Minneapolis City Council vote to increase the Affordable Housing Trust Fund
Written by Kate Taber, Congregational Organizer
We have news to celebrate! The Minneapolis City Council voted last week to pass the city budget, which included Mayor Frey’s proposed $3 million increase to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. This is a significant start to reversing the multi-year trend of decreasing the trust fund each year since 2019, a reversal that Beacon’s collaborative of congregations- with the leadership of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund campaign team- have been advocating for over the past few years.
This past July, in anticipation of the Mayor putting forth a city budget proposal, over 180 members from 24 collaborating faith communities gathered to speak with one voice about the need for deeply affordable housing in Minneapolis. With the Trust Fund as an essential tool in meeting that need, those gathered urged the Mayor to increase it. Several Beacon leaders and staff later met with the Mayor, reiterating this request. We celebrated when the Mayor’s budget proposal was announced and included a $3 million increase!
Since that event, Beacon leaders have taken several City Council Members on their first tours of Beacon developments, engaging them in conversation about the need for increasing the Trust Fund and targeting it to develop housing for those with the greatest need. We urged them to support the Mayor’s proposed budget for the Trust Fund and explored with them what it might look like to ensure the Trust Fund goes to supporting residents at the lowest income levels.
And now, we get to celebrate that the City Council approved that increase! This $3 million will unlock even more money, because for every dollar allocated from the Trust Fund, twelve dollars are leveraged in investments from other entities. This is a huge win for Minneapolis!
Also noteworthy was a discussion that took place during the budget process. Council Members spent thirty minutes discussing a proposed amendment earmarking $1.2 million of the Trust Fund money for a Minneapolis Public Housing Authority fire suppression project. The amendment passed, and in its final form does not decrease any of the money in the Trust Fund that goes to building new units of affordable housing. It was the discussion itself that was revealing and encouraging. Council Members gave the Trust Fund significant time and attention. Their conversation showed a real wrestling with what the Trust Fund is intended for and how to fulfill that purpose, which is exactly what we’ve been asking them to identify. The issues they raised both in support and critique of the amendment displayed deep concern for the most vulnerable in our city, a concern we all share. We should feel heard!
Thank you, Mayor Frey, for this significant increase to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and thank you, Minneapolis City Council, for approving it and expressing your commitment to the Trust Fund and to serving residents in our city with the lowest incomes!
There is of course more work to do! We invite the City Council to be even more explicit about the Trust Fund’s purpose and potential for serving residents most at risk of homelessness and those paying far more than they can afford for rent. This money would have the most impact if it focused on funding new housing affordable to residents with incomes below 30% of the Area Median Income. We look forward to continuing to work with this City Council to ensure the Affordable Housing Trust Fund maximally fulfills its potential to help create a city built for all of us.
What can you do?
- You can thank Mayor Frey for this increase to the AHTF!
- You can thank the Council Members for approving the increase! Find your Council Member and their contact information here.
- You can watch the budget meeting discussion of the amendment to learn more about the various perspectives on the Council! Starting at timestamp 3:20 and ending at 3:46.
- You can join the AHTF campaign team! Email Kate Taber at ktaber@beaconinterfaith.org to learn more.
