He wants $1 million put in assistance fund

By Sheldon S. ShaferThe Courier-Journal

With federal money declining and the cost of owning a home rising, Mayor Jerry Abramson said yesterday that he intends to put $1 million into a local fund to promote affordable housing.

Homeownership, Abramson said, “is the glue that holds neighborhoods together,” yet it is out of reach for too many people.

Virginia Durrance, who lives in a federally subsidized Shively apartment, said in an interview yesterday that she would like to be able to apply for money from the affordable-housing fund to help buy a home.

The fund “would benefit a lot of people,” she said.

At a morning press conference at the Jefferson County Courthouse, Abramson also announced that the city expects to get an extra $10 million in revenue during the fiscal year ending June 30, a sum exceeding initial projections.

He said $6.5 million of the surplus, chiefly from corporate- and occupational-tax revenue, will be allocated to cover overtime pay for metro employees. The bulk of the overtime will be used for corrections officers with the balance going for overtime for MetroSafe workers, firefighters and Emergency Medical Services personnel.

The proposal to build the housing fund was among a series of recommendations made last year by a 23-member task force Abramson appointed to find ways to increase homeownership in the community.

Abramson said he is asking the Louisville Metro Council to pass an ordinance creating a commission to oversee the affordable-housing fund and to set rules for its use. The mayor would appoint the commission and the fund would be administered by the metro Housing and Community Development Division.

Council member Tina Ward-Pugh, D-9th District, a member of the housing task force, said she will sponsor the ordinance, which she hopes can be adopted by June 30.

Abramson said the money might be used to lower the cost of a mortgage for an individual or for a low-interest loan for a developer who agrees to include affordable housing in a subdivision. The money would then be paid back by the recipient to create a revolving fund, the mayor said.

He said the city will be talking with developers, banks, businesses and others about contributing to the fund. In addition, the city plans to ask the 2008 state legislature to grant the Metro Council the authority to establish a guaranteed source of revenue for the housing fund.

Abramson pledged to commit an unspecified sum to the housing fund in future metro budgets.

The mayor also said yesterday he has asked the Metro Council to approve his mid-year budget adjustment to spend the additional $10 million in revenue.

Council member Barbara Shanklin, D-2nd District, a member of the council budget committee, predicted that the council will approve the adjustments.

In addition to the $1 million for the housing fund and the $6.5 million for employee overtime for the rest of the fiscal year, Abramson proposed spending: $1 million to replenish the metro vehicle fleet; $500,000 for a fund to improve suburban roads and infrastructure; and $125,000 to expand the police training center on Taylor Boulevard.

Reporter Sheldon S. Shafer can be reached at (502) 582-7089.