On July 26th, 2024, Welcome Home sent a letter to Metro Council with our coalition’s recommendations on the potential Supportive Housing Services Measure reform. Thank you to almost 90 individuals and organizations who signed on. Throughout this year, the Metro Regional Government convened discussions on the potential reform of the measure following projections of increased revenue from this tax. This reform could alter the use of funds for affordable housing, oversight, length of tax, and the tax rate. As advocates, we know it is essential to state clearly what our community needs to be able to accomplish the goal of this measure – a region where more people can access the services needed for stable, safe housing.
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In response to Metro’s Chief Operating Officer’s recommendation, Metro is currently looking to propose measure reforms in May of 2025. Currently, along with an expansion of what this tax revenue can be spent on, improved accountability, and an extension of the sunset, the COO’s recommendation suggests considering a reduction in the percentage paid by higher-income earners.
Welcome Home has asserted that there should be no reduction of the 1% marginal tax for high-income earners. There is no reason to reduce the tax rate, bringing in less revenue than current amounts, and expand the use of the funds when we know there is a proven need to expand housing and services in our region. We can’t expect to do more with less.
Welcome Home Staff and Clackamas Service Center Staff. Thanks to Supportive Housing Services dollars Clackamas Service Center has been able to increase the number of people they’ve connected to housing.
In Clackamas County, thanks to the revenue from the Supportive Housing Services tax, community partners have been able to exceed their program goals – more than doubling the amount of short-term rent assistance they dispersed over a 9-month period. Additionally, so many more community partners are ready to disperse this revenue to the community. We know many small, and especially culturally specific organizations have yet to access this public funding and could magnify their impact if connected to these resources. More community investment will result in a greater impact – especially when paired with other measure reforms. Unexpected growth of wealth in our region should not be a reason to reduce essential resources. This should be a moment to feel grateful for our community’s commitment to fill gaps in our housing and homelessness strategy.
