TAMPA, Fla. (WFTS) — Hillsborough County Commissioners voted Wednesday to take the first steps towards repealing the HOPE Affordable Housing Act.
The ordinance addresses the county's housing needs by allocating $10 million annually to affordable housing.
WATCH: Hillsborough County Commission votes to move forward with repealing HOPE Affordable Housing Act
Kimberley Overman was on the county commission when it passed in 2019.
“It took a lot of work to get it in place,” Overman said. “There were so many communities, including the HOPE organization, that advocated for a commitment towards affordable housing.”
Overman is also the Founder of the Housing Leadership Council of Tampa Bay. She sat in the audience of Wednesday morning's commission meeting as the current board discussed the ordinance. The discussion originally revolved around re-allocating some of the $10 million to go to public safety, but it eventually turned towards getting rid of the ordinance completely.
Commissioner Chris Boles defended the decision by emphasizing the Commission's core responsibility to ensure public safety.
“I do believe that one of our core functions is that we serve on a bedrock of public safety, and that we need to build upon that, because that's what everything else stands upon,” Boles stated. He argued that “this is not about picking winners,” but rather about “thoughtfully examining our funds” to utilize them in the most effective way possible. Boles pointed out that while there are multiple funding sources for affordable housing, public safety relies heavily on a single revenue stream: ad valorem taxes.
He also clarified misconceptions about the HOPE Act funding, explaining that the ordinance did not strictly guarantee $10 million but required the County Administrator to allocate those funds for the board to determine. “It’s inaccurate to say that we’re taking $10 million away,” Boles said, noting past instances where the board had allocated significantly less for affordable housing.
Only two commissioners voted to keep the ordinance: Gwen Myers and Harry Cohen.
Commissioner Harry Cohen voiced concerns about the shift away from affordable housing funding, reminding his colleagues of the broader implications.
“While I support the needs of the sheriff, we give him 100% of what he asks for every year,” Cohen noted, adding that unspent funds are often returned at the end of the budget cycle.
Cohen also emphasized the capacity of the board to make annual decisions regarding the allocation of these funds. He referenced previous years where funding had been used for infrastructure projects rather than affordable housing, indicating that the decision should ultimately lie with the board.
"Every year that this $10 million has come up, the board has had the power to use it for affordable housing… or to use it for other things," he said. "If we have both those things happen—the HUD funding coming in and a plan sourced for it—we can always come back and adjust this accordingly."
Commssioner Boles also brought up potential funding from the federal government. Hillsborough County recently received $709 million from HUD, with 56% mandated to be spent on affordable housing—approximately $397 million that must be allocated over six years.
“Would you rather come here and talk about $2 million that you may not get, or would you rather spend your time lobbying for the $397 million?” he asked of the dozens of public speakers.
Overman remains skeptical about depending entirely on federal funding.
"It's really fascinating that they're counting on the federal government being encumbered and sending money to us as a county as on a reimbursement basis that we are getting as a consequence of the disasters that we've impacted and felt by as far as losing housing in our community. So they're going to assume that the federal government is going to honor its incumbency of making those funds available when the county itself seems to have a problem with being encumbered to fund just $10 million towards affordable housing," she said.
She added her concerns about the likelihood of the money actually coming.
"If we are absolutely 100% sure that our current administration on the federal level is going to make good on their funding on from HUD, which they've already cut the budget, they cut the staff, and they cut the budget last night for critical services for our citizens that they are going to come up with the money," she said.
The next step in this ongoing debate will be a public hearing where community members can voice their concerns before the commissioners cast a final vote on the future of the HOPE Affordable Housing Act.
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