[Our affordable housing guru Neil Powers takes a look at the City's plan to spend those much-needed Housing Levy dollars approved last year. The initial review: So far, so good...]

Dr. Don Berwick, President Obama’s nominee to become the head of Medicare and Medicaid, visited United Way of King County last year and declared that 40% of good health is  “a roof over your head”.  To that end, Seattle citizens overwhelmingly voted last November for the $145 million Seattle Housing Levy Renewal, agreeing to extend the tax through 2016.

Now comes the thorny, technical par: figuring out how to spend those dollars in an effective, strategic, and efficient manner. Last month, the City of Seattle approved a Housing Levy plan for the next two years to allocate funds for affordable housing.   It means good news for United Way of King County’s collaborative efforts with the Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness and also efforts being made to assist chronically homeless individuals into permanent supportive housing.  The recently approved plan puts Seattle on a path to commit $145 million to provide affordable housing via rental housing production (1,670 units), home ownership (180 homes), operating support (220 units) and rental housing assistance (3,025 households), all by the end of 2016.

A key part of the Housing Levy that supports housing for people moving out of homelessness is rental housing production.  Roughly $104 million of the overall Levy funds will be used to preserve and develop 1,670 units of affordable rental housing.  The City requires that “at least” 60% of these funds be used to develop housing for people at 0 to 30% median income.  Much of these funds can be used to  provide new housing for people moving out of homelessness.  The remaining funds must be used to house people with incomes greater than 30% and up to 80% of median income.

The City of Seattle plays a crucial role in  providing funding for affordable housing, much of which  provides  housing for people moving out  of homelessness. Typically the City provides just a portion of the financing  for affordable housing developments, leveraging funds from private and public sources such as an investor tax credit program and the Washington State Housing Trust Fund.

The Housing Levy priorities recommended by the City of Seattle in their initial two-year spending plan are to serve “vulnerable people in our community, including seniors and people with disabilities, families and individuals who are either experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness, and people who earn low-wages and have difficulty finding housing they can afford.”  The City goes onto declare that a key goal for the Office of Housing will be rental housing that “contributes to City and Countywide efforts to end homelessness: preservation or new construction of housing serving individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.”

This is good news for providing badly needed housing for people experiencing homelessness and good news for United Way and its partners in the effort to reduce and end homelessness in King County!