MONTPELIER, Vt. – January 4, 2010 – (RealEstateRama) — State officials are hoping members of the public will turn out to give their input about Vermont’s plans for spending millions of dollars in federal housing and economic development funds.
The state is holding a series of Community Meetings as it drafts a 5-year Consolidated Plan required by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the approximately $12 million of federal funds Vermont receives from HUD annually.
“We’re asking Vermonters to share their views on how these dollars should be spent,” said Tayt Brooks, Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Economic, Housing and Community Development. “The grants that we award from these funds go to both housing and economic development projects for low-income Vermonters around the state.”
The Consolidated Plan outlines the state’s priorities for use of federal funds provided for Community Development Block Grants (CBDG), Home Investment Partnerships (HOME), and Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG).
As part of that plan, the state recently released its Housing Needs Assessment, which surveys Vermont’s housing and rental stock and estimates the future needs, with particular emphasis on the state’s lower-income households.
The report found that an estimated 62 percent (27,000) of lower income renter households in Vermont (incomes less than $41,000) spend more than 30 percent of their income for housing and nearly 17,000 of these households pay 50 percent or more of their income on housing.
The report estimates that nearly 5,000 rental units and 8,000 owner-occupied homes will likely need to be constructed between 2009 and 2014 to accommodate growth and loss of units to aging, requiring the rate of construction to double.
The state has held several public meetings on the Consolidated Plan around the state and will hold more in January, including:
• Brattleboro on January 12, 2010 at 11:00 A.M. at the Town of Brattleboro Municipal Building
• St. Albans on January 13, 2010 at 5:30 P.M. at the City of St. Albans City Council Chamber
• Village of Barton on January 14, 2010 at 4:00 P.M. at Memorial Hall
The state is also taking comments via an online survey; to access the survey, Vermonters can go to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CCK66QC
For more information please visit the Division of Housing and Community Affairs’ Web site at: http://www.dhca.state.vt.us/Housing/
