Forwarded with permission of the author. - David Brauer, list manager Greetings!
I sat in disbelief Monday night as the NRP Policy Board voted 6 - 3 to approve a request to reassign $2 million of the $4 million dedicated to affordable housing to a mortgage insurance program that was handed out and introduced at the meeting. The intent to provide a fund for home ownership assistance, the proposal: A. Did NOT adhere to the criteria established for the affordable housing reserve fund. B. Was NOT submitted through the designated process established for requests to the fund, and had not been reviewed by any committee to determine feasibility or merit. C. Was presented by a neighborhood representative sitting on the policy board - in violation of the procedures established for proposals for the fund. D. Did NOT specify that funds would be used for families with incomes at or below 50% MMI (targeted to low income), or would be targeted to specific sections of the city. E. Did NOT respond to the purpose and intent of the fund which was to create new affordable housing units. and F. Seemed oblivious to the City's discussions on whether they will remain in the business of providing mortgage assistance as a city service. The fact that it was considered and APPROVED was an affront to the policies and proceedures of the program, and an indication that NRP is accountable to no one. Both the Mayor and Council President voted against it, along with one neighborhood rep. Those in favor included both County Commissioners (Stenglein and McLaughlin), three neighborhood reps, and the union representative. I simply couldn't believe it. Six people, none of them city officials, authorized the transfer of $2 million of city funds to a proposal that was seen for the first time that evening. No thought given to whether it aligned with city goals or how it compared to other private sector financing mechanisms. The Mayor even urged the board to first revisit the affordable housing fund criteria, make changes if needed, and permit other proposals to compete for the funds. And Ostrow drew attention to the divergence from the intent of the fund. To no avail. With the drop of a hat $2 million that was dedicated for affordable housing was redesignated for home ownership purposes. Almost thumbing their nose at the City, in one fell swoop the Policy Board refused to play by any rules - even their own. Do we still need to wonder what will happen to the NRP Policy Board? Yours, Gretchen Nicholls Center for Neighborhoods 612-339-3480 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
