Friday, July 14, 2006

Government as Resource and Ally

What follows was written back in early June following our first appearance before the Governing Board of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Our reason for being there was to advocate for our CityWalk @ Akard plan to purchase and renovate a 15-story building in downtown Dallas.
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People who believe that poverty and the challenges associated with low-income communities can be adequately addressed without government involvement have chosen charity over community building, service projects over justice and anecdotal experience over long-term systemic change.

I witnessed the clear cut nature of this choice again last week.

On Friday, we testified before the Board of Governors of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs in Austin. Our purpose was to urge the Board to move forward in awarding the Central Dallas Community Development Corporation low-income, housing tax credits in the amount of $12 million.

During the meeting, we were joined at the podium by our city council member, Angela Hunt. Dallas County Judge Margaret Keliher and State Senator Royce West added their voices to our cause by having strong letters of endorsement read into the public record. The meeting could not have gone better.

As I reflected on the experience and on the very real possibility that we will land this award, I thought of all of the anti-government comments, conversations, debates and arguments I have listened to, and sometimes endured, across the years.

I know a number of loyal readers here will be ready to dismiss me, but the fact is we cannot rebuild the urban centers of this nation without strong, professional, fully-funded government involvement and leadership.

Just think about it realistically for a moment.

Consider the scale of just our single project.

We need $12 million in state tax credit support to leverage the remaining $11 to $17 million needed to do all that we hope to accomplish. Our plans will provide permanent housing for over 200 people downtown. We will be able to more than triple our medical outreach and we will be in a position to turn food and emergency assistance programs into more viable economic development for extremely low-income neighborhoods here in Dallas.

We cannot reasonably expect to raise all that we need out of the private sector. We certainly could not fund our plans through the church alone.

Pick the issue or the community outcome--diversity in demographics, mixed income and mixed use developments, physical infrastructure in rebounding neighborhoods, mortgage assistance funds for first time home buyers--the role of public decision makers is key and should not be limited or ignored.

We don't need more projects designed to benefit donors.

We need well-reasoned, planned developments that deliver a larger benefit to the community in question and in need.

To be sure, an important role must be filled by willing donors who freely give of their time, talent and financial resources.

But private charity without a collective, community-wide, coordinated effort led by the public sector is doomed to provide far too little way too late.

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