Wilmington City Council has major questions about one part of Mayor John Carney’s affordable housing plan for the city.
Carney’s proposed $16.8 million transfer from the tax stabilization fund for affordable housing was the main focus of the Real Estate & Housing Department’s budget meeting.
Dept. of Real Estate & Housing director Bob Weir said the money would lead to about 200 or more affordable units.
Councilwoman Shané Darby wasn’t happy that there were no specifics about rentals and owner units from the city.
"$16 million is a lot of money, and I still don't quite know the return on investment, we still don't have numbers. Because I asked earlier about how many affordable housing total number of rental units are we expecting,” said Darby. “And then I was going to ask what are the total number of affordable homeownership units expected, and you can't give that number."
Darby wants to see a guarantee on the return before voting on the proposal.
Councilwoman Latisha Bracy calls the plan a great start, but she says affordability needs to be clearly defined.
"So I think if we can dig a little bit deeper into clearly defining what's affordable, and how much of this 16 is going to who, as it relates to the different projects, I think that could help it be a little bit more palatable for everyone," said Bracy.
There was also concern that certain developers would get most of the money for the housing and not non-profits.
A budget has to balanced and passed by June 1st.
