The mayor of Maine’s largest city says he plans to ask voters to approve borrowing $7 million to aid Portland’s affordable housing crisis.
The Portland Press Herald reports Mayor Ethan Strimling says he wants to invest the money into a housing trust fund, which subsidizes affordable housing built by private developers.
He says the city can use the bond to create 600 to nearly 850 affordable housing units.
[Portland mayor wants to require developers to include more low-income housing]
City finance department records show annual payments on the bond would start at about $650,000 if it’s borrowed all at once.
Strimling says he believes the people of Portland will pass the bond “in a heartbeat.”
Strimling planned to present the proposal to City Council’s Finance Committee Thursday. The committee will hold a public hearing on it at a later date.
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