Louisville affordable housing fund cut in city budget nearing Metro Council vote

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The budget advancing at City Hall reduces funding for a Metro agency that helps finance affordable housing and requires a new evaluation of its work.

The Affordable Housing Trust Fund would get $12.5 million in the upcoming fiscal year, down from its current $15 million allotment, according to the version of the capital spending plan that cleared the budget committee this week.

The full Metro Council is set to vote Thursday night.

The council's recommendation also is less than the $15 million proposed by Mayor Craig Greenberg, a Democrat. If approved, it would mark the first time in six years that the fund received less money than the year before.

Greenberg said Wednesday he wished more funding for the program had been included, but he cited other efforts to increase housing in Louisville, including $1 million for a modular home demonstration project that remains in the latest budget.

But the trust fund's executive director, Christie McCravy, warned that the reduction likely would mean less units getting built.

"We understand all of the needs in our community, and we understand the needs are wide and vast," she said. "In all actuality, $2.5 million is probably a project that won't get funded. It may be 20 or more units of housing that won't get funded. So that will be the impact on this community."

Trust fund leaders focus on projects that create housing for households making well below the area median income.

Besides the reduction, the working budget orders the trust fund to do an evaluation of its services by December 1 that will look at its current approach to increasing the number of affordable housing units; its priorities; and the appropriate levels of ownership versus rental units, among other things.

Kevin Kramer (R-11^th), the council's budget chair, said the trust fund is "doing yeoman's work over there trying to figure out what makes the most sense and how to best use these dollars."

He said the council is simply "tapping the brakes" on the fund's work.

"It's a lot of money over a number of years, and I think we just want to get a better handle on exactly where we are in the process and what direction we think we need to go into the future," Kramer said.

But the changes, including the reduction, have prompted pushback from several Metro Council members. Member JP Lyninger, D-6, said he plans to introduce an amendment before Thursday night's vote to restore the funding.

Lyninger said he fears the cuts would force housing developers to focus on projects that don't prioritize the needs of the lowest-income families.

"That's pushing it towards not a subsidy, but closer and closer to just market-rate housing," he said. "We need below market-rate housing, because we are leaving young families behind. We are leaving working people behind."

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