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Madison Mayor Introduces Affordable Housing Initiative

City Will Try Using TIF Districts To Fund Projects

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Madison Mayor Paul Soglin. Photo: Shutterjet (CC-BY-NC-ND).

Madison Mayor Paul Soglin unveiled an initiative this week to increase the amount of affordable housing in the city by using a lesser-known method of public financing recently embraced by other cities around the state.

Soglin wants to use $4 million in his 2015 capital budget to build more affordable housing units across the city. He hopes to build about 1,000 over the next five years.

The announcement comes on the heels of a report that found 30 percent of renters in Madison spend more than 50 percent of their income on rent.

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“I think this addresses what may well be the highest priority of the people of this community,” said Soglin.

Funding for the initiative will come from a combination of municipal bonds and the use of tax increment financing — a system of financing in which government helps pay for a private development project and then gets a share of the subsequent profits.

Wisconsin law allows a city to keep a TIF district open for one year beyond its planned lifetime if it agrees to put that year’s proceeds toward affordable housing. This law has led to TIF districts being used to develop housing in Milwaukee, Oshkosh and La Crosse.

One-third of the units in Soglin’s plan will be permanent supportive housing for homeless individuals and families. The remaining two-thirds will be for individuals making 60, 50 or 30 percent or less of Madison’s average median income.

Brenda Konkel, executive director of the Tenant Resource Center in Madison, applauded the plan but said it will face some challenges.

“Trying to fit all the pieces together for affordable housing is extremely complicated. And then finding the location that will be supported by the community — everybody thinks affordable housing is important, but nobody wants it in their backyard,” said Konkel.

The plan still needs to be approved by the Madison city council.