Supes reject housing handout
Posted: Monday, June 15, 2009
By Ken Paglia, Mountain Democrat
The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors rejected 3-2 on Thursday accepting a $1.6-million grant that would buy foreclosed homes.
The issue was under reconsideration by the supervisors from the previous day.
The state grant, funded by federal stimulus money, would have allowed the county purchase about eight to 18 foreclosed homes.
The county would then fix up the homes and sell them to moderate or low income buyers in various areas on the western slope and the city of South Lake Tahoe.
Supervisors Ron Briggs, Jack Sweeney and John Knight voted against the resolution, with Supervisors Ray Nutting and Norma Santiago voting for it.
Nutting and Santiago said the grant would help employ local contractors at a time when they needed work the most.
Sweeney explained Thursday why he didn’t like the resolution.
“I’m a free market person. I’ve made my living in the free marketplace ... What I think got the country into the trouble it’s in today is too much government money intruded into society.
“I think investors are going to purchase some of these foreclosed homes, and fix them up and sell them. I think that’s a better way than government stepping in and putting my tax dollars into a program,” Sweeney said.
Briggs similarly explained to the Mountain Democrat Friday why he voted against the proposition.
“I’m leery of the grant process to begin with. It’s like a narcotic. It’s a redistribution of our local tax dollars into the federal and state, and they send it back to us with strings attached. Grants also beef up the employees and we end up hiring and putting people on payroll and retirements. Then the grants go away, and we have to restructure or do a reduction.”
“Secondly, the grant item in front of us was the wrong thing. Putting government into the foreclosure flipping business is about last on the list of things we need to do in El Dorado County,” Briggs said.
Supervisors voted against the resolution despite pleas by a handful of people Thursday who urged them to adopt it.
“I would hope the board would go forward with the proposal and allow this bit of financial leverage to work in our economy. It will not solve all our problems but it’s a step in the right direction,” said Diamond Springs resident Dr. Richard Boylan.
“This is very unusual. You have the opportunity to create jobs with no strings attached. You just take the money ... To deny this application is to deny your community ... the funds they richly deserve,” said Nancy Kerry, city of South Lake Tahoe redevelopment and housing manager.
“This is as close to a no-brainer as I’ve seen come before this board,” said Rich Meagher, Affordable Housing Coalition of El Dorado County.
Supervisors had until June 15 to accept the grant.
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