Oct. 20, 2006 — While senators on Friday approved ongoing funding for emergency and transitional housing, officials said they must develop regulations to give departments and agencies access to the money.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Lorraine L. Berry, involves Hovensa and the Housing Trust Fund, an account set up in the mid 1980s to subsidize housing. Under the bill's provisions, 25 percent of Hovensa's payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) funds would go to the Housing Trust Fund.
Money for the fund originally came from a return on a bond issue but ran out in 1995, according to Clifford Graham, executive director of the V.I. Housing Finance Authority. The funds never got replaced, Graham said, despite the fact that the V.I. Code provides for a portion of the annual property taxes paid on units developed under the authority's Affordable Housing Program to go into the fund.
If money had gone into the fund on a regular basis, the government would already have approximately $2.5 million on hand for housing development, Graham said Friday during a meeting of the Housing, Sports and Veterans' Affairs Committee.
Berry's bill would set up a "true emergency housing program" while providing new emergency housing units for "residents in need," Graham said. The continuous revenue stream would replenish the fund and give provide money to the government's housing agencies, along with the Interagency Council on Chronic Homelessness.
But before the money can get to non-profit organizations and government departments and agencies, the council's chair said, the Legislature must develop regulations and policies.
"Housing is just one aspect of the council," said Sedonie Halbert. "Treating the territory's homeless population and providing services to address the various needs is the other component. So we do have to sit down and work on how the funds would be accessed by all the entities."
The council, comprised of representatives from both the public and private sectors, was assembled in 2003 to "develop a comprehensive plan" to end chronic homelessness in the territory, Graham said.
"It is quite evident that, over the recent years, the homeless population has grown and continues to grow at an alarming rate," he said.
Policies should be devised to distinguish which funds would go to the homeless and which funds would go toward assisting individuals suffering from mental illness or substance-abuse problems, Berry added.
Despite the concerns, the bill would primarily help in establishing transitional and permanent housing for residents, said Halbert and Graham, a sentiment echoed by Housing, Parks and Recreation Commissioner Ira Hobson.
A 2005 survey revealed that there are about 531 homeless individuals territory-wide, Halbert said. The additional funding "will bring us closer to realizing the successful implementation of the agency's plan," she said. The plan includes strengthening access to mainstream services for the chronically homeless; increasing housing resources and maximizing the use of designated housing resources for the homeless; developing effective prevention, intervention and outreach services for homeless persons; and establishing a database of up-to-date demographic information on homelessness in the territory.
The funds would allow the council to "free up" more emergency housing units for homeless individuals, Graham said after the meeting. No emergency housing units currently exist within the territory, he said.
"We would use the funds to help those individuals who are currently in emergency housing to move onto subsidized rentals, thus freeing up space for other individuals to move in," Graham said. Once more space becomes available and the deposits go into the account on a regular basis, he said, the government would have more options.
"Currently there are no emergency-housing units available," Graham said. "So we would be able to build new ones, or renovate existing government buildings and properties so that additional units will be made available."
The additional funds would help maintain housing units developed and managed by Housing, Parks and Recreation, Hobson added. Funds appropriated by the Senate are not "always released" by the Office of Management and Budget, he said, which hinders the department's ability to refurbish existing units.
"The intent of this bill … is a step in the right direction," Hobson said.
Voting in favor of the bill on Friday were Davis and Sens. Juan Figueroa-Serville, Louis P. Hill and Celestino A. White Sr.
Sens. Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg, Pedro "Pete" Encarnacion and Ronald E. Russell were absent.
Senators also voted to hold in committee a bill that grants the Housing Finance Authority the "right of first refusal" when it comes to purchasing government properties.
Present during Friday's meeting were Davis, Figueroa-Serville, Hill and White, along with non-committee member Sen. Lorraine L. Berry.
Donastorg, Encarnacion and Russell were absent.
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