“Under pressure from fire survivors and elected officials, California Treasurer Fiona Ma said Friday that $100 million in new federal tax credits will be used as intended to pay for housing projects in 13 counties — including Napa County — that suffered devastation during wildfires in 2017 and 2018.

Sonoma County business and elected leaders had expressed concerns last month that the tax credits might be diverted for homeless housing developments, after a state committee overseen by Ma released planned guidelines for the use of the funding. They insisted the tax credits should be used for housing in fire-affected areas including the North Bay in 2017.

“We want to make it crystal clear that these tax credits are going to help counties that have been devastated by disasters,” Ma said in a prepared statement. “I salute the resilience, dedication, and creativity of these communities and I’m glad we can help them rebuild.”

Ma is chairwoman of the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, which awards and distributes the federal tax credits. She said in Friday’s statement she is revising the committee’s regulations to give communities in 13 counties torched by infernos until the end of 2021 to seek credits for housing projects. The counties are: Butte, Lake, Los Angeles, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Orange, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Shasta, Sonoma, Ventura and Yuba.

Last year, Rep. Mike Thompson, D- Napa, wrote federal legislation directing additional tax credits for the 13 fire- ravaged counties statewide.

After the state treasurer’s office had released proposed guidelines for allocating the additional federal low-income housing tax credits, Thompson expressed his concerns in a Jan. 22 letter to Ma.

Late last month, Sonoma County Supervisor Lynda Hopkins said that, while she understands the urgent need for homeless housing, these federal tax credits should be used only for wildfire disaster recovery. The county lost 5,300 homes in the Tubbs inferno in October 2017 and continues to rebuild.

Federal low-income housing tax credits are the single most important tool used to finance and build affordable housing, said Larry Florin, executive director of nonprofit Burbank Housing based in Santa Rosa.

Developers like Burbank who receive such tax credits can sell the credits to investors such as banks. In this case, the purchased credit can be used as a tax break over 10 years.

“So the $100 million in tax credits becomes $1 billion over that period,” Florin said last month.

Florin and other Sonoma County leaders said previously if the state officials allocate the tax credits according to the damage caused by recent wildfires, North Bay and Northern California counties would end up getting about 30% of the tax credits.

State Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, commended Ma for her clarification Friday on the use of the federal funds.

“This $100 million in tax credits will be a huge shot in the arm for the rebuilding of our communities and desperately needed affordable housing,” McGuire said.”

By: Bill Swindell The Press Democrat