Coalition speaks out against proposed changes to Ohio Trust Fund

Members of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio are calling on the Ohio General Assembly to reject proposed budget changes to the Ohio Housing Trust Fund that the coalition says would undermine efforts to address homelessness and the affordable housing shortage in the state.

The Ohio Housing Trust Fund was established in 1990 after the passage of a constitutional amendment after Ohioans called on the state to make investments into housing.

Following the passage of that amendment, three study committees looked into how to fund this, and all three decided to fund this through a mirror of the Ohio Recorders Fee, meaning the original fee doubled and the extra money went towards housing investments.

Additionally, the Trust Fund requires that 50% of these funds always get spent in rural communities that don't directly receive federal funding for shelters or other housing developments.

Under the proposed Ohio budget, an amendment has an amendment that would remove the requirement for counties to remit that recorder fee revenue to the state.

Advocates for the Trust Fund say this would create a "drastic impact" on communities not collecting as much revenue as other counties noting that some communities that don't have a lot of home sales or new mortgages and in turn would not produce those recording fees as much.

Robert Bender, who is the CEO of Mansfield, Ohio-based apartment company The Provident Companies, says this budget amendment comes from elected officials that don't have enough information on how the current funding method works.

"Speaking to my local representative in Richland County, the recorder really thought they were sending money to Columbus and it's just going down this tube. They didn't know. And that's where we struggle in rural Ohio is educating our recorders," Bender said.

Habitat For Humanity of Ohio Executive Director Ryan Miller says Habitat For Humanity's Critical Home Repair Program and Aging In Place Program are both funded by the Ohio Housing Trust Fund.

"This sudden change is certainly not necessary, admits a severe housing crisis and furthermore it would decrease the return on investment and decrease the reach throughout Ohio thus increasing an administrative burden that is now observed by the Ohio Department of Development," Miller said.

At the end of the press conference advocates called on state officials to slow down and said if any improvements need to be made to make them responsibly.