A lot has been written about the pros and cons of Section 8. Here's some more information and two questions about what Minneapolis should do about it:
*With vacancies rising, the affordable housing problem is as much an "income shortage" as a "housing shortage." Most voucher holders earn less than $10,000 per year and are not income-qualified on their own to rent the vast majority of vacant apartments - even those financed with tax credits. To provide affordable housing for these families, their out-of-pocket rents need to be under $350 per month. *The National Multi Housing Council is pushing Congress to fix the Section 8 program so that more landlords would be willing to accept vouchers. The recommendations include reducing the paperwork, eliminating HUD's duplicative inspection process and eliminating HUD's special lease provisions that create two sets of rules for landlords - one for voucher holders and one for all other tenants. *Contrary to some postings, landlords do not have to accept vouchers -- unless the project was publicly financed with tax credit, bonds, etc., in which case it's part of the deal. *A 2001 GAO report examining the total per-unit costs of various housing assistance programs found that production programs are more expensive than vouchers. However, it did not recommend replacing production programs with vouchers on a national basis because in many markets production programs are the only source of new affordable rental units. In others, they are an integral part of revitalizing distressed communities. *Congress is likely to cut Section 8 funding by at least 10% this year. So my questions are these: Can the city/county invest some of its affordable housing dollars in a local voucher program to supplement Section 8 or is all of the money from federal programs specifically targeted toward new development (CDBG, HOME funds, etc.)? If the city/county can establish a local voucher program, should it? John Rocker Calhoun TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Send all posts in plain-text format. 2. Cut as much of the post you're responding to as possible. ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
