Long-Term Sustainability of Affordable Housing Task Force (Submitting recommendations to Legislature by Feb 1, 2025)
This task force was established to evaluate issues and provide recommendations relating to affordable housing sustainability, including displacement of tenants, preservation of housing previously developed with public financing, and long-term sustainability of new housing developments. They will be submitting recommendations to the legislature by February 1, 2025 with the idea that things coming out of this group will be focused on during the Legislative Session.
Duties.
- The task force must assess underlying financial challenges to develop, operate, and preserve safe, affordable, and dignified housing, including:
- factors that are leading to increasing operating costs for affordable housing providers, including insurance availability and rates, labor costs, and security costs;
- factors that are leading to declining revenues for affordable housing providers, such as loss of rent and vacancy issues; and
- the potential impact of the loss of housing units under current conditions, including preservation needs of federally rent-assisted properties and tax credit developments with expiring contracts.
- The task force must evaluate current financing and administrative tools to develop, operate, and preserve safe and affordable housing, including:
- public and private financing programs, and the availability of funding as it relates to overall needs; and
- administrative tools including underwriting standards used by public and private housing funders and investors.
- The task force must evaluate financial or asset management practices of affordable housing providers and support for asset management functions by funder organizations.
- The task force must recommend potential solutions to develop and preserve safe and affordable housing, including:
- additional funding for existing programs and administrative tools;
- any new financial tools necessary to meet current financial challenges that cannot be met by existing state and local government or private program and administrative tools, including new uses, modified implementation, or other improvements to existing programs; and
- best practices for changes to financial or asset management practices of affordable housing providers and funders.
- The task force may address other topics as identified by task force members during the course of its work.
- The task force shall consult with other organizations that have expertise in affordable rental housing, including entities engaging in additional external stakeholder input from those with lived experience and administrators of emergency assistance, including Minnesota’s Tribal nations.
Members
Joseph Abraham (Private owner operator/NOAH), Andrea Brennan (GMHF), Dion Brown, Nancy Cashman (Center City Housing), Mike Goze (AICDC), Shannon Smith Jones (Greater Twin Cities United Way), James Lehnhoff (MN Housing), Chris Sherman (Sherman Associates), Mary Thompson (Heartland Lakes Development Commission), Mai Chong Xiong (Ramsey County Commissioner), Aaron Cocking (Insurance Federation of MN), Miranda Walker (US Bank), Sen. Lindsey Port, Ellen Sahli (Family Housing Fund), Jessie Hendel (Alliance Housing), Rep. Mike Howard, Scott Cordes (PPL), Kizzy Downie (Model Cities), Elizabeth Flannery (Trellis)
Meetings
You can sign up for email notifications of task force meetings here
You can watch the first meeting (held on 8/28) here
Simplifying Supportive Housing Task Force (Submitting recommendations to Legislature by Feb 1, 2026)
This task force will study supportive housing resources, streamline access, eligibility and administration of state-funded supportive housing resources, and provide recommendations to improve these processes.
This task force is still being brought together, but so far appointments include: Rinal Ray (MN Housing), David Hewitt (Hennepin County), Laura Craig (Hearth Connection), Ms. Claudette McDowall (MN Coalition for the Homeless Rep), Eric Grumdahl (DHS), Laura Birnbaum (St. Louis County and SH Alliance Vice-Chair!!), Chris LaTondresse (Beacon), Rep Alicia Kozlowski, and Jason Urbanczyk (MN Coalition for the Homeless Rep).
Learn more here (including open appointments): https://commissionsandappointments.sos.state.mn.us/Agency/Details/373