The council may formally declare Wednesday Summit County has a shortage of housing that low and medium income people can afford.
State law allows cities or counties to set up what’s called a “housing authority” when they recognize a shortage or the existence of unsafe housing.
That’s an agency that can manage existing affordable properties, create new ones or help residents afford rent or mortgages.
But it’s up to the Summit County Council what the scope of its housing authority would be. The last time it was discussed, a majority of councilmembers signaled they’re in favor of creating one.
“I wish we could have done it sooner,” Vice Chair Tonja Hanson said at their Nov. 20 meeting.
Housing authorities are semi-governmental. Councilmembers vote to create it and appoint its governing board members, but after that, it acts independently.
Summit County councilmembers serve on plenty of recreation, fire, water and other boards, but Councilmember Canice Harte told KPCW taking the politics out of housing is good.
He said the housing authority’s mission should remain consistent regardless of who’s in office.
“I do not anticipate, or I would not encourage us to put politicians on that board, meaning councilmembers like myself and others,” he said on KPCW's “Local News Hour” last month. “I would try to get staff or other people from the public to be on the board.”
A report prepared by the county’s Economic Development and Housing Department for Wednesday’s meeting recommends three goals for the new housing authority.
The first is to establish an online dashboard to publish housing and economic data. The others are helping employers find or provide workers with housing and studying the possibility of subsidizing utilities costs.
There’s already $250,000 in the proposed 2025 budget for a housing authority. Economic Development and Housing Director Jeff Jones has said he needs a third of that to deliver on the three goals.
“I personally feel like this is such an important project going forward,” he told the council Nov. 20, “because one of the things that I think you want the housing authority to do is to begin to really work with eastern Summit County town councils, city councils, to work out alliances with them.”
As drafted, the housing authority resolution states Summit County wants the new agency to collaborate with city governments to provide affordable housing in the future.
Efforts to plan a regional housing authority with Park City Municipal stalled in January.
Councilmembers may discuss and vote on the resolution at their meeting Wednesday at 2:50 p.m. Click here to attend online.
