informed of decisions being made outside of your process.
