Homeownership. It’s about more than shelter for your family and a home for your belongings. It’s about pride of ownership and building a solid foundation. It’s about writing a check each month that builds your equity and so much more.

As the need for Workforce Housing in Idaho escalates, so does the need to educate Idaho’s community leaders, local officials, developers and other housing stakeholders about what Idaho communities can do to identify and address its workforce housing needs. Idaho Housing and Finance Association is answering that need through the launch of its Workforce Housing Toolkit – Simple Steps for Stronger Communities, which will assist local communities and cities in assessing their workforce housing needs.

Positioned as the lead entity in Idaho for housing policy development and coordination, IHFA developed the Workforce Housing Toolkit to help stakeholders gain a better understanding of what workforce housing is and its effect on community and economic viability. Several Idaho communities are currently implementing some of the successful solutions found in the toolkit to address their unique housing challenges. “The Workforce Housing Toolkit offers tools and resources necessary to maximize workforce housing efforts and ensure that families and individuals have an affordable place to live,” said Gerald Hunter, president and executive director of IHFA. IHFA invites dialogue with housing stakeholders, developers, nonprofit organizations and local governments to discuss workforce housing and how cities can create affordable housing solutions statewide.

IHFA is rolling out its Workforce Housing Toolkit during the panel discussion, “Workforce Housing: Tools and Strategies for Idaho Communities”, at the Association of Idaho Cities Conference on June 15th in Coeur d’ Alene. Panelists include Bruce Chatterton, planning and development services director for the City of Boise; Tim Tingey, division manager of neighborhood and community services for the City of Pocatello; Mike Kennedy, Councilman for the City of Coeur d’Alene; Rick Skinner, attorney; and Gerald Hunter, IHFA president and executive director and panel moderator. Workforce Housing Toolkits will be distributed at the panel discussion and will be available at IHFA’s booth along with information on IHFA’s new Workforce Advantage loan products for working families.

Workforce housing is the recent term applied to affordability and the ever-growing mismatch between low- to moderate wage jobs and expensive housing stock. This disparity is measured when housing costs (rent/mortgage + utilities), do not exceed 30% of total household income (HHI) and to households that earn from 80% to 140% of the Area Median Income (AMI). Workforce housing is most effective when it is located near the workplace, serving as a perpetual wage subsidy for local employers. It represents working families and individuals such as emergency first responders, law enforcement, firefighters, teachers, medical and other business professionals, retail salespeople, and others who make local communities safe, strong and sustainable.

Current workforce housing challenges include limited state resources for housing, escalating land prices in several markets, consumer debt, housing cost gaps, a growing second-home market, and a limited awareness of workforce housing’s impact on economic and community development.

Several strategies and tools are provided in the new Workforce Housing Toolkit that will encourage communities to become engaged in the discussion of workforce housing. Hands-on tools will help cities and counties identify and expand workforce housing sites, reevaluate and update zoning policies, implement local policies and ordinances, put financing tools to work, educate future homeowners, and protect existing housing stock and affordability. Developers will find tools that include information on project financing and development, preservation, public property transfers and donations, private land donations, employer assistance and charitable donations, buyer financing, and assistance programs.

The Workforce Housing Toolkit provides easy to follow recommendations and available resources to help guide cities, counties, and housing stakeholders through the process of implementing the key strategies offered. The kit also provides interchangeable tools that can be used by cities, counties, developers and housing advocates that outline recommendations on how to best implement strategies and identify important contacts and resources that are available.

Anyone interested in receiving a toolkit or learning more about Idaho’s workforce housing challenges and how they impact community and economic development may contact IHFA at 1-877-438-4472 or email hirc@ihfa.org for more information.

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The Idaho Housing and Finance Association, a financial services and housing business organization, provides funding for affordable housing in communities where it is most needed and when economically feasible.