By Brendan Henry
The Surveyor

At Berthoud’s Board of Trustees meeting on Oct. 10, the board unanimously voted to opt-in to Proposition 123. Proposition 123 was passed by a slim 52.61% voter majority in 2022, dedicating one-tenth of a percent of state income tax revenue to fund affordable housing programs. Out of that one-tenth percent, 40% of funds will go to the Affordable Housing Support Fund administered by the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) and 60% to the Affordable Housing Financing Fund which is overseen by the Colorado Office of Economic          Development and International Trade (OEDIT) and will be administered by the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA).

Since Berthoud has opted into the proposition, the town is tasked with partnering with nonprofits with a target of a 3% annual increase in affordable homes over three years to receive funding from the state.

Because Berthoud has opted in and committed to meet this goal, the funding is “unlocked” for builders, developers and non-profits such as Berthoud Habitat for Humanity, as Executive Director of Berthoud Habitat for Humanity Tiffany Brodie puts it.

Brodie says that with these funds, homes can be built under a certain price point and rentals will cap out on how much they can charge.

Habitat for Humanity will be serving those that fall into the category of making 40 to 80 percent of the town’s annual income, making Berthoud’s max price point for a house $425,840 and monthly rent to cap out at $1,670 for those that are assisted.

As for the baseline number of affordable units Berthoud must create annually, the number—as worked on with DOLA by Community Development Director Anne Johnson—is 13. The proposition also allows for land banking so that these units can be secured for future construction as well. Construction of homes must still comply with the town’s standards.

While Habitat for Humanity is primarily funded by community donations and the Habitat ReStore—a store that works similar to a thrift shop where donated items are resold, there is a bit of a challenge regarding the partnership between Habitat for Humanity and Berthoud with the new proposition.

“The challenge is not knowing exactly how much funding we’ll be eligible for in which to develop a strategic strategic plan,” Brodie said.
Habitat for Humanity of Colorado is currently advocating directly with the state in order to get these answers, and Brodie along with all other Colorado affiliates have been in meetings trying to get an idea. Brodie says that the Affordable Housing Financing Fund has been allotted $87 million from the 2023 budget and $175 million for the 2023-2024 budget, and the Affordable Housing Support Fund has been given $58 million from the 2023 budget and $116 million from the 2023-2024 budget. The question of distribution to non-profits, specifically Habitat for Humanity still remains unanswered at this time.

Regardless of the financial uncertainty at the moment, Brodie is optimistic about the opportunity to partner with the town in the coming years.

“We, Habitat, are extremely grateful to the town for their willingness to make that commitment (to Proposition 123), you know, for what our mission is all about, and provide us access,” Brodie said. “We just really look forward to doing our part, but also in addition to that, helping to partner and communicate the opportunity to other builders in the area, you know, and developers to see how maybe we could collaborate in different ways or work together to meet or exceed our target number of affordable homes over the next three years.”