Credit: (Edwin J. Torres/ Governor’s Office; CC BY-NC 2.0)
New Jersey Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver
Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver is defending the administration’s plan to use $20 million that is supposed to be dedicated to supporting New Jersey’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund to instead underwrite another housing-related effort.
Speaking during a legislative budget hearing Monday, Oliver said the $20 million will prop up a first-time homebuyers’ program and help address broader concerns about the uneven distribution of wealth in New Jersey or what is generally referred to as income inequality.
“A lot of us feel that this is an important public policy issue,” Oliver told members of the Assembly Budget Committee who asked questions about the proposed fund transfer.
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New Jersey’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund could face what some advocates say is another raid on its dedicated fund in the coming fiscal year if Gov. Phil Murphy’s budget is adopted as drafted by lawmakers.
Administration officials say they do not consider the proposed use of $20 million from the fund for the NJ Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency’s (HMFA) Down Payment Assistance program as a raid. That program provides a $10,000 interest-free forgivable loan to first-time homebuyers in the state to cover a down payment and closing costs. There is an income cap to qualify, but it’s 140% of the area’s median income, which is not limited to a single county. Trust-fund money is supposed to build or support homes for those with no more than 80% of the median income.