Keep affordable housing money in the state budget

As affordable housing becomes scarce and wages remain stagnant, Manatee County working families are having great difficulty in finding homes and in paying their rent. Many are spending half or even more of their incomes on housing. This leaves little income for food, transportation, family medical and dental care.

Meanwhile, Gov. Rick Scott's proposed budget, which gives tax breaks to commercial interests, sweeps away the money collected by the Sadowski Trust Fund, a dedicated state revenue raised from the documentary tax paid on real estate transactions. The fund was created to support affordable housing. In Gov. Scott's budget, the funds would disappear into the state general fund. Not only are these funds a blessing to families, they also produce jobs by supporting the building trades.

We are a group of professional and educated women who are aware of the increasing number of families who are now homeless or threatened by homelessness in Manatee County. We urge our House and Senate representatives to restore the Sadowski Trust Fund to the Florida state budget. We must protect the most vulnerable in our communities.

Fay Murphy, President, Manatee County Branch AAUW

Bradenton

This story was originally published December 23, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Keep affordable housing money in the state budget ."