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One of the most important responsibilities of elected officials is to spend public money responsibly. Reasonable people may disagree about what constitutes a legitimate use of public funds, but sometimes there is an example of such fiscal irresponsibility it requires special mention. I encountered one such an example recently.
In a meeting earlier this month, I listened as a dedicated and responsible employee of a local agency described a new federal program designed to provide mortgage relief to the "needy." Using federal Covid relief funds, the Ohio Housing Finance Agency has instituted a program that will pay up to six monthly mortgage payments for qualified individuals or families.
The beneficiary of this program need not be behind in their payments in order to qualify, but the granting authority will pay an unspecified number of months in arrears if that is the case. To qualify for mortgage assistance the recipient must, of course, meet certain income qualifications. An individual who applies may be eligible for assistance as long as their income is under $103,000.00 per year. For a couple, the income cutoff is $118,000.00. A family of four qualifies as long as their household income us under $147,000.00.
Of course, there is an additional stipulation that the applicant must have experienced some sort of economic disruption due to the pandemic. However, these guidelines are so broad virtually anyone can qualify.
If you haven't really been paying attention to this point, let me go over those numbers again. If you are a single person, making up to $103,000.00 per year and you have NEVER missed a mortgage payment, you can qualify for federal mortgage assistance. For a family of four, that number rises to $147,000.00.
That means two wage earners (in a household of four) can each hold down jobs making $73,000.00/year and still qualify for federal assistance. In a county with a median household income of roughly $50,000.00 per year, this seems excessive. I support temporary and limited government assistance for those who are truly in need. This program goes so far beyond meeting basic need it is inexcusably wasteful in its scope.
I want to be crystal clear, I do not fault the local agency charged with implementing what was forced upon them from Washington, DC. Rather, I fault those governing at the federal level who seem utterly oblivious to the connection between irresponsible spending and the skyrocketing inflation hurting Washington County families.
Kevin Ritter, Washington County Commissioner
Marietta