PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Putting “Trust”
Back In Trust Fund
Dateline – March 18, 2019. As I
write this issue’s column today,
a coterie of Orlando REALTORS®
(yours truly included) are on the
road toward Tallahassee for our annual
Great American REALTOR® Days. We’ll be
learning about the REALTOR® position on
this year’s priority issues, then head out en
masse to educate our legislators using the
REALTOR® voice.
At every possible opportunity, I plan to
applaud Gov. DeSantis for including full
funding for the Sadowski Affordable Housing
Trust Fund in his initial budget, and to
appeal to legislators to join the effort and
end the decades-long reapportionment of
trust fund monies to other projects.
The need for Sadowski funds to stay
within the housing realm is great, throughout
our state and in Central Florida in
particular (Orlando has unfortunately been
identified as the worst city in the nation for
housing affordability by the National Low
Income Housing Coalition). Many firsttime
buyers need assistance due to lower
wages, higher housing costs, and higher
debt load. Rental assistance is critical due
to accelerated rental rate appreciation that
is outpacing wage growth.
I believe that local municipalities need
to examine reducing fees, streamline
permitting processes, and come up with
creative approaches to increasing auxiliary
housing units. So with that I am incredibly
pleased to announce ORRA Vice President
of Government and Foundation Relations
Frankie Elliott has been appointed to serve
on Orange County’s new Housing For All
Task Force. This is a very important entity,
and it’s worthy to note that ORRA has been
offered a place among the Orlando business,
governmental, and nonprofit leaders
who sit on the task force.
The goal of the Housing for All Task
Force is to promote a transparent system
that encourages community engagement.
It will also educate and inform local residents,
and will ultimately provide practical
and lasting short and long-term solutions
to the affordable housing crisis in Orange
County.
The effort aims to take the prior work
from Orange County’s 2018 Regional
Affordable Housing Initiative, analyze the
recommendations, and put them into action.
The task force will also re-examine the
current state of housing with specific focus
on the needs of Orange County residents
and the necessary partnerships of developers,
nonprofits, financial institutions, and
jurisdictions to help sustain and accommodate
the county’s growing population.
By this fall, the task force intends to
release a final action plan that includes
proposals for code and policy changes
as well as incentives to support a greater
diversity of housing products in Orange
County. It is an honor for ORRA to have a
role in an initiative that I believe is destined
to have a positive impact on our community
and our profession.
Jeffrey M. Fagan
4 Orlando REALTOR® Spring 2019