House looks at rural housing

    A local police office or fire department or school wants to hire a new employee. But in many rural communities, finding that employee isn’t the only problem. It’s also making sure that employee has somewhere to live.
    Republican Rep. Jim Wilson of Salida has an idea that could help.
    Wilson is the sponsor of a bill that would provide a tax incentive for people who make donations that would help build or purchase “attainable” housing in rural communities.
    House Bill 17-1091 would give tax credits to those who donate cash or property that could be used to develop employer-assisted housing. The donation would go to one of several entities that would be responsible for purchasing or otherwise developing the housing: the state’s housing and finance authority, a nonprofit community development corporation or a housing authority operated by a county or town.
    The bill is narrowly tailored to apply only to counties where the largest municipality is no more than 50,000 residents, which Wilson said would cover 48 out of the state’s 64 counties. Employees eligible to live in the housing could not make more than 120 percent of the area’s median income.
    For example, in Morgan County, the median income is estimated at $48,450. Median income is determined by dividing the income distribution of a county into two equal groups. Half of the residents have incomes above that amount, the other half are below that amount.
 

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