How Much of Dallas’ $1.25B Bond Will be Used For Housing? That Depends.
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The Dallas City Council talked briefly about the May bond election during a Wednesday council meeting, but not much has changed since elected officials agreed to an outline of allocations by category and doled out their preferences for $75 million in discretionary funds.
The only point of clarification in Wednesday’s meeting was related to bond counsel’s advice about housing and economic development funds.
City leaders agreed to allocate $61 million for housing in this year’s $1.25 billion bond. The council is expected to call a May election next week.
Historically, about 40 percent of housing bond funds have been used for infrastructure projects and 60 percent have gone toward gap financing, said Jenny Nicewander, director of the Office of Bond and Construction Management.
Based on that calculation, about $24.4 million can remain in the housing proposition and be spent on city infrastructure. About $36.6 million must be moved to the economic development proposition to cover gap financing.
District 14 Councilman Paul Ridley questioned why, if traditionally 60 percent of housing bond funds have been used for gap financing, those dollars must be moved into the economic development category.
Interim Director of Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization Cynthia Rogers-Ellickson said infrastructure is the only housing activity that can be done under that particular category. Gap financing falls under the Chapter 380 agreement related to economic development, she explained.
Ridley said he wanted to specify in the bond proposition that certain dollars would be used for housing even if placed under the economic development category.
“If we really want that money to go to support housing, I don’t want to see it diverted to some other use under economic development because it’s not in the housing proposition,” RIdley said.
Nicewander said she would take direction from the council and could indicate that the 60 percent split is dedicated to housing.
Ridley opted to allocate his $5 million in discretionary funds by offering $2.4 million to streets and transportation and $2.6 million to parks and recreation.
Advocates with the Dallas Housing Coalition, some of whom attended Wednesday’s council briefing, said that $61 million would only provide 1,150 affordable rental units, a “stark contrast to the 33,660 units Dallas currently needs.”
Town hall meetings to engage the public on specific bond propositions will be scheduled in April.
