An ordinance proposed by an Atlanta City Councilmember would establish the "Building the Beloved Community Affordable Housing Trust Fund"—with a commitment to spend 2 percent of the city's general fund annually.
An ordinance proposed this week in Atlanta City Council would launch a trust fund dedicated to building and preserving affordable housing—spending 2 percent of the city's general fund annually to address the highest income inequality and lowest economic mobility rates in the United States.
Sean Keenan reports on the new ordinance, authored by councilmembers Matt Westmoreland with the backing of eight other city leaders, including two mayoral candidates.
"To put this all in perspective, if this measure were effective today, it would pull some $14 million of the city’s roughly $710 million budget for housing affordability initiatives, such as erecting new units and renovating existing ones," writes Keenan. The spending will be phased in, ramping up to the 2 percent total by 2025.
"The idea of an affordable housing trust fund isn’t new, as Councilman [Antonio] Brown pointed out to Atlanta Civic Circle in an interview. It’s been discussed for years, recommended by advocacy group HouseATL in 2018 and incorporated into Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’s One Atlanta: Housing Affordability Action Plan in 2019."
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