There is this myth that some people believe anyone can afford a home or an apartment if they have good credit and know how to manage their money. There is also the person that believes if they want to live in a home or apartment above their means and are willing to sacrifice to live there a lender or landlord should allow them. These two theories are far from reality. Central Florida was named the worst place to live for low-income earners and that did not cause the Republican-run Representatives of Florida from their practice of sweeping the funds earmarked for approximately 5,000 Central Florida citizens waiting for help. Many of whom are veterans and elderly.
In 2018, while 72 percent of the resident's make less than $15 an hour, the fine people in Tallahassee took steps to divert the funds for affordable housing as well as public schools and dropped those funds into their pet project, charter schools. Most residents are working two jobs to make ends meet and many can't afford to send their children to a school of his or her choice because they can't afford to pay for the transportation to get them to school and back.
This year Governor DeSantis proposed an increase for housing from $200 million to $338 million. The Representatives refused to increase the budget and 59 percent of the budget is going to the panhandle devasted by Hurricane Michael. In addition, according to Former Speaker Richard Corcoran, education is the highest priority in the chamber.
The largest county in Central Florida in Orange County and the Mayor is Jerry Demings. Demings was elected Mayor in 2018 and during his campaign, he pledged on the same topic issues used in a statement last month regarding affordable housing. Create a task force to study the problem, in six months review their findings and then follow up with possible solutions. What this means is, he has no plan, and without the needed funding from Tallahassee, the answer to their findings is beyond their capabilities.
Mayor Buddy Dyer is moving ahead with plans for the gentrification of west Orlando as well as the re-redevelopment of the Orlando Fashion Square Mall. Plans to turn the properties into $1 billion-dollar communities of retail, residential, and office space. Noting that the plans do not include affordable housing or the concept of creating any.
In an Orlando Sentinel OPED written by Timothy G. Kaiser, Executive Director of the Public Housing Authority Directors Association, he states that the contract between the federal government and local government is no longer in working order. Our federal government has stopped funding the difference between the earned revenue through rents and the actual cost of operation and maintaining properties. With a HUD director that believes "poverty is a state of mind," the chances of the current administration coming to the aid of Central Florida is as likely as Ben Carson's new initiative, "EnVision Centers" making any sense to the average person in need of assistance.
However, in Seminole County, a developer has tried to build affordable housing in a 4.5-acre lot and the fine people of the neighboring lot did not approve. Protesting with red shirts and voicing their concerns the citizens state they expected a nice quiet assisted living facility. They argued their property value would lower and the crime rate would increase if "those kinds of people" moved in. But the developer noted it was an ideal place for affordable housing, the schools would not be overwhelmed, nor the roads and it is located adjacent to a Lynx bus route as well. The Seminole County Commissioners approved the plan, but there are a few hoops that need to be met before they can begin. I am sure the residents will find a way of preventing the groundbreaking.
Do we embrace the growth, or do we enforce limits? Limits such as making sure the growth is happening in areas where it is needed, wanted, and can be serviced. If the Florida government gives huge breaks to corporations then maybe they should hold them accountable and require them to subsidize affordable housing for their workers. The problem is the state representatives won't hold these big pocket corporations accountable. This circular argument goes around and around before, during and between election cycles, leaving victims working two or three jobs to afford their current living situation.
At a minimum, what about a corporation like Disney working with the apartment complexes, timeshares, and neighborhoods in and around the Disney community and offer discounted rates for its workers as well as working with mortgage lenders to change the status quo and get their workers into affordable housing. There are many corporations in Central Florida that staff hundreds of workers. UCF has a booming staff, and they are in the market of finding housing for their students but not for their employees.
Each corporation in Central Florida should pledge to contribute a weekend a month to join Habitat for Humanity. Follow the lead from the smaller companies that take the time to give back to their neighborhoods. The responsibility should be put on the shoulders of the corporations that underpay their workers to meet the stockholder's needs.
We can put some of the faults on the glamour of Disney, Universal Studios, and even SeaWorld that draws families here believing the ideal place to live and work is for one of these companies. However, in the age of the internet, doing the research and understanding options before packing a family in the minivan and heading south is a must.
