Why I Voted No
Recently, the Board of Aldermen met to vote on our city’s budget for the new fiscal year. As a member of the Ways and Means committee, I was proud to work with my colleagues to balance a budget that had a projected $30 million dollar shortfall.
However, I was disappointed that the final bill removed $1 million from the affordable housing programs that serve our city’s most in need. I believe that it’s simply wrong to cut programs that help our residents remain in their homes during one of the worst housing crises in our country’s history; and am adamantly opposed to cutting funding that was created by the tax payers for this specific purpose.
I was the only member to vote no against passing our city’s budget bill; and I am okay with that. I felt it important to take a stand and bring light to this issue. There are too many people in our City who are in need. We must never develop a philospohy that it is okay to balance the budget on the backs of our most low-income and elderly residents.
The Affordable Housing Trust Fund was created for a specific reason, and by law is to be funded at a specific level. By removing these funds and using them for other purposes, I feel is completely wrong.
