Arkansas Affordable Housing Trust Fund: A Funding Stream Not Optional But Essential

Capitol photo by Harold Wright is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
State Capital in Little Rock, 1 of 3 cities sharing $500K in Arkansas Low Income Trust Funds.

Like a majority of American States, Arkansas has created a Low Income Trust Fund to help it build affordable housing for those most in need.

Unlike a majority of American States, Arkansas launched the fund by stuffing it with dollars, kissing it goodbye, and leaving it to fend for itself.

Most American states recognized that such a fund has no way of earning income to sustain its activities. Accordingly, they identified a funding stream (needless to say diverting those dollars from some other, presumably less important, civic funding requirement).

Now Arkansas is facing a fund which has run out of money. Let it wither away on the vine? Or get around to admitting that it can never be self-sustaining, and like most other states, determine the particular funding stream might sustain it.

What kind of funding streams might be suitable? Here’s one under consideration in San Juan County, Washington State, which proposes to tax a major culprit in the rise of unaffordable housing: real estate turnover. Read more in the The Islands’ Sounder: Learn about the upcoming real estate tax measure

As to Arkansas’ current options, there’s considerably more on the subject in the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette: Well’s long dry in state low-income housing trust fund

At worst, Arkansas can congratulate itself that they haven’t been looting their fund for other purposes. Not like Florida: Ways To Kill Affordable Housing Action: Florida Trust Fund Looting

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.