Update on the foreclosure crisis – locally

Recently the City of Milwaukee was awarded $9.2 million in federal funds to address the increase in the number of foreclosed properties locally.

View a breakdown of local foreclosures  pdf
 

The new federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program, created by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, provided emergency assistance to state and local governments to acquire and redevelop foreclosed properties that might otherwise become sources of abandonment and blight within their communities.

The City of Milwaukee is required to submit a plan for use of the funds.
The public is invited to review a draft of the plan and provide public comment.

Review the plan   pdf  
note that plan is titled an ‘amendment’
 

Milwaukee’s Common Council convened the Special Joint Committee on Redevelopment of Abandoned and Foreclosed Homes to guide the City’s efforts for the use of the emergency federal funding.

This emergency federal funding is only one component of a broader community strategy to address the issues of foreclosures in the City of Milwaukee.

In September, Mayor Tom Barrett convened the Milwaukee Foreclosure Partnership Initiative (MFPI) – a public-private partnership made up of lenders, foundations and community stakeholders with the primary goal of addressing the foreclosure crisis using a three tiered approach:

Over 100 individuals representing a broad range of community interests are currently participating in MFPI workgroups to create strategies and increase resources to address foreclosures in Milwaukee.

The Strategies to Overcome Predatory Practices (STOPP) Initiative has worked since 2002 through the Milwaukee Metropolitan Fair Housing Council in collaboration with local and state organizations to raise awareness of predatory and subprime lending activity and to provide consumer education and outreach in the community. Local housing counseling agencies have been providing foreclosure counseling services. Local academic institutions have provided research, education and consumer outreach within the community.

The NSP Plan

The proposed plan for the use of NSP federal funding has been designed to utilize a number of different set of strategies to address the issue of foreclosed homes in City neighborhoods. The plan recognizes that a “one size fits all” approach will not meet the need of neighborhoods impacted by the foreclosure issue. It includes a set of tools that build on existing programs, as well bring new ones to the effort. Proposed activities include those which promote homeownership, affordable rental housing, blight elimination and the improvement of City neighborhoods. The plan includes roles for government, residents, nonprofits, developers, lenders, and the real estate community because all are important to achieving results. Given the sheer number of foreclosed properties in the City, as well as the number of open foreclosure filings likely to result in increased numbers of abandoned and foreclosed homes, every effort will be made to leverage Neighborhood Stabilization Program funding and seek additional resources for the City’s efforts.