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09/19/2005: "New Proposed Tax Moves Slowly Forward"

(Left to Right: John Manning & Randy Gaylord from the County, and Paul Losleben & Susan Dehlendorf from the Housing Project)

The Housing Bank concept continues to move slowly toward appearing on a ballot for voter approval -or rejection. After an initial false start, the group organizing the drive to place an excise tax on the sale of property has made steady progress toward completion of the legal steps necessary to comply with state law in presenting the tax to the voters. If approved, the measure will place a one half percent real estate tax on the sale of all property in San Juan County. The money collected will be used to fund financing aid for housing through an " application process through which it (the Housing Bank Commission) will consider proposals from private and nonprofit organizations. It will work with financial institutions, private builders and non-profit community organizations to assemble teams around specific projects. It will then respond to proposals by these teams and will apply capstone funding to provide the essential last element of funding needed. The Housing Bank Commission will recommend to the County Commissioners and the county will then award contracts to the most viable projects that meet the Housing Bank's criteria.", Representatives of the housing group recently met with the BOCC to hammer out differences between their suggested ordinance, and the ordinance that the Prosecuting Attorneys office had prepared.

The issue before the BOCC was resolving which of the ordinances, if any, would appear on a February special election ballot, that if approved by the voters would allow the proposed tax. One of the main sticking points was the question of just who would be paying the tax. The Housing Project group (a part of the Navigating Our Future organization) wanted to make the tax burden fall on the buyer, but the County pointed out that state law requires some sharing of the tax by both the seller and the buyer.

After discussion by the BOCC, a resolution (97-2005) was passed that allows the process to move forward. The resolution will restructure the existing Affordable Housing Fund Commission, and re-name it the "Housing Bank Commission", which will bring it more into line with the goal of the proposed Housing Bank concept.

The next step will be a final ordinance draft that will be made available to the public for comment in a public hearing process, and then the measure -in some form or other- will go to the voters for a Yes or No vote.