JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 A Jacksonville City Council committee has voted to redirect $2.8 million from the city\u2019s affordable housing trust fund to an apartment project, and Council Member Matt Carlucci says he wasn\u2019t told the money had been redirected until two days later.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I found [out], I was livid,\u201d Carlucci said.<\/p>\n
Carlucci said he secured the $2.8 million to build affordable homes, and that the money was intended to build roughly 800 of them.<\/p>\n
In September, the City Council approved $4.9 million for an affordable housing trust fund as part of the budget process. Under the budget amendments approved, $1.4 million would go toward utility connection assistance, $1.4 million would support affordable housing construction and $2.1 million would go to the down payment assistance program.<\/p>\n
During Monday\u2019s Rules Committee meeting, Councilmember Will Lahnen introduced an amendment to take $2.8 million from the trust fund and redirect it to Tori Meadows Ltd. to create 180 affordable apartment units \u2014 not homes. The amendment failed.<\/p>\n
But on Tuesday, during the Finance Committee meeting, Councilmember Rory Diamond reintroduced the amendment, and it passed.<\/p>\n
Lahnen, who chairs the Finance Committee, says the money is still being used for its intended purpose: affordable housing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis bill came to us as $2.8 million without a funding source. And so I said that, \u2018hey, we budgeted $4.9 million for affordable housing in the budget. Let\u2019s use money we intended for affordable housing on affordable housing, because that\u2019s the way to get me comfortable,\u2019\u201d Lahnen said.<\/p>\n
Carlucci, however, says the trust fund was meant to create affordable homes, not apartments.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got so many apartments we\u2019re building and they\u2019re not even gonna be built for a couple of years. They got two years to find money. These dollars that we passed budget night are for building homes,\u201d Carlucci said.<\/p>\n
Council Member Nick Howland said in a statement: \u201cAffordability and responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars are top priorities for the City Council. This is an excellent project, but public resources are limited. We must ensure we identify the most fiscally responsible funding source to move it forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Action News Jax also reached out to Mayor Donna Deegan\u2019s office, which said in a statement: \u201cWe\u2019re trying to fill a bucket to put out a fire, and this amendment is just moving water from one side of the bucket to the other. We will work with the full City Council to restore this funding to its original intent. At the same time, the Tori Meadows project, which will create 180 new housing units, has our full support. We need to do both \u2013 and much, much more \u2013 to meet the great need for more housing that\u2019s affordable.\u201d<\/p>\n
The measure now goes before the full City Council on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
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