Not in Atlanta’s budget: money for the city’s first recurring housing fund

Mayor Andre Dickens campaigned on affordable housing and was a member of the city council that voted last December to approve a recurring, local housing fund as part of the city’s annual budget. Now his office says those funds are not part of the first city budget proposed since last year’s vote. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)

It was a first for Atlanta. Last December, the city council approved a recurring, local fund for housing. In each year’s budget, it would dedicate a portion of the general fund to improving the city’s supply of affordable units.

But to the frustration of some affordable housing advocates, that new funding stream is not included in the first city budget proposed since the legislation passed.

The reason, according to a statement from the office of Mayor Andre Dickens, is in the language of the law establishing the fund. It allows the city to choose not to allocate local revenue to housing due to certain economic factors. One is if inflation grows faster than the budget.