PORTAGE, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – The city of Portage is considering a program to help its employees with down payment assistance for homes because some of them can no longer afford to live in the city.
It’s a program administered by the nonprofit Kalamazoo Neighborhood Housing Services that the city of Kalamazoo and Kalamazoo County are also involved in.
City Manager Patrick McGinnis says it would be for city employees who make less than 120% of the area median income.
Chief development officer Peter Dame says there is an advantage to having city employees live in the community they serve.
Dame says it could be used as an incentive to attract new city employees and if it’s successful, it could be a model for other employers.
Half of the $100,000 fund to finance down payments would come from the city of Portage and the rest from the Housing for All Millage.
The council authorized McGinnis to work with KNHS to set up the program in the city.
Michigan towns used to be able to mandate that employees live within their boundaries, but legislative action at the turn of the century ended that practice.
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