KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Tuesday, the Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners continued discussions of an Affordable Housing Millage that will be on the November 3 general election ballot.
The proposal was originally approved for the election ballot in a 9-1 vote that took place in August.
The proposal is .75 mills for eight years, which would cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $38 per year. That would help raise about $6.3 million dollars in the first year and about $50 million over the eight year life of the millage.
The money would be used to provide rental subsidies and permanent housing for those who need it and offer other related supportive services for residents in Kalamazoo County.
The discussion Tuesday night was brought up because some commissioners, such as Christine Morse, had received questions from the public regarding its implications.
Board Chair Tracy Hall said that there is still a need for partnerships, both short-term and long-term, for curbing homelessness through the county, but that the millage proposal is a good start.
“We as a board have taken this step to a long-term solution in terms of adding the ballot initiative,” Hall said. “We’re also having some discussions regarding short-term solutions with our community partners, as well.”
Hall says that the board should bring together community partners in a workshop to collect input for long-term and short-term priorities, which would also include feedback on the millage.
The Kalamazoo Public Housing Authority would be involved in that workshop, along with other relevant organizations. Hall said that the feedback would help decide exactly how that funding is used.
“The Public Housing Commission is indeed an important partner, but at the end of the day, the Board of Commissioners will get to decide how the funding is divided up,” Hall said. “I would only feel comfortable if we do that with input and recommendations from our partners, including the Public Housing Commission.”
Hall said this workshop would ideally begin either towards the end of the year or early next year.
Commissioner Zach Bauer added that the process for doing so should be as transparent as possible.
“When we decided to put this to the voters, one of the selling points was that there was a serious concern about how the funds were going to be distributed, and who was going to be involved in that,” Bauer said. “We said that we wanted to change the norm, we wanted to bring more people in, we wanted to change how some of this stuff worked, and we wanted to position the County in such a way that we were a leader in not only emergency housing, but also in the construction of affordable housing.”
He said more success could be found by having a better relationship with their community partners who work on housing issues.
Hall noted that the initial discussion of the millage included a large group of around 50 people, and that the workshop would include those partners and others.
“We can’t do this alone, and each one of them deals and works in this field a little bit differently, so I want as many people to the table as possible,” Hall said.
However, Commissioner Stephanie Moore said that she wasn’t necessarily in favor of the idea, saying that the board continues to “miss the mark.”
“I think the reason why our homelessness and people that are transitioning very frequently is because folks in the room at the table haven’t figured out what the real challenges and barriers are,” Moore said. “I think one of the reasons why is because we keep asking the same people to come in the same room and just throw out ideas, and they’ve never had a conversation with the people. They’ve never talked to, listened to, had a listening session, a town hall meeting or something to gather input from the people.”
Moore added that, although there are several organizations and boards working to curb homelessness, there is still a crisis, and more input from those impacted should be considered.
“I’m suggesting to you Chair, if you want to call somebody in the room, it has to be the people to tell you where they’re falling between the gaps with these housing organizations,” Moore said. “We keep coming up with stuff and it doesn’t have the impact it needs because it’s missing the voice and the experience of the people we claim we want to help.”
Moore said that failure to understand the issue would only keep it alive, and that the issue is countywide.
“What Commissioner on here has sat down in a neighborhood at a kitchen table and talked to somebody about ‘what do you think you need to move from instability to stable housing'” Moore said. “If we keep passing on the people, you’re not going to be able to get the design you need that will make these critical dollars impactful for the people we claim that we want to serve.”
Speaking on the prospect of homelessness as a countywide issue, Hall said the millage would be meant to help all of those affected.
“Most recently, a community activist, someone involved in this work, reminded me that half our homeless population lives in the city and the other half lives outside the issue,” Hall said. “I really worry that we aren’t getting to those voices in Galesburg or Comstock, or where have you, and I think this millage speaks to that because it’s all-encompassing.”
Hall added that they should have an update on the matter at the next County meeting on Wednesday, November 4, or the day after the election.
The specific ballot language of the proposal reads as follows:
“For the purposes of funding housing programs in Kalamazoo County, shall the constitutional limitation upon the total amount of taxes which may be assessed in one (1) year upon all property within the County of Kalamazoo, Michigan, be increased in an amount up to but not to exceed 0.75 mills ($0.75 on each $1,000 of taxable value) for a period of eight (8) years (2021-2028 inclusive), to provide rental subsidies, permanent housing and related supportive services for residents of Kalamazoo County? if approved and levied in full, this millage would raise an estimated $6,375,000.00 in the first calendar year of its levy based on taxable value.”
Commissioner Bauer pointed out that citizens can learn more about the ballot proposal through the website of ISAAC Kalamazoo.
The sample ballot can be found at michigan.gov/vote.
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