Budget conference: House, Senate converge on Palatka affordable housing funds

Housing contracted closing sales dropped in Florida for April.

The next fiscal year looks likely to bring good news to Palatka residents who need it.

House and Senate budget negotiators have agreed on a $2 million appropriation for affordable housing in Palatka, a city that deals with poverty issues most Florida towns can’t imagine.

“One in 10 Palatka residents live in public housing and 43.2% of the residents live in poverty. Jobs are scarce. Property values and tax revenues are too low to adequately support renewal and enhancement to the infrastructure to improve the quality of life,” the funding request notes.

The city would use the money to buy and ready land for housing development to alleviate housing insecurity for its roughly 10,000 residents. The Department of Economic Opportunity would administer this non-recurring funding, which would address land buys, utility extension and necessary engineering.

The project is in planning right now, with the goal of starting construction in July and finishing a year later. The hope is to leverage existing resources and partner with non-profits to develop workforce-friendly housing.

While this appears to be wrapped, budget conference subcommittees will meet throughout the week to resolve differences in each area.

When remaining issues reach an impasse, they will be “bumped” to the full budget conference committee.

Lawmakers must reach an agreement on a final spending plan by May 2 to meet the 72-hour “cooling off” period required by the state constitution before they can vote on the budget to avoid pushing the Regular Session past its scheduled May 5 end date.