KC voters to decide on $100 million bond for affordable housing. What to know
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- Kansas City proposes a $100 million bond to fund its Housing Trust Fund.
- Voters will decide on the bond on the Aug. 4 ballot; 57.14% is required.
- City estimates bond funding would support more than 3,500 affordable units.
Kansas City is proposing a $100 million bond to support the city’s Housing Trust Fund, which aims to create and rehabilitate affordable housing in the city and address blight by renovating vacant properties.
Kansas City voters will be asked to authorize the bond during the primary election. A four-sevenths majority vote, or 57.14%, is required for passage. The proposal is part of four bond initiatives and a sales tax extension the city put on the Aug. 4 ballot.
City officials said the bond financing would allow the city to increase the annual amount of funding it provides for affordable housing projects. The city estimates there is a 64,000-unit shortage of housing in the city.
The Housing Trust Fund, which was created in 2018, has awarded more than $60 million of funding since 2021. In 2022, city voters authorized $50 million of bond financing to support the Housing Trust Fund.
Prior to that, the Housing Trust Fund was supported by $25 million of federal American Rescue Plan money and $10.5 million of local tax dollars that were diverted away from tax breaks for a Chicago-based developer.
As of July 1, the Housing Trust fund has helped create more than 2,500 affordable housing units, according to the city’s housing dashboard.
City officials also said the proposed bond would not require the city to raise taxes to pay off the debt.
Here’s what to know about your vote and the city’s plan to increase funding for more affordable housing projects.
Ballot language
The bond question will appear on the ballot as Question 1.
Question 1: Shall the City of Kansas City, Missouri issue its general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $100,000,000.00 for the purpose of affordable housing through the rehabilitation, renovation, and construction of houses and buildings, including blight removal, to provide affordable housing for very low- to moderate-income households?
The authorization of the bonds will authorize the City to maintain tangible property tax rates sufficient to pay the interest and principal on the bonds until fully paid.
What a yes vote would mean
A ‘yes’ vote would infuse $100 million into the city’s Housing Trust Fund to be used toward building more affordable housing in the city.
Housing Director Blaine Proctor has said the proposed bond would allow the city to increase its annual housing subsidy funding, which would lead to more affordable housing projects each year.
What a no vote would mean
A ‘no’ vote would reject the bond proposal and prohibit the city from issuing new bonds to finance support of the Housing Trust Fund.
The city would likely need to consider different funding sources to continue operating the Housing Trust Fund.
How is the fund used?
Proctor, the city’s housing director, said the Housing Trust Fund awards an average of $12.5 million to development projects that include affordable housing plans each year. The bond would allow for increasing that spending up to $20 million each year.
The City estimates that the increased funding from the bond would support more than 3,500 new affordable housing units over the next five years.
Proctor said the increase would lead to more affordable housing projects each year. He called the Housing Trust Fund the city’s largest and “most flexible” housing tool because it helps address blight and creates and rehabilitates affordable housing.
Proctor said the funding is used as gap financing to supplement projects, rather than cover total costs of redevelopment.
The largest project the fund has supported is the $300 million redevelopment of Parade Park Homes. The fund provided more than $13 million to the project that will build 1,100 housing units, of which 470 units will be affordable for low-income and senior residents.
Effect on taxes?
City officials said the city would not need new taxes to pay for the bond debt.
City Treasurer Kimberly Carter said the city would strategically issue the bonds as older financed debt is paid off.
“So it allows the city to continue making strategic capital investments without increasing their taxes and without creating pressure on our general fund,” Carter said.
