Harris says end rollback; invest in home ownership

The property tax rollback has cost the city over $15 million since its implementation, but only saves the average homeowner $1 annually. I’d far prefer to see these dollars directed to programs to improve Cincinnati’s low home ownership rate.

This should include urban pioneer tax incentives. Cincinnati is a community with great but mostly older housing stock. I propose we grant up to $30,000 in low interest loans to buyers who will put up to $70,000 of their own money to purchase a property to rehab, and relieve these loans if the owner remains in the property for over five years. These loans would not apply to house flippers who wish to convert these homes into rentals.

These urban pioneer incentives would strategically target traditional residential neighborhoods with strong housing stock whose home ownership rates are declining (such as Price Hill and Westwood) and clusters of historic properties throughout the city in need of rehabilitation.

I would also like to see some of the rollback dollars set aside for increasing home ownership for the working poor. It is currently very difficult to grow home ownership rates among the city’s lower income communities because our nation’s major housing subsidies (public housing, Section 8 housing vouchers, etc.) are almost entirely for renting. As long as housing subsidies cannot be converted into ownership, they will have the effect of actually discouraging ownership. While Congress has authorized a home ownership option under the Housing Choice Voucher Program, few housing authorities have adopted the home ownership option because the regulations impose administrative burdens on housing authorities without a commensurate increase in administrative budget. As a member of Council, I pledge to work with Hamilton County to bolster capacity in this area so that the CMHA can become a conduit for transforming more renters into home owners.

A primary vehicle to stabilize neighborhoods, increase property wealth, and engender an ownership society among Cincinnati’s majority renter population is home ownership.