Election Day is November 3rd, and this year voters will decide on several measures that will impact affordable housing. The ballot will include questions on local bonds, such as Raleigh’s Affordable Housing Bond, and 3 potential state constitutional amendments. It's important that voters know how these measures will impact their communities. Read on to learn more and make an informed decision this November!
Candidate Stances on Affordable Housing
This year, voters will choose candidates on the local, state and federal levels. This year, Habitat sent out an Affordable Housing Questionnaire to all local candidates asking for their stance o issues such as preventing displacement and supporting renters. The candidates’ answers will be posted to the website on October 8th.
Raleigh Housing Bond
Raleigh residents will vote on a $101.5 million Affordable Housing Bond that will not increase property taxes.
This funding will continue the work that was started by the 2020 Housing Bond. The city plans to use $57.6 million of the bond towards affordable housing development and preservation. This includes preserving naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH) and creating new affordable units. A total of $21.5 million is planned to go towards major project redevelopment on city-owned sites, such as development of the old DMV site.
Raleigh plans to use $12 million for the city’s homelessness response, which will support Wake At Home, a public-private partnership coordinated through the Wake Continuum of Care (CoC), to help individuals transition from encampments to permanent housing.
Finally, $10.4 million of the funding will go towards funding homebuyer assistance and preservation for seniors. Part of this funding will go towards downpayment assistance for income-qualified homebuyers. Several Habitat Homeowners have secured funding from Raleigh’s Downpayment Assistance Program to buy a home.
Property Tax Amendment
Local revenue from property taxes funds many community services such as emergency response, public school teacher salaries and affordable housing initiatives. The proposed property tax amendment would require legislators to impose a state-wide levy limit on property taxes. A levy limit means that local governments across NC would only be able to collect a certain percent of the total value of all properties in its jurisdiction.
The NC Housing Coalition did a retroactive analysis on how a 2% levy limit would have affected property tax bills across the state using numbers from the most current reappraisals. Their findings showed that the average homeowner would have saved only $84 a year with this limit while, in the case of a 2% levy limit, Wake County would’ve lost $125 million dollars in local funds.
Habitat encourages lawmakers to invest in real property tax relief for homeowners by updating and improving on the 3 existing tax relief programs. Lawmakers can also support tax assessors at the local level with technical assistance funding. Property taxes are a real strain on budgets across the state and lawmakers should take steps to help bring relief to low to moderate families and individuals in NC.
Learn More
On September 16th Habitat did a virtual midterm election call that delved deeper into the issues on the ballot and how they connect to affordable housing. You can watch the 30-minute call here.