Housing Opportunities Trust Fund Advisory Committee Members Named In Howard County

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — An executive order has been signed by Howard County Executive Calvin Ball that establishes the Housing Opportunities Trust Fund Advisory Committee.

This committee will help review funding applications and make recommendations on allocations from the county's housing opportunities trust fund. The committee also will recommend financial goals for the fund.

“Our transformational housing opportunities trust fund will be a regional model for how we can expand access to affordable housing for residents of all backgrounds,” Ball said. “The advisory committee will play a pivotal role in guiding the implementation of our trust fund, ensuring that our investments help expand the availability of affordable homeownership and wealth-building as well as rental housing opportunities in our community.”

Ball provided $5 million in funding to launch the trust fund in his fiscal year 2023 operating budget, which was approved by the County Council. Investments from the trust fund will support homeownership opportunities for first-time homebuyers, the preservation of existing affordable housing and the creation of new affordable housing units.

The following seven voting members will sit on the committee:

• Ada Bohorfoush
• Kimberley Amprey Flowers
• Timothy Goetzinger
• Margaret Gold
• Robbyn Harris
• Richard Pardoe
• Jim Sanders

"The diverse expertise of the advisory committee members will be invaluable to the department as we evaluate funding requests to best address the needs identified in the housing opportunities master plan," Kelly Cimino, director of the department of housing and community development, said. “The first funding application deadline for the trust fund is April 14 and we anticipate significant interest and requests that will exceed the $5 million currently available in the housing opportunities trust fund."