Item Description:
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Affirming Hennepin County strategy for Metropolitan Region Sales and Use Tax for housing proceeds and Statewide Local Affordable Housing Aid revenues
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Resolution:
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BE IT RESOLVED, that the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners hereby affirms the county's housing strategy focusing on households with the lowest incomes to reduce racial disparities in homelessness and housing cost burden, and to increase access to greater economic opportunities; and supports deployment of Metropolitan Region Sales and Use Tax for housing proceeds and Local Affordable Housing Aid to proven strategies identified herein and attached hereto.
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Background:
The 93rd Minnesota Legislature approved historic levels of new state funding for housing, including a first-ever sales and use tax dedicated to affordable housing, and annual appropriations to the new Statewide Local Affordable Housing Aid fund. The new 0.25% Metropolitan Region Sales and Use Tax for housing will raise an estimated $29 million per year for Hennepin County, and the Statewide Local Affordable Housing Aid will allocate an estimated $2 million per year to Hennepin County. While state agencies continue to develop required guidelines/regulations for the use of both revenues, staff has developed an implementation framework tailored to leverage Hennepin County's unique program-based strengths and strategies to address our deepest racial disparities in housing.
State statute outlines three categories of eligible projects for both new revenues in the Metro area:
* Emergency rental assistance <80% AMI
* Financial support to nonprofit affordable housing providers in their mission to provide safe, dignified, affordable and supportive housing
* Construction, acquisition, rehabilitation, demolition or removal of existing structures, construction financing, permanent financing, interest rate reduction, refinancing, and gap financing of affordable housing (homeownership projects <115% AMI; ren...
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