U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) said today that $97.6 million in federal Hardest Hit Funds — $2 billion worth for the entire country — will come home to Ohio.
The Butler County Land Reutilization Corporation, also known as the land bank, received $2 million in the last allocation and Brown’s Press Secretary Tamika Turner said the county will likely receive more this time.
“Last time there was an allocation they gave them $2 million,” she said. “But likely it would be around that same amount maybe more because there is more money.”
As part of the year-end omnibus spending bill, Congress directed the U.S. Treasury Department to transfer $2 billion from the Making Home Affordable program to the Hardest Hit Fund (HHF), which has been used by land banks like the one in Butler County, to bust blight.
“This new funding will go a long way toward helping Ohio communities and homeowners that are still recovering from the devastation of the foreclosure crisis,” Brown, ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, said today. “When one home is foreclosed on or abandoned, it has a ripple effect that hurts the value of other homes in the neighborhood. Getting rid of abandoned properties helps to strengthen neighborhoods and reduce crime. I will continue fighting to ensure that Ohio gets its fair share of resources through the Hardest Hit Fund.”
With $2.7 million it received in Moving Ohio Forward grants from the state, Butler County formed a land bank four years ago to deal with blighted buildings. The cities of Hamilton and Middletown each gave $1.1 million to the land bank fund as well. The two cities are currently working through $2 million in HHF money, removing as many as 120 eyesores.
Butler County commissioners agreed to siphon one percent of delinquent tax and assessment collection funds (DTAC) to bolster the land bank and open up services for the entire county. DTAC funds are late payment penalties on real estate taxes.
Including Hamilton and Middletown, there are now 10 member communities in the land bank. Fairfield, Hanover, Liberty, Oxford and Madison, Ross and Wayne townships and the city of Trenton have all joined the land bank.
Carlie Boos, compliance manager with the Neighborhood Initiative at the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA), the entity that administers the HHF has said there are no matching fund requirements for HHF and any allotment the county will receive can be doled out county-wide. However, she said the goal of the program could mean only Hamilton and Middletown would receive funding, unless the county amends the target areas they established for the HHF. Boos said it will be up to the land bank board to decide.
“The primary goal is to prevent foreclosure,” she said. “DTAC is an absolute, great resource for a lot of counties. especially Butler, to do those more spot clean-ups. This particular program we want to see it very strategically implemented with that goal in mind.”
There is an additional $250 million OHFA can apply for and the agency has until March 11 to do so. Of the 88 counties in the state 20 received funding in 2013 and Cuyahoga well surpassed all others with a $20.1 million allotment. Warren County was not on the list last time.
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