Sullivan County Weighs Options for How to Spend $2 Million for Affordable Housing

Sullivan County is facing an urgent housing crunch. A 2024 Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress study found that more than 3,500 renter households in Sullivan County spend more than 30% of their household income on housing costs, making them “cost burdened” or “severely cost burdened.”

Last October, the Sullivan County Legislature passed a local law that established affordable housing as a county purpose, finding that all Sullivan County residents “deserve safe housing at an affordable cost.” The county has since set aside $2 million in flexible county funds to address the insufficient inventory of affordable housing.

Now, county legislators are weighing several options for how to use those funds – create a housing trust fund, build new affordable rentals, or repair and improve the county’s existing housing stock.

The options

Heather Brown, Sullivan County Commissioner of Planning, Community Development, and Environmental Management, said it’s important to first define what affordable means with any path forward. Brown says the county defines affordable as 30% or less of any individual’s gross annual income going to housing.

The first option is rehabilitation of rental units, specifically for households that are at or below 80% of the median household income. The program would provide funding to eligible landlords to repair and improve rental housing and prevent losing housing stock because of dilapidation.

“If you compare Sullivan County to some of our other counterparts in the Hudson Valley, our housing stock is considerably older,” Brown told Radio Catskill. “That only exacerbates an already high pressure [housing] situation.”

The second option is construction of new affordable rental units in Sullivan County. The program would provide funding for new construction and would target renter households that are at or below 60% of the median household income.

The third option is to create a Housing Trust Fund, a dedicated source of revenue that would be replenished annually or as needed. This option would require the legislature to identify a revenue source that would fund the county’s affordable housing needs.

At the July 10 Planning and Community Resources Committee meeting , Sullivan County District 3 Legislator Brian McPhillips raised concerns that landlords might try to take advantage of the rental rehabilitation program if they know funds are available. In response, Brown said that all eligible landlords must be in good enforcement standing with the county and commit to keep their rental units affordable.

Brown added that these options aren’t mutually exclusive. “There could be a hybrid situation where maybe they say we’re going to pilot this program with what we currently have available, see what the results are, and then from there, perhaps establish a true Trust Fund moving forward.”

Why it matters

Sullivan County’s annual median sale price reached a record $324,000 in 2024, according to Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress data. “We’ve never had a median home price go that high before,” said Brown. The surge follows the region’s housing pandemic boom and subsequent housing log jam.

She said that it’s important to remember who is most likely to become housing stressed.

“We’re talking about the workforce of Sullivan County, the folks who provide the services that we all rely on, whether we’re a business or a resident or visitor,” said Brown, adding that people with working class jobs like grocery clerks, mechanics, home health aides are most likely to be impacted by the housing crisis.

Having affordable housing options is also important for our economy, says Brown.

“Housing needs to be there for your workforce,” she said. “I want to make sure that we have a thriving community with a well-trained workforce and that they’re able to live here and thrive here in Sullivan County and have some income left over after paying the mortgage or after paying the rent to go out onto Main Street and patronize our local businesses.”

Image: A ‘for rent’ sign outside of a home in Sullivan County (Photo Credit: Kimberly Izar)