Friends of Flagstaff’s Future update for Aug. 16

Adam Shimoni: According to the Arizona Housing Coalition, Flagstaff has the largest gap between average rent costs and wages in the state. Access to affordable housing reduces stress, allows families to pay for better health care, food and education. It also leads to improved physical and mental health and contributes to the economic vitality and community diversity. Prop 422 gives us more leverage to negotiate with developers to build affordable housing. It furthers home-buyer assistance programs with down payments and closing costs. However, the bond doesn’t solve everything – we need a better partnership with NAU, more public private partnerships.

Dennis K Lavin: Resolution No.2018-35 calls for a vote on a new General Obligation Bond, up to $25 million. I am not in favor of the resolution because its purpose is too vague and an unelected Housing Bond Commission will provide the direction as to how our tax dollars will be spent.
Housing in Flagstaff has been expensive for many years. I simply offer the following: 1) change how our City compensates our employees, 2) encourage economic growth and employer choices, and 3) continue to work with our educational partners to enhance employable skill sets.

Austin Aslan: I’ll vote yes on Prop 422. Had I been on Council, I would’ve supported placing it on the ballot. Housing affordability is the number one concern residents share as I campaign, and voters deserve this opportunity to be heard.
This is an existential threat to Flagstaff’s DNA, and it “hits home” at every economic level. I have friends with PhDs who just moved to Montana because they could never afford a home here. Our educated young families shouldn’t be forced to move. And our workforce shouldn’t feel compelled to live outside of town and commute to their jobs.

Mayor Coral Evans: I support Proposition 422. The lack of affordable housing is Flagstaff’s #1 issue. The issue of affordable housing has been discussed by the Flagstaff City Council for decades. I believe that this is one viable option (way) in which we can address this issue in a direct, focused and targeted manner.

Paul Deasy: We need affordable housing, but I’m concerned with Council’s funding choice. Rather than an independent funding source, Council decided to use up half our city’s remaining bond limit until 2037, kicking the can down the road for future Councils with no outline on how the money would be spent. My vote will depend on the financial plan, which hasn’t been properly explained to the public, and we all need to know more to make an informed decision. Throwing money at something doesn’t solve the problem unless we have a plan to reach our goals.

Alex Martinez: I do not support the Attainable Housing Bond as written. There is no clear cut plan for how it will be used. It does not address the 500 homeless school children, the elderly, homeless veterans and the list goes on. It cuts the bonding capacity of our city by 50 % and limits our financial response to any future infrastructure emergency. This is a feel good political issue in an election cycle. It needs more work and thought before we put the taxpayer on the financial hook.

Regina Salas: My heart says “yes” on Prop 422; but my pragmatic side thinks otherwise, listening to Flagstaff citizens. The need for housing is an imperative for decades. I’m not certain that a $25 million housing bond now is the answer. It’s important to pursue alternative solutions. I’m concerned the $25 million bond exhausts the city’s bonding capacity for 20 years. Would landlords pass on the increases in property taxes to their tenants? I would consider voting yes, if I’m convinced that bonding needs are met, including critical water resource and flood control, and it won’t place an excessive burden on tenants and property owners.

The actual language of Proposition 422 is written broadly in order to have flexibility over the 20 year period (what we need today may not be what we need in 2035) and to most effectively pair matching federal and state funds over a 20 year period. The goals of Proposition 422 are to offer more attainable housing largely by 1. providing developers more incentives to create below-market affordable housing, 2. revolving loans that will be down payment assistance for home buyers. These types of programs have a proven track record of success through the years; they have just been sorely underfunded in Flagstaff.

The bond is expected to provide about 1,000 additional affordable homes (ECONA determined our need to be 3,000 houses). It will also have the advantage of helping out middle-class people with homebuyer assistance, who otherwise cannot receive federal or state funds. By moving these long-term renters into home ownership, it will also help affordability by increasing the housing stock for rentals.

Proposition 422 will offer other forms of assistance, depending on what the city needs are at the time. Proposition 422 must be listed as a tax increase, although taxpayers won’t see an increase in their property tax bills. The bond money will become available as other city bonds are paid off, and Council is committed to keeping property taxes at the same rate. If Proposition 422 doesn’t pass, the bond money would likely be spent for other city services.

Although the board at F3 endorses Proposition 422, we acknowledge that it is not a perfect solution. It will at best, only cover about a 1/3 of our determined affordable housing needs. As Councils come and go over the 20 years, it is possible that bond money may not be spent or spent unwisely. Even though the bond was reduced by $10M from its original proposal, Flagstaff is still reaching the upper limits of its debt capacity. Paying for services like Red Gap Ranch or recycled water might become more challenging.

We also acknowledge that Proposition 422 will need a group of dedicated and knowledgeable citizens to serve on the Committee making recommendations to Council. It is F3’s hope that there will consistently be representatives from our non-profit community on this Committee that will keep the community’s best interests in mind in the goals of creating more attainable housing. F3 intends to collaborate with our local non-profits to ensure that these community goals of more attainable housing are best being met through this bond, and to keep our members informed of how the bond money is being utilized. We may occasionally ask our members to communicate with the Committee or Council if the goals of more attainable housing are not best being met through Proposition 422.

Despite these concerns, F3 still thinks that Proposition 422 is a bold move towards more attainable housing and will increase the quality of life for all Flagstaff residents. The revolving door of talented people leaving Flagstaff because of a lack of affordable housing is costing us in many ways. It is affecting the healthcare we receive with a 33% turnover rate of nurses at our hospitals; it is affecting the education of our future voters; it is affecting the city’s bottom line as we continue to train employees who quickly decide to leave for more affordable pastures. Our city needs a vibrant and diverse working community in order to preserve the character that brought so many of us to Flagstaff and continue to call this place home. We at F3 hope that you will support Proposition 422 at the ballot box this November.