January 11, 2019
SACRAMENTO — The Sacramento Housing Alliance (SHA) announced strong support for Governor Gavin Newsom’s budget proposal and the priority placed on attacking California’s affordable home catastrophe.
“Finally we have a governor who recognizes the extent and tragedy of our affordable housing crisis and is willing to use the financial and policy power of the state to address it,” SHA Board President Cathy Creswell declared. “While we do not have all the necessary details of his proposals yet, we are thrilled at the breadth of the strategies to significantly increase the resources available to create more affordable homes and to end homelessness.”
Governor Newsom’s proposed state budget released on Thursday recognized housing as an issue of statewide concern and that the lack of affordable housing directly contributes to the increased homelessness seen across the state. In total, Governor Newsom proposed $7.7 billion across several departments to address affordable housing and homelessness (see attachment for brief summary of the most significant funding allocations).
SHA has long recognized the need for strong state leadership and resources to address California’s affordable housing crisis. The state must commit significant ongoing resources to the development and preservation of affordable homes and also provide leadership to incentivize, and where necessary, enforce achievement of state housing goals. This budget accomplishes both of those objectives.
As the details of the budget proposal are worked out in the coming weeks and months, SHA will immediately begin to work with local allies and officials to ensure the Sacramento region will benefit from the allocation of these resources.
“Our region has not received our fair share of state housing resources, and we are committed to working with the new administration and the departments administering these funds to ensure the program requirements and designs will allow our expert and successful affordable housing development community to compete fairly,” Creswell said.
SHA also welcomes the effort by the new administration to hold local governments accountable for addressing their critical housing needs and using their resources and powers to combat homelessness. While many local governments are committed to addressing the crisis, too many have not devoted the necessary resources or effectively used existing tools and strategies to meet the challenges.
SHA looks forward to seizing the opportunities presented by Governor Newsom’s first budget to ensure everyone in our region has a safe, accessible and affordable place to call home.
