TO: Honorable Mayor & Members of the North Port Commission
FROM: Peter D. Lear, CPA, CGMA, City Manager
TITLE: 2017/2018 Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Contribution Funding. This item is in the adopted FY 2018 budget in the amount of $50,000.
Recommended Action
Approve a contribution allocation of $50,000, either monetary or in-kind service, to support the application for the 2017/2018 City of North Port Contribution Reservation process for applicants participating in the State of Florida Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Program. This item is in the adopted FY 2018 budget in the amount of $50,000.
Background Information
The Housing Tax Credit Program was created to increase the number of low-income rental housing units and is governed by the U.S Department of Treasury under Section 252 of the tax Reform Act of 1986 and Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code. Housing need is assessed annually on current statewide market studies and funds are disbursed each year to the States nation-wide. In Florida, the Florida Housing Finance Corporation administers the LIHTC distributes program funds. The selection process at the State level is highly competitive and only one application per county will be chosen.
In 2016 the City Commission identified the lack of housing for low- and moderate-income levels within the City and directed staff to develop a streamlined program and approach for those who wished to apply to the State of Florida for tax credits under the LIHTC Program. Consequently, staff developed a process for reviewing, analyzing and ranking applications and presenting recommendations to the City Commission. The application process was later approved by Commission. While this process leads to encouraging affordable housing to the appropriate areas of the City, the Commission retains discretion as to whether or not it will allocate resources for the local match.
For the 2016/2017 Program year the City of North Port received five (5) appli...
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