|
BOSTON — Thursday,
June 10, 2021 — Mayor Kim Janey today announced a pair of measures to
promote economic opportunity in the City as part of her agenda for
Boston’s equitable recovery, reopening, and renewal. With $2.4 million
committed to this program in the Mayor’s FY22 budget proposal, the Boston Home Center's first-time Homebuyer Program has been expanded to provide up to
$40,000 in assistance to income-eligible, first-time homebuyers who seek
to purchase a home in Boston. This change more than triples the average
amount of assistance previously offered by the City. These homebuyers
will also be informed earlier in the buying process about the amount of financing
they are eligible to receive from the Department of Neighborhood Development (DND) Boston Home Center. The Mayor has
also issued an executive order today, guaranteeing the prevailing wage
set by the Massachusetts Department of Labor Standards for workers on key
City of Boston service contracts, starting July 1, 2021.
“Homeownership
provides economic stability and a chance for working families to build
wealth that can be passed from generation to generation,” said Mayor
Janey. “Increasing opportunities for Boston families to buy their own
homes is essential to closing the racial wealth gap in our city. I am
proud of the work of the Boston Home Center to make the dream of owning a
home a reality for more Boston residents through the Homebuyer Assistance
Program.”
The First Time
Homebuyer Assistance Program will offer $30,000 to $40,000 in down
payment and closing cost assistance, depending on home type.
Condominiums, one-, two-, and three-family properties are eligible.
Historically, the average financial assistance awarded to a first-time
homebuyer had been about $10,000 and over 70% of program participants
were households of color. The expanded program will also now provide
eligible homebuyers with pre-qualification letters, to ease the
homebuying process. For more information about the Boston Home Center
Homebuying programs, please visit here.
“The work that the
Department of Neighborhood Development does is not only about
homeownership, it’s also about planting seeds for the next generation,”
said Shimika Callender, a resident of Dorchester who was recently able to
buy a home in her own neighborhood. “My 13-year-old son has
witnessed his mom buy a home, and now he is interested in real estate
himself. For every family that DND is able to help, there is likely a
child bearing witness to the process and dreaming big. The work that
DND does contributes to giving families and children the vision to turn
their dreams into reality.”
In a separate
measure, Mayor Janey signed an executive order that adopts the prevailing
wage rate set by the Massachusetts Department of Labor Standards for all
city contracts for cleaning and security services going out to bid after
July 1, 2021. The current State prevailing wage rate is $14.85 to $20 per
hour, with an additional $6.26 to $6.70 in health and pension
benefits.
“This executive
order recognizes the importance of family-sustaining wages and benefits
as well as maintaining high quality services in our public buildings,”
said Mayor Janey. “The City of Boston is setting a standard for other
employers to follow that supports the wellbeing of Boston’s working
families and promotes a more equitable recovery for our economy.”
The City of Boston
is the city’s largest employer, with more than 18,000 public workers
across a wide range of roles. While the executive order targets city
contractors, Mayor Janey intends to work with city unions through the
collective bargaining process to extend prevailing wages to city
employees in related positions. This executive order provides an
equitable platform for wage progression, helping to achieve family
sustaining wages for low-wage workers, and seeks to promote economic
mobility. The City will lead by example and encourage other private
employers in and around Boston to join in the effort.
"I commend
Mayor Janey for this important and needed executive order, as so many of
these essential workers have supported our City so well, especially
during this stressful time of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Natalicia Tracy,
PhD, of the Brazilian Worker Center. “This executive order will level the
playing field somewhat so that these hard-working people can provide for
their own families, as they continue to maintain our buildings to ensure
they are safe, clean, and secure for the City as a whole."
Today's
announcements are the latest in a series of measures that the City is
taking to ensure the equitable recovery for our residents from the
COVID-19 pandemic. In April, Mayor Kim Janey announced that the City of
Boston’s Community Preservation Committee (CPC) awarded $5 million to the
Boston Home Center’s ONE+Boston First-Time Homebuyer Program. In March,
Mayor Janey announced $50 million in new rental relief funding to support housing stability for
thousands of Boston renters. Additionally, Mayor Janey recently proposed
a $50 million emergency relief plan, funded through the American Rescue Plan,
to support an equitable recovery and reopening for Boston residents,
workers and small businesses. |
沒有留言:
發佈留言