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Hillsborough commissioners vote to stop providing millions in funding for affordable housing program

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Updated  June 18, 2025 5:12pm EDT
Hillsborough County
FOX 13 News
Affordable housing ordinance repealed

Affordable housing ordinance repealed

Aaron Mesmer reports.

The Brief

    • The HOPE Affordable Housing Act was repealed by Hillsborough County commissioners during Wednesday's Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners meeting.
    • The county provided $10 million in annual funding before cutting it to $2 million each of the past two years.
    • Supporters of repealing the funds say the money is needed for other projects, while critics argue the move would put vulnerable residents at risk.

TAMPA, Fla. - Commissioners in Hillsborough County voted 5-2 Wednesday to stop providing millions of dollars in funding for an affordable housing program.

By the numbers:

The affordable housing fund is managed by the Hillsborough Organization for Progress and Equality (HOPE). The organization's leaders say previous funding has helped bring roughly 1,100 affordable rental units to the county.

Commissioners passed the HOPE Affordable Housing Act in 2019, contributing $10 million each year.

PREVIOUS: Hillsborough County budget dedicating less money to affordable housing

The commission retained the right to review the annual amount, voting in September 2023 and again in September 2024 to cut funding to $2 million, allocating the remaining money to other county projects.

Last month, leaders took the first of two votes needed to repeal the ordinance altogether.

What they're saying:

"You're talking about 0.01%, friends, 0.1% of the Hillsborough County budget for this affordable housing fund. Unacceptable, we won't stand it," Justin LaRosa, Co-Chair of HOPE, said following the meeting. "We are in a crisis. We're gonna see more people on those roads and sidewalks sleeping, and we aren't going away."

"Disappointed that the majority vote of the county commission board was, in my opinion and the opinion of all these folks from HOPE, was shortsighted and insufficient in meeting the crisis need for affordable housing in this community," added Lee Barks, HOPE's Co-Chair. 

Several of the board's conservative members, including Commissioner Joshua Wostal, explained why they believe the money could be used elsewhere.

"We're funding other extravagant things like this over our critical immediate needs that are in the community," Wostal said, adding he believes the $10 million can be used to help reduce property taxes. "[The money] will be brought up, to my understanding, to even further reduce the cost of living in cost of home in the three municipalities by thus reducing their property taxes. The role of government, nothing that I've read, is for us to dominate the housing industry and start being in charge of building homes for those around us with other people's money."

Commissioner Ken Hagan added he believes there will be plenty of funding to continue addressing the crisis, even without the HOPE ordinance.

"Over the next six years we're going to be investing 400 million dollars into affordable housing," Hagan said.

Pictured: Public comment on the issue of affordable housing in Hillsborough County in September 2024.

Pictured: Public comment on the issue of affordable housing in Hillsborough County in September 2024.

What's next:

The board will discuss how to allocate the $10 million that used to go to HOPE during a meeting in July.

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The Source: This story was written with information from the Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners and previous FOX 13 News reports.

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