{jcomments on}Late last week, the House and Senate Republicans released their proposed budget targets for each committee, and it is not pretty at all for housing funding. The damage to Jobs and Economic Development programs, which includes housing, is as follows.

The Senate proposed a 41% cut from the last biennium (FY 10-11) for Jobs and Economic Growth, and in the House it was even worse, with a proposed 53% cut.

Note that these figures do not specify how much should be cut from Minnesota Housing versus other programs, such as the Department of Employment and Economic Development, that get funding from the same committee. (Comparisons to the last biennium also exclude stimulus funds, which increased the amount in FY 10-11.)

By contrast, the Governor proposed much more modest cuts to the Jobs and Economic Development programs overall, including about a 5% cut specified for Minnesota Housing, as compared to last biennium.

So hold on to your hat, and GET READY to start making some noise about the importance of housing funding to you and your community. Whether you live in affordable housing, help develop housing, or are a concerned citizen, now is the time to think about why housing matters to you and to speak and write about it. Contact Julie at jjohnson(at)mhponline.org or 651-925-5548 if you’d like help making an appointment with your Senator or Representative, or support in writing a letter to the editor to your local paper.