CINCINNATI — On May 4, along with the mayoral primary, Cincinnati voters will have the chance to weigh in on whether or not the city should make affordable housing a financial priority.

The third ballot question, or Issue 3, asks voters whether or not the city should set aside $50 million every year into a housing trust fund to pay to build, renovate or support affordable housing projects. In the lead up to the vote, it's sparked fierce debate about how city dollars should be spent. 

According to this ballot measure, it’s housing that’s affordable to households earning 60% of Hamilton County’s median household income, which is $57,212 according to census data. The ballot measure goes on to say, half of the fund will be reserved to fund housing affordable to households earning 30% of Hamilton County’s median household income.

To be considered affordable, housing shouldn’t cost more than 30% of the household's monthly income.

Housing trust funds are distinct funds set aside by cities, counties or other government entities solely to fund housing projects. 

Funds can be allocated and distributed in various ways, but the people behind Issue 3 said Cincinnati’s housing trust would primarily be used to fund grants that support housing projects. Dozens of cities around the country have housing trust funds and Cincinnati’s would be modeled after funds in Baltimore and Philadelphia. 

A lot, it turns out. 

A 2018 study by LISC Greater Cincinnati determined Hamilton County was short 40,000 units of affordable housing and Cincinnati was short 28,000 units. 

According to housing advocates, $50 million would produce or preserve 500 housing units every year. At that rate it would take 56 years to build enough housing to meet that 28,000 figure. 

That number also represents an eighth of Cincinnati’s general budget and a massive increase compared to the $6.6 million allocated in the budget for 2021. 

The $50 million figure is also much higher than Baltimore’s trust, which reserves about $20 million a year but it’s similar to the roughly $56 million Philadelphia sets aside annually through various funding sources.

That’s the big question.

As written, Issue 3 does not set aside a funding source for the annual $50 million allocation. It offers a few options including a fee on new development, a tax on the award of stock options for publicly traded companies, revenue from the lease or sale of the Cincinnati Southern Railway and most controversially Cincinnati’s general operating budget.

According to Cincinnati’s city manager, some of these funding options are off the table because there’s no legal channel to make them work. She believes the only feasible way to get the money is by taking it almost entirely from the general budget, gutting other city services.

Advocates disagree and said they left funding avenues vague to allow city council the freedom to determine the revenue source that works best for the city.

As it is written though, the trust fund can’t take money from the state or federal government. It has to come from city dollars.

The three main groups who helped push the amendment are the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition, the Metropolitan Area Religious Coalition of Cincinnati and Affordable Housing Advocates.

The Urban League of Greater Southwestern Ohio, OTR Community Housing, the Cincinnati chapter of the NAACP and the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers has also voiced support.

Patricia Garry, who helped get initial conversations about a housing trust fund going back in 2015, said this kind of investment is what the city needs to finally make an impact on the city’s housing needs 

“You are never going to catch up,” she said. “I mean we are losing housing, we are losing affordable housing units every day and more and more people are living in cars, going to homeless shelters.”

For the most part, city workers have voiced opposition to the issue. 

The city manager Paula Boggs Muething believes taking $50 million from the city budget would destroy city services and currently she believes that’s the only option if Issue 3 passes. She expects massive layoffs if the budget loses $50 million.

Outgoing Mayor John Cranley also opposes the issue for similar reasons. 

Meanwhile a number of unions representing city workers, such as the Cincinnati AFL-CIO, AFSCME and the Cincinnati Fire Fighters Union, have worked together to form an opposition committee called Keep Cincinnati Safe.

Matt Alter, the fire union president, said the threat to his department’s budget, which is operating on $108.6 million for 2021, feels like a slap in the face after years asking for funds to hire more personnel to handle the increased call volume they’ve been facing.

“They’re aware of the ask — like they’ve said already there’s only so much dollars to go around and that’s why this hurts even more,” he said.

Sort of. Columbus-Franklin County and Cuyahoga County have housing trust funds but neither run like Cincinnati’s would. 

The Columbus-Franklin County trust distributes money through low-interest loans, while Cincinnati’s would be a grant program. Supporters of Issue 3 said grants allow Cincinnati to target the money better to house those at the lowest income levels.

The Cuyahoga County fund is made up entirely of federal money through Housing and Urban Development. Issue 3 supporters said this means Cuyahoga County and Cleveland are just setting aside the money they’re already getting, not creating new avenues to fund housing.

Cincinnati expects results to come in quick and the city should know by May 5, whether or not the trust fund will be moving forward.