A Housing Trust Fund for Milwaukee

Homelessness in Milwaukee

Milwaukee’s Homeless

• Over 2,000 persons are homeless in Milwaukee each night

• Many are children

• 500-800 are “chronically homeless”

• Length of stay in shelters has increased dramatically

“Housing First” – a Dramatic Shift in Homeless Strategy

• Shelter System shifts to providing Housing as the Top Priority

• Shift will require 100s of new units of affordable housing

• New Policy requires a community commitment to provide additional housing & services

Housing + Services = Success

Many Single Homeless Stayed in SROs – Which Have Disappeared

• The Towne Hotel

• Demolished in the 1980s to make room for the Blue Federal Building

Loss of SRO’s in Milwaukee

• The Belmont Hotel

• Demolished in the 1980s

Loss of SRO’s in Milwaukee

• The Randolph Hotel

• The Antlers Hotel

• The Plankinton Hotel

• All were demolished in the Grand Ave. Mall Project

Poverty in Milwaukee Increases

Milwaukee Poverty is on the Rise

• Milw has the 12th Highest Poverty Rate in the US

• 125,000 Milwaukee

residents live in poverty

22%

78%

22% Live in Poverty

Results of Rising Poverty

78% Drop in Income Support to Inner City Families 1994-2003

Source: UWM Employment & Training Institute (Slides 4-8)

Results of Rising Poverty

22,400 left AFDC – But only 8,200 Showed Up with Employment

Results of Rising Poverty

22% Decline in Number of Families Receiving Food Stamps

Results of Rising Poverty

31% Increase in Working Single Parents who Remain Below Poverty

Results of Rising Poverty70,000 Children Lose Income Support 1993-2000

Income Neededfor Self Sufficiency

A single working parent with two young children living in Milwaukee County would need to earn:

• $36,852 per Year or• $17.72 per hour or• 235% of Poverty

Category Monthly Cost

Housing $ 658

Child Care $ 1,212

Food $ 411

Transportation $ 219

Health Care $ 258

Misc. $ 276

Total $ 3,071

Source: WI Women’s Network – Self Sufficiency Standard for Wisconsin

Low Renter Incomes

• There are nearly 179,000 renter households in Milwaukee County

• 39,000 renters have incomes at or below $11,364 (30% MFI)

• Average renter Income in Milwaukee is $28,864.

Housing Insecurity

• 35,800 renter households spend MORE THAN 50% of their income on housing

• That’s 20% of all Milw Renter households

50%50%

1 in 5 Renters Spend Half of Income on Housing

RentAll

Else

Housing Insecurity

• 69,800 renter households spend more than 30% of their income on rent

• That’s 39% of all renter households

39%

61%

39% of Renters Spend Too Much for Housing

Housing Insecurity Increases

• 14,000 Households live in Over Crowded conditions

• Up 40% since 1990

• Up 76% since 1980

Affordable Housing Needs

Documenting Public Support

HUD Identifies Housing Needs

HUD cites the need of 28,000 housing units for Extremely Low Income Milwaukee families

(Comprehensive Housing Affordability Survey – 2004)

Common Council Supports a National Housing Trust Fund

• In 2001, the Common Council unanimously supported a National Housing Trust Fund, stating…

• “Expanding the number of units…would have a positive impact on the affordability of rental housing for low-income renters.”

• “The City expresses its support for …the establishment of a national trust fund to provide for the development, rehabilitation and preservation of decent, safe and affordable housing for low-income families…”

City Plan Calls for More Affordable Housing

The 2000 Consolidated Plan Submitted to HUD by the City states:

• “Large numbers of… families…cannot afford decent and reasonably priced rental housing”

• “Rental housing…for low income families is not readily available..”

• “Structurally sound and up-to-date rental units for low income families are not available in all areas of the City…”

Mayor Barrett Predicts More Homelessness

Barrett warns of looming housing crisis

By GEORGIA PABSTPosted: Sept. 29, 2004

• Cuts in federal assistance are creating a looming crisis for low-income housing in Milwaukee, Mayor Tom Barrett and city Housing Authority officials said Wednesday.

• The cuts in federal housing assistance combined with an increasing poverty rate mean "the federal government is turning its back on low-income people," Barrett said.

• He predicted that will mean more people will double up with other family members, go to shelters or become homeless.

Source: Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel – September 29, 2004

Housing Trust Funds in America

Housing Trust Funds in USA

• More than 275 Housing Trust Funds in the US

• Each raises between $1 Million to $15 Million each year

• More than $500 Million spent Annually by US Housing Trust Funds

City Housing Trust FundsDenver, Colorado: Skyline Housing FundLongmont, Colorado: Affordable Housing FundTelluride, Colorado: Housing Trust FundTallahassee, Florida: Housing Trust FundChicago, Illinois: Low Income Housing Trust FundBloomington, Indiana: Housing Trust FundFort Wayne, Indiana: Central City Housing Trust FundIndianapolis, Indiana: Housing Trust FundLawrence, Kansas: Housing Trust FundBoston, Massachusetts: Neighborhood Housing TrustCambridge, Massachusetts: Housing Trust FundAnn Arbor, Michigan: Housing Trust FundSt. Paul, Minnesota: STAR ProgramSt. Louis, Missouri: Housing Trust FundNew Jersey: 142 COAH approved developer fee programsSanta Fe, New Mexico: Community Housing TrustGreensboro, North Carolina: VM Nussbaum Housing

Partnership FundColumbus/Franklin County: Affordable Housing Trust FundToledo, Ohio: Housing FundPortland, Oregon: Housing Investment FundCharleston, South Carolina: Housing Trust FundKnoxville, Tennessee: Housing Trust FundNashville, Tennessee: Nashville Housing Fund, Inc.Austin, Texas: Housing Trust FundSan Antonio, Texas: Housing TrustSalt Lake City, Utah: Housing Trust FundBurlington, Vermont: Housing Trust FundAlexandria, Virginia: Housing Trust FundManassas, Virginia: Manassas Housing Trust Fund, Inc.Bainbridge Island, Washington: Housing Trust FundSeattle, Washington: Housing Assistance FundsWashington, D.C.: Housing Production Trust Fund

Berkeley, California: Housing Trust FundCupertino, California: Affordable Housing FundLos Angeles, California: Housing Trust FundMenlo Park, California: Below Market Rate Housing ReserveMorgan Hill, California: Senior Housing Trust FundPalo Alto, California: The Housing ReserveSacramento, California: Housing Trust FundSan Diego, California: Housing Trust FundSan Francisco, California: Office Affordable Housing

Production Program; Hotel Tax Fund; and Bond Housing Program

Santa Monica, California: Citywide Housing Trust FundWest Hollywood, California: Affordable Housing Trust FundAspen, Colorado: Housing Day Care FundBoulder, Colorado: Community Housing Assistance Program

and Affordable Housing Fund

Benefits of a Housing Trust Fund

Every 100 Units of New Housing Will Provide Ongoing Benefits including…

MORE…• Jobs• Tax Revenues• Revenue to the local

economy

(National Association of Home Builders)

YEARLY Housing Multiplier Effect

Benefits Each Year after

construction

100 Units of Multi-Family Housing

10 Units of Multi-Family Housing

JOBS 46 5

Revenue to Local Business

$2.2 Million $220,000

Revenue to Local Government

$498,000 $49,800

Source: National Association of Home Builders

The Milwaukee Housing Trust Fund

A Proposal

Milwaukee’s Trust Fund Proposal

Fund Amount Up to $15 Million Per Year

Use of FundsNew Construction, Rehab, SROs Rental housing + Services & Operating Costs

Length of Affordability•15 yrs – Rehab•20 Years – New Construction

Eligible DevelopersNonprofit & For Profit Developers

& Government agencies

Advisory Board 13-15 members appointed by the Mayor and the Council

Administering AgencyCommunity Development

Block Grant Agency

Income Eligibility for Renters & Homeowners

Funding Category

% of County Median Income (CMI = $62,600)

% HTF Dollars

Allocated per Category

Rental Housing(Development & Services)

Less than or equal to 50% CMI 40%

Homeless & SRO(Development & Services)

Less than or equal to 50% CMI 30%

Homeowner Pjts(Development & Services)

•Services <=50% CMI

•Development <= 80% CMI

30%

HTF Revenue Sources

• $1.00 Entertainment Event Surcharge

• $1.00 Real Estate Transfer Fee Increase

Generates Up to $15 Million per year

Where There’s a Will…There’s a Way

Other Tax Funded Building Projects

Miller Park

• Cost: $400 million.

• Public financing: $310 million

• Source: five-county, one-tenth-of-a-cent sales tax.

• Private financing: $90 million from the Brewers owners

The Bradley Center

• Cost: $90 Million

• Public Financing: – City Revenue Bonds– City General Obligation

Bonds

• Private Financing : Pettit Family Equity

The Milwaukee Theatre

• Cost: $41.9 Million

• Public Financing :– $5 million in existing

Wisconsin Center District funds

(derived from the hotel tax & rental car tax)

– A bond issue, to be repaid with operating revenues

$530 Million in Tax Dollars

Milwaukee raised $530 Million in tax funds for

• Miller Park• The Bradley Center• The Milwaukee

Theatre

Why can’t we raise $15 Million per year to House Milwaukee’s Homeless & Poor?

We Endorse the Milwaukee HTF• BroomTree Enterprise• Catholic Charities – Archdiocese of Milw• Center for Veteran’s Issues• Community Advocates, Inc• Counseling Center of Milwaukee, Inc (The)• Daystar, Inc• Fairness in Rural Lending• Faith United Church of Christ• Friedens Community Ministries, Inc• Guest House of Milwaukee, Inc• The Gathering of Southeast WI, Inc.• Harambee Ombudsman Project, Inc• Hope House, Inc• IndependenceFirst• Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee• Layton Boulevard West Neighbors• Martin Luther King Economic Development Corp.• Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing Council • Midtown Neighborhood Association• Milwaukee Christian Center• Milw Women & Poverty Public Education Initiative• Milwaukee Women's Center, Inc.• My Home Your Home, Inc• National Assoc. for Black Veterans• Nonprofit Center of Milwaukee• Northwest Side CDC

• Our Lady of Lourdes Congregation• Our Savior’s Lutheran Church• Peace Action – Wisconsin• Plymouth Church – UCC• Returning Into Mainstream Ministries• Salvation Army• School Sisters of Notre Dame – Global Justice &

Peace Comm.• SDC Family Support Center• Sojourner Truth House• Select Milwaukee, Inc.• St. Benedict the Moor Parish• St James Episcopal Church• St. Martin de Porres MICAH Core Team• The Open Gate• Tippecanoe Presbyterian Church• Tricorp Housing• Urban Economic Development Assoc• Walker's Point Youth & Family Center• West End Development Corporation• Wisconsin Community Service, Inc• Wisconsin Partnership for Housing Development• Wisconsin Province Society of Jesus (Jesuits)• Women and Poverty Public Education Initiative • World Community• YMCA-CDC