The Tallahassee City Commission is crafting a new funding source for its affordable housing directives. The city will begin steering one-time revenues toward a housing fund.
Right now, those dollars are going into the city’s rainy day account, which has reached the mandatory 60-day operating cost threshold. Assistant City Manager Raoul Lavin says now that the rainy day fund has reached capacity the dollars going into it can be used as a dedicated funding source for housing projects.
“We’re recommending allocating some of those one-time revenues to go into the affordable housing trust fund, or any surpluses we have at the end of the year to go into the affordable housing trust fund," Lavine said.
The city has a slew of affordable housing efforts in the works; it’s buying up abandoned land, rehabilitating dilapidated properties for resale, and overhauling the Orange Avenue Apartment complex.
A recent report from the Florida Department of health shows Leon County among the worst in the state for severe housing problems and overcrowding. The average rental price of a two-bedroom apartment in Tallahassee is around $980.
--
Correction: Edited to correct the spelling of Raoul Lavin's name. There is no "e" at the end.
