Oct 22, 2024 - Politics

Hillsborough leaders seek Milton aid from housing fund they slashed

Yacob Reyes

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers ride on a flats boat through the flooded N 12th St in North Tampa. — Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers ride through the flooded N 12th St in North Tampa. Photo: Pedro Portal/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

Hillsborough County wants to tap into an affordable housing fund it has repeatedly gutted to help those Hurricane Milton displaced.

Why it matters: The diminished fund remains one of the county's few lifelines for residents left homeless by natural disasters — and, last month, three commissioners voted unsuccessfully to scrap it altogether.

Catch up quick: The Hillsborough County Commission established the HOPE trust fund and pledged to set aside $10 million for it each year while under a Democratic majority in 2019.

The trust provides housing for the county's poorest residents but also allows commissioners to divert some of its funds toward "another urgent community need."
Republicans slashed the HOPE trust fund's annual allocation from $10 million to $2 million after gaining control of the commission in 2023. The commission did so again in September.

Driving the news: Milton's devastation stretched far beyond the coast, with its impact especially felt in communities like the University Area, where most residents are low-income and renters.

Commissioner Pat Kemp (D) says the situation in these areas is "catastrophic," adding, "there's no place for people to go."
Hillsborough's Affordable Housing Services department has requested that unused HOPE funds be redirected for disaster relief, with up to 10% for hotel stays and security deposits for those affected.

The intrigue: GOP Commissioner Joshua Wostal — who often swings the ax at the HOPE fund — is on board.

Wostal has argued HOPE benefits builders of affordable housing at the expense of taxpayers who fund the program.

"People's property taxes going back directly to them rather than subsidizing a developer's bottom line is marginally better than just not taxing them the extra amount in the first place," he says.

Yes, but: When asked if having this cash on hand for Milton aid changes his opposition to the HOPE fund, Wostal tells Axios, "No, not at all."

What they're saying: "We rely on affordable housing programs and funds in those programs to keep vulnerable residents sheltered and safe," says Dayna Lazarus, a technical advisor for the Florida Housing Coalition.

"We're susceptible to disasters," she adds, "and low- to moderate-income residents who rely on affordable housing are the most vulnerable to disaster impacts."
"We need more money in that fund."

What's next: Commissioners will take up the issue on Wednesday.

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Hillsborough leaders seek Milton aid from housing fund they slashed

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