Call-To-Action For Employer-Assisted Housing Initiative

PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO YOUR FRIENDS AND CO-WORKERS THROUGHOUT THE BUSINESS & HOUSING COMMUNITY.

Dear Friend, Co-worker and Business Associate,
Communities, employers, and employees alike are struggling to cope with a variety of vexing but familiar situations related to housing affordability.

For individual employees, a shortage of affordable housing units means that an increasingly large share of their household budget must be devoted to housing.

For communities, a shortage of housing that is affordable to residents can make it difficult to attract new businesses and keep existing employers from relocating to more affordable markets.

For employers, high housing costs can put upward pressure on the wages they must pay their employees, thus making their products and services less competitive than those of employers based in areas with cheaper labor costs.

Employer-Assisted housing programs offers a response to these housing dilemmas by actively engaging employers to invest in workforce housing solutions, and in return, their employee contributions would be matched from state resources. For example, Company A offers its eligible employees an EAH benefit plan structured with a 3-5year forgivable loan of $2500. State sources would match up to a 3:1 ratio of $7500 -- now the employee has $10,000 to use towards the purchase of a home. The employee must remain with the employer for the 3-5 year period, with a portion of the loan being forgiven for each year the employee remains. This way, the employer and employee, has an incentive to participate in the home buying process. This concept would also work the same for rental assistance.

So we are calling upon our community to comment as never before to have these changes added to the Department of Community Affairs Consolidated Plan. To be apart of the process, we are asking you to IMMEDIATELY contact your DCA representative.

TIME IS CRITICAL. A key component in the successful development of a Consolidated Plan, that includes the wishes of the community in which it serves, must have the valuable input of the public.

YOU MUST ACT NOW.
We are asking you to call your DCA representative or communicate with their office by letter:

60 Executive Park South, NE
Atlanta, GA 30329
404) 679-4940
(800) 359-4663
(404) 679-4915 (TDD) or 1 (800) 736-1155 (TDD)

To call the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, click here and search for Philip Cottone or other Georgia Dream Representatives. Please call and express your desires as follows:

The Department of Community Affairs Consolidated Draft coordination begins on December 7th and ends on January 07, 2008.

I am a business owner.
I am an employee.

We support allowing HOME funds to be used as a recruiting and retention tool with a forgivable loan feature.

We support HOME funds being allowed to match employer assistance up to a ratio of 3:1.

We support HOME funds being used by employers for Tenant-Based Rental Assistance.

Please write your DCA representative by e-mail. The conclusion of the Consolidated Draft Plan is scheduled for January 7, 2008. Please customize your message (see above) or send our pre-posted letter. Whatever message you wish to send, please respond with your comments.

Now is the time that you can individually participate in providing your valuable input to guide policy changes that will affect your business and your personal opportunities. It is only through your efforts and answering this call-to-action that we can make a difference.

AGAIN, PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO YOUR FRIENDS, BUSINESS ASSOCIATES AND CO-WORKERS THROUGHOUT YOUR COMMUNITY.

Thank you for your support.
Chiteka Jackson, Corporate Manager
Employer-Assisted Housing Corporation