Iowa Moves HOME Program to Finance Authority

As part of his effort to streamline state government, Iowa Governor Chet Culver has moved the HOME program, a key housing program, from the state’s Department of Economic Development to the Iowa Finance Authority (IFA). In addition, the IFA will now be headed by Joe O’Hern, who was previously a deputy director at the authority.

The transfer of the HOME Investment Partnership program to IFA is scheduled for this spring, after the Department of Economic Development announces the 2010 HOME awards. The measure is being taken to consolidate key federal housing resources in one agency, which will not only ease and speed the administration of the programs, but also provide a one-stop shop for affordable housing project sponsors. Forty-seven states co-locate the HOME program with the LIHTC program in order to gain these efficiencies since LIHTC projects commonly include the HOME subsidy to close financing gaps.