Arlington County manager Ron Carlee released a “fact sheet” on the housing authority referendum that passes from fact into fiction and from neutrality to advocacy against the voters’ initiative. Municipal emplyees are required by Virginia law to remain neutral on referendums and this fact sheet clearly is anything but neutral violating state law.

Why are county employees ’spinning’ the facts to county voters and why is the county manager trying to sandbag the housing authority and sandbag the Arlington Green Party?

This fact sheet violates state law that clearly indicates what can be in a “neutral referendum statement.” Such statements cannot contain advocacy and opponent arguments nor can such a statement exceed 500 words. This “fact” sheet is written to oppose and discredit the authority and parrots arguments made by the the Arlington Democratic Party against the authority. The fact sheet violates State law.

Several mis-statements on the “fact sheet:”
http://www.arlingtonva.us/Departments/CPHD/housing/pdf/page66345.pdf

l. The Housing authority could have its own staff and legal counsel (page 2). Yes, equally true, the authority may rely on existing county employees and have NO staff as it the situation in Fairfax County. There is no reason to assume that it will have ANY staff.

2. Page two, the county has 6,610 committed affordable housing units, but it includes units not yet built! Actual CAF rental units number 5,367. More importantly, the county lost over 13,000 market rate apartments since 2000, but gained fewer than 2,400 net new CAFs. The actual supply of CAFs and marekt rate apartments still fell well over 11,000 units and fewer than 20% of units are affordable in 2008.

3. Page two: The county would NOT have access to new sources of revenue. There is no new dedicated sources of funding for a housing authority. HUD has provided no new funds [for housing authorities] since 1994. According to the Arlington Connection article in September 2008, HUD would provide funding for a new Arlington authority.
County staff are engaging in pure speculation as to HUD’s activities. The $850 billion financial bail out Congressional bills are likely to provide many billions of dollars of new HUD funds including some specifically for housing authorities. Arlington county municipal employees cannot speak on behalf of the Federal HUD.

4. (Page two), “Would a housing authority produce more affordable housing than the county can do today? No.”
This is pure speculation. If a housing authority were more efficient and built new housing at a lower cost than say the $400,000 per unit being spent in Buckingham or Arlington Mills projects, then the authority could produce more units with the same amount of funds.

County employees speculate as to what an Arlington housing authority would do. They have no basis for these conclusions.

5. (Page three), What new or addtional power could a housing authority provide for the development and preservation of affordable housing in Arlington? The fact sheet indicates only that an authority can “operate or manage” rental housing, it neglects to mention that it could OWN housing.
The County under state law is not entitled to own land or property with rental housing.
The fact sheet fails to mention that the authority has the power to use eminent power to preserve rental housing under the threat of development.

6. Page 3, the authority would have access to no new forms of financing. This is untrue, according to the Fairfax Housing Authority that issues revenue bonds based upon rental property that is acquires. Arlington County cannot issue legally revenue bonds based on rental property since it by law cannot own rental property.

7. How will property for affordable housing be acquired? Through voluntary negotiation with private landlords. That is true of course but there are other ways to acquire land for a housing authority. Public land used for schools, highways, streets, or recreation for example, can be transferred to the housing authority which is merely a subdivision of the county government. There is no sale of public land merely transfer. Moreover, the housing authority could threaten eminent domain and then voluntarily acquire land through negotiations with private operators.