Ald. Emma Mitts (37th) is planning to introduce an ordinance that would pave the way for a special taxing district to generate funds that could be paid out to homeowners.
The money is expected to be used to finance low-interest home improvement loans for Austin residents, and anything else the community was interested in, according to Athena Williams, the executive director of the Oak Park Regional Housing Center, who is working with the community to create an equity assurance program that could encompass most of Austin.
She said that the plans were still being developed. She did not specify what area the program would encompass, saying only that they would be “focusing on the Austin community.”
Home equity assurance programs were created to prevent “white flight,” using an extra charge in the property tax bill to make sure that homeowners don’t lose money if they decide to sell. Since then, the programs have evolved, with funds being used for other purposes, such as home repairs and grants to help pay past-due tax bills. The district must be approved by the property owners in the area by referendum, something that either the local alderman or the eligible voters can put on the ballot.
Mitts said that she would introduce the referendum ordinance, but she was waiting until the details were finalized.
In 1988, the Illinois General Assembly permitted Chicago to create home equity assurance programs to try to prevent white homeowners from moving out of areas where people of color were moving in by addressing one of its root causes – the perception that if the neighborhood population changes, the home values will decline. The special taxing district collects the money so that if the homeowners can’t sell their house for at least as much as they originally paid, they would get a check to make up for the loss.
Three home equity assurance programs were created, two on the Southwest Side and one largely on the Northwest Side. Galewood is part of the Northwest Home Equity Assurance Program.
In recent years, the demand for the programs’ original purpose declined while the money was still being collected. This led the governing commissioners to experiment with other, homes-related ways to use the tax revenues. NWHEAP uses the property tax revenue to offer home repair loans, and they are piloting a delinquent tax program, which provides one-time grants of up to $5,000 to help homeowners pay off property tax debt. The program is open to those who enroll in NWHEAP, but it prioritizes elderly, disabled, veteran and low-income homeowners.
Under state law, the approval process for new home equity assurance programs kicks off by either the residents launching a petition signed by at least 10% of the registered voters with the precinct, or by an alderman or the mayor proposing an ordinance. The voters within the precincts then need to approve the creation of the taxing district by a simple majority.
The law specifies that if the district spans multiple precincts, then only the precincts where the majority of the voters pass the referendum would be part of the district. The precincts that initially voted the referendum down can vote to opt in later.
Voters can terminate the program by referendum with a simple majority.
After the program is created, the mayor will appoint seven residents to serve as the program’s governing commissioners. At least five of them must live within the district. They will serve for three-year terms. To make sure the terms are staggered, when the first seven commissioners are appointed, one will serve for one year, three will serve for two years and three will serve for three years.
Ald. Emma Mitts (37th) is planning to introduce an ordinance that would pave the way for a special taxing district to generate funds that could be paid out to homeowners.
The money is expected to be used to finance low-interest home improvement loans for Austin residents, and anything else the community was interested in, according to Athena Williams, the executive director of the Oak Park Regional Housing Center, who is working with the community to create an equity assurance program that could encompass most of Austin.
She said that the plans were still being developed. She did not specify what area the program would encompass, saying only that they would be “focusing on the Austin community.”
Home equity assurance programs were created to prevent “white flight,” using an extra charge in the property tax bill to make sure that homeowners don’t lose money if they decide to sell. Since then, the programs have evolved, with funds being used for other purposes, such as home repairs and low-income loans. The district must be approved by the property owners in the area by referendum, something that either the local alderman or the eligible voters can put on the ballot.
Mitts said that she would introduce the referendum ordinance, but she was waiting until the details were finished.
In 1988, the Illinois General Assembly permitted Chicago to create home equity assurance programs to try to prevent white homeowners from moving out of areas where people of color were moving in by addressing one of its root causes – the perception that if the neighborhood population changes, the home values will decline. The special taxing district collects the money so that if the homeowners can’t sell their house for at least as much as they originally paid, they would get a check to make up for the loss.
Three home equity assurance programs were created, two on the Southwest Side and one largely on the Northwest Side. Galewood is part of the Northwest Home Equity Assurance Program.
In recent years, the demand for the programs’ original purpose declined while the money was still being collected. This led the governing commissioners to experiment with other, homes-related ways to use the tax revenues. NWHEAP uses the property tax revenue to offer home repair loans, and they are piloting a delinquent tax program, which provides one-time grants of up to $5,000 to help homeowners pay off property tax debt. The program is open to those who enroll in NWHEAP, but it prioritizes elderly, disabled, veteran and low-income homeowners.
Under state law, the approval process for new home equity assurance programs kicks off by either the residents launching a petition signed by at least 10% of the registered voters with the precinct, or by an alderman or the mayor proposing an ordinance. The voters within the precincts then need to approve the creation of the taxing district by a simple majority.
The law specifies that if the district spans multiple precincts, then only the precincts where the majority of the voters pass the referendum would be part of the district. The precincts that initially voted the referendum down can vote to opt in later.
Voters can terminate the program by referendum with a simple majority.
After the program is created, the mayor will appoint seven residents to serve as the program’s governing commissioners. At least five of them must live within the district. They will serve for three-year terms. To make sure the terms are staggered, when the first seven commissioners are appointed, one will serve for one year, three will serve for two years and three will serve for three years.
