By Peter Sachs / The Bulletin
WASHINGTON - President Bush's proposed budget would significantly cut a program that could fund construction of low-income housing in Central Oregon.
The budget for a program referred to as Section 515, which funds rural multifamily housing projects, faces a 26 percent reduction, from $100 million to $74 million. The cut would target construction of new affordable housing.
Yet the Bush administration supports a bill considered Tuesday in the U.S. House that would increase funding to renovate existing affordable housing properties.
"There definitely needs to be more funds released for development," said Cyndy Cook, the executive director of the Central Oregon Rural Housing Authority, or CORHA. "For the smaller rural communities, any attention on new construction from the feds would be a welcome change."
Cook said there has been no new affordable housing built using federal rural development money in Central Oregon for several years, despite growing demand. About 450 families each month enter a lottery for the 12 to 20 rental assistance vouchers her organization hands out.
CORHA manages more than 400 housing units in Central Oregon.
One development, a farm labor project, is funded by Section 515. Other property owners manage a handful of Section 515 housing projects in Madras and Redmond, and Wilsonville-based Cascade Management oversees several low-income properties in Prineville. But Cook and others say the region could benefit from more Section 515 projects. "There is not a question about that," said Janet Dotson at Cascade Management, which oversees low-income properties across the state. Dotson keeps track of a number of Section 515 projects, mainly in southwest Oregon.
Russell Davis, a U.S. Department of Agriculture official who testified at a House hearing Tuesday, said the cuts facing Section 515 would be offset by larger loans. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., was skeptical, saying that even if the government was able to obtain more loan money, that probably would not address the low-income housing shortage nationwide.
Davis added that the Section 515 budget also would be used to renovate existing projects, which is much less expensive than new construction. Another program, which provides rent assistance for low-income families, would get its budget boosted, he said.
"I believe this is the best use of our tight budget resources right now," he said.
Cook agreed that more money needs to be directed toward remodeling existing affordable housing projects, something the House bill would do.
"The older the housing stock is, the higher the needs are for roofing, siding, flooring, appliances," Cook said.
But improving low-income housing is more challenging than simply funding remodeling and construction.
Sean Hubert, a property manager at Cascade Management, which owns several low-income developments in Central Oregon, said cities and towns face different problems, depending on their size. In Bend and Redmond, he said, low-income families are unable to afford the rising cost of homes. Because those cities have grown, they are no longer eligible for Section 515 projects.
But in smaller towns like Prineville and Madras, some earn too much to qualify for low-income housing, but find they have no affordable housing options.
Hubert said Prineville needs properties affordable to those who make slightly less than the median income there, which is about $49,000 for a family of four.
Ultimately, many parts of Oregon could use more money to both renovate existing properties and build new ones.
"Any type of subsidized housing that they're thinking of cutting or thinking of taking away would have an impact in Oregon," Dotson said.