North Adams committee reviews community development staffing and discusses seed funding for affordable housing trust

The North Adams Finance Committee reviewed the Office of Community Development’s operating budget and discussed potential seed funding approaches for the city’s newly established affordable housing trust.

Mayor (Chair) summarized the budget, noting the city’s portion of community development staff salaries and that the community planner position will be 100% city‑funded and is expected to be filled by the end of June. “What you’re seeing is you’re seeing 11% increase but we shifted some of the dollars,” the mayor said, explaining that salary allocations between city and CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) funding were adjusted to allow more project dollars in the grant budget.

Committee members asked whether membership dues and conference attendance would be paid out of the CDBG administrative or professional development lines. Staff replied that many professional memberships and conference costs are charged to the grant when eligible; the CDBG administrative percentage was reported to be roughly 11–12%.

Members also asked about seeding the affordable housing trust to allow the trust to begin production and service delivery more quickly. The mayor said the trust’s initial focus is on operations and that seed funds were not included in the operating budget. She added the administration has committed that future short‑term rental fines and forfeitures would be earmarked for the housing trust as it builds capacity. “That's going to take a while to build,” the mayor said, noting other grant awards (for example, a BRPC grant) could improve the city’s leverage.

The committee asked staff to provide clearer notes in future budget documents showing lines funded by grants versus the city share so the public can better understand the capacity of grant‑supported departments. No formal vote was taken to allocate seed money for the trust during the meeting.