HousingMinnesota Bulletin - Volume 3, Issue 25 12-30-04

Thu Dec 30 12:16:32 CST 2004

HousingMinnesota

Homes for All by 2012!

The Bulletin
December 30, 2004
Volume 3, Issue 25

Distributed bi-weekly, this bulletin contains news, announcements,
legislative updates, publications and upcoming events. We hope you'll
find it helpful in keeping you abreast of important developments. Don't
hesitate to contact us with items to include in future issues.  The
Bulletin is also available on MHP's website at
http://www.mhponline.org/Bulletin/Bulletin.htm.         

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News/Announcements

Minnesota Legislature Convenes January 4  The Minnesota Legislature
convenes Tuesday for its 2005-06 biennial session.  With the budget and
a bonding bill to be debated, it will be a hectic session.  Take time
before the session gets into full swing, to introduce yourself to your
elected officials and tell them what issues are important to you this
year.  See HousingMinnesota's legislative agenda for the issues we will
be working on:
http://www.housingminnesota.org/downloads/HMLegAgenda2005.pdf.  

HUD Announces Voucher Funding Guidelines  The U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development (HUD) released a notice describing how it will
fund the Housing Choice Voucher program for FY 2005.  Congress and the
President recently approved funding for the FY 2005 voucher program. To
avoid delays similar to those that contributed to the funding crisis
last spring and summer, HUD was instructed to announce final funding
levels for each public housing agency (PHA) by January 21, 2005. The
funding levels were determined by averaging spending from May-July 2004
and applying an inflation adjustment. 

The newly released annual adjustment factors and other pertinent
information are available at:
http://www.hud.gov/offices/pih/programs/hcv/ 

Further information is available at:
http://www.hud.gov/news/release.cfm?content=pr04-147.cfm and
http://www.nlihc.org/current.htm#5 (Source: National Alliance to End
Homelessness Online News)

Minnesota's Growth Slows Compared to Neighbors  According to the
December 22 Star Tribune, U.S. Census data reveals that Minnesota is no
longer the fastest growing state in the Midwest.  Minnesota's population
is only increasing due to high birthrates and immigration from other
nations, not migration from other states.  Neighboring states are
actively recruiting Minnesotans and succeeding.  Iowa Department of
Economic Development Spokeswoman Tina Hoffman said, "Our message is,
'You know what we're about, we have the same Midwestern values but
without some of the hassles you're experiencing now - the cost of
living, the housing affordability.'"  To read the complete story go to:
http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/5149466.html

Housing Plays a Role in Minnesota Business Expansion A December 24 story
on Minnesota Public Radio chronicles the plight of a Blackduck, Minn.
business owner whose expansion rests on the availability of affordable
housing for his workforce.  Ron Anderson feels confident his custom
fabrics plant may have solved its labor shortage problem, but he says
there's an even bigger problem looming.  "All of it is going to depend
on housing," said Anderson. "That is the critical thing. If we don't get
the housing, we're going to be stymied, and the growth for this company
that we're taking on is going to be done in some other state by
themselves. We won't be doing it."  To read the complete story go to:
<http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2004/12/24_robertsont_an
dersonjobs/>
http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2004/12/24_robertsont_and
ersonjobs/

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Reading

Out of Reach 2004 Report Released The National Low Income Housing
Coalition released Out of Reach 2004 on December 20.  According to the
report, Minnesota's housing wage is $15.07 - nearly three times that of
minimum wage.  As in past years, there is not a single county in the
country where a minimum wage earner can afford the fair market rent for
a two-bedroom apartment.    The report includes data for every state,
county and metropolitan statistical area (MSA).  The statistics in this
year's Out of Reach report cannot be compared to data from past reports
because new data was used to calculate the information and HUD's fair
market rents remain controversial.  For a complete copy of the report go
to http://www.nlihc.org/oor2004/. 

U.S. Mayors Report Slowing Increase in Shelter Demand Among Cities  The
U.S. Conference of Mayors released the results of its annual survey of
hunger and homelessness.  The report, which includes data from 27 cities
including St. Paul, indicates that homelessness continues to grow
nationwide. The average increase in requests for shelter dropped from 13
percent in 2002, with 20 out of 25 cities reporting an increase, to 6
percent in 2003, with 19 out of 27 cities reporting an increase.  But
among the cities, there was wide variation.  Some cities showed much
larger increases in requests for shelter, while others showed fewer
requests than in 2003. 

The report also includes information from the cities that highlight
specific challenges and trends they are seeing in serving homeless
people, including successful projects that have been suspended due to
the lack of new housing subsidies.  The report further provides detailed
information on the innovations and strategies that are proving effective
in different cities.  To view the report, visit
<http://www.usmayors.org/uscm/hungersurvey/2004/onlinereport/HungerAndHo
melessnessReport2004.pdf>
http://www.usmayors.org/uscm/hungersurvey/2004/onlinereport/HungerAndHom
elessnessReport2004.pdf. (Source: National Alliance to End Homelessness
Online News)

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Upcoming Events

January 2005

*	Owatonna Housing Tour. January 13, 1-3:30 p.m., Owatonna.  Local
government, education and business leaders will tour affordable housing
in Owatonna and learn about the integral role housing plays in
Owatonna's economy.
*	St. Cloud Housing Tour. January 28, 9-11:30 a.m., St. Cloud.
Local business leaders and legislators will visit local affordable
housing development that is leveraging resources from the state and
federal government to meet the housing needs of St. Cloud residents.  

For more information about the housing tours, or to reserve your place
contact Joanna Dornfeld at (651) 649-1710 ext. 108 or
<mailto:jdornfeld at mhponline.org> jdornfeld at mhponline.org.

 January 12-13, 2005

Continuum of Care Trainings Paramount Theatre and Visual Arts Center,
St. Cloud, Minn.  

*	Shelter Plus Care, January 12, 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.  Participants
will gain an understanding of the requirements and application process
for the program as well as examine various approaches to Shelter Plus
Care through panel discussions and case studies.  
*	Assessing and Strategically Ranking Continuum of Care Projects,
January 13, 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Participants will gain the tools necessary
to effectively identify and prioritize Continuum of Care projects
through the ranking process.
*	Conducting an Unsheltered Count, January 13, 2:15-4 p.m.

The trainings are sponsored by the Minnesota Housing Partnership and
Corporation for Supportive Housing with a grant from the U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development.  For more information go to
http://www.mhponline.org/CSH_MHP_HUD%20CofC.pdf or contact Ann at (651)
649-1710 ext. 100 or (800) 728-8916 ext. 100.

January 19-21, 2005

Building HOME training, Grand Rios Hotel, Brooklyn Park, Minn.  This
training, sponsored by the Minnesota Housing Partnership with a grant
from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, will provide
comprehensive information on the HOME program and clarify four
HOME-eligible activities: owner-occupied rehabilitation, homeownership,
rental housing and tenant based rental assistance.  For more information
go to http://www.mhponline.org/Building%20HOME%20brochure.pdf or contact
Ann at (651) 649-1710 ext. 100 or (800) 728-8916 ext. 100.

March 10, 2005

Rally Day at the State Capitol 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m., State Capitol. Our
annual Rally and Lobby Day at the State Capitol is your chance to meet
individually with your representatives, and to join together
collectively in the rotunda to tell Minnesota that you support Homes for
All! Please register online at
http://www.housingminnesota.org/event_registration.cfm?EventID=58.  For
more information contact Tom Goldstein at (651) 649-1710 ext. 106 or
tgoldstein at mhponline.org.

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Looking for something from the last Bulletin?  

Archived issues are available online at:
http://www.mhponline.org/Bulletin/Bulletin.htm 

For more information on affordable housing, the content of this
document, or if you have news or events to include in future issues,
contact Joanna Dornfeld at  (651) 649-1710 ext. 108, email
jdornfeld at mhponline.org or see HousingMinnesota's website at
www.housingminnesota.org <http://www.housingminnesota.org/> .

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