WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Palm Beach County commissioners approved a $200,000,000 bond issue to address the county's affordable housing crisis at Tuesday night's meeting.
Commissioners voted 4-2 in favor of the bond issue, which will now be on the November ballot for Palm Beach County voters to make the final decision.
Palm Beach County Commissioner Robert Weinroth expressed his concerns when it comes to the lack of affordable housing.
"I'm doing this because I find it essential for our county," Weinroth said. "Our county is no longer competitive as far as trying to keep people here who we need to have employed. So we have the services we demand."
According to the agenda, the money would go toward building and acquiring condos, single family homes, rental units and town homes. The housing will be available for households earning up to 140% of the area median income.
Commissioners Melissa McKinlay and Maria Marino voted against the housing bond issue.
"I'm not opposed to doing something like this when times are good, with all of the reasons already stated — the cost of gas, the cost of groceries," McKinlay said. "It's just not the right time to ask taxpayers to dig deeper into their pocketbooks."
If approved by voters in November, the 20-year bond issue could be issued sometime next year.