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Adopted by the Board of County Commissioners <br />February 3, 2009 <br /> 21 <br />Affording a place to live: information on the cost of renting a two bedroom apartment at <br />current Fair Market Rent in Kittitas County <br /> <br />Fair Market Rent for 2-bdrom $691 Wage needed to afford FMR $14.31 hr. <br />Affordable for minimum wage $420 Minimum wage $8.55 hr.* <br />Affordable for SSI pay $107-$145 SSI wage conversion $$$$ <br />* As of January 1, 2009, the minimum wage increases to $8.55/hr <br /> <br />Every month, affordable housing is lost to development and gentrification in our county. This <br />can be good for our local economy, but very hard on tenants who lose affordable low-end <br />housing, and in some cases, become homeless as a result. <br /> <br />USDA Rural Development subsidized housing projects are vulnerable as well, as they “age out” <br />of their subsidy period or as owners “opt out.” One of these properties in our county made this <br />transition in the past. Currently, there is one USDA project, four Section 8 projects, 4 HUD-RD <br />projects, and one Tax Credit project in our county. Additionally, the Kittitas County Housing <br />Authority manages 7 separate low-income units (Appendix 8). <br /> <br />What Needs to Happen: 2009 By 2012 By 2015 <br />The County will buy capacity for scattered site housing in at <br />least 2 locations – Upper County, Lower County, using 2163 <br />funds. <br />X <br />Expand case management services to all transitional housing <br />programs. X <br />Monitor USDA, HUD, and tax credit projects for sustainability, <br />with preservation of low-income housing the goal. X <br />Encourage local government to provide incentive programs for <br />developers that will include affordable housing in subdivisions. X <br /> Provide incentives for privately owned affordable housing <br />owners to help offset maintenance and repair costs ultimately <br />preserving these properties for the low income population. <br />X <br />Tenants of affordable housing need to be supported and <br />relocated when housing is lost due to gentrification, tear <br />downs, or owner’s loss of mortgage. <br /> X <br /> 3. Rehabilitation and renovation of existing housing. <br />Rehabilitation of affordable housing is an important strategy. Residential rehabilitation <br />assistance should be available to provide small grants to owners and landlords to help them fix <br />up their properties and retain them as safe, decent affordable housing. Mobile homes are a <br />significant source of affordable housing in Kittitas County. However, the range of livability <br />varies particularly in some of the mobile home parks. <br /> <br />What Needs to Happen: 2009 By 2012 By 2015 <br />Coordinate with all of the cities in the county City of <br />Ellensburg to re-develop housing property where available X <br />Coordinate with other organizations to make existing city and <br />county residential rehabilitation assistance available to low- <br />income home owners who agree to maintain housing as <br />X